


Life Of The Party- The Novel

by todays_keysmash_is



Category: Life of the Party D&D (Web Series)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Canon Compliant, Drama, Fluff, Found Family, Humor, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:41:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 41
Words: 437,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24158293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/todays_keysmash_is/pseuds/todays_keysmash_is
Summary: The title says it all. The entirety of Life Of The Party as a novel.UPDATE: I have reached out to NyxRising directly about this project, and they have granted me their permission as the copyright owners of the original material to upload this work!This is in no way official, it is purely fan created. My hope is that this can be a community resource for those who might wish to enjoy the Life Of The Party D&D web series by reading it through in written format.If you would like to learn a bit more about this project, please read on through the preface for a more in depth explanation! Otherwise, feel free to jump to the next chapter and relive the adventure, or skip around to your favorite moments.
Relationships: Astra/Aerenthias Van Wymarck, Cassian/Renard (Life of the Party), Cassian/Vanden (Life of the Party), Elyse/Phaesta
Comments: 19
Kudos: 64





	1. Preface

Life of the Party- The Novel

UPDATE: Just so you all know, I have reached out to NyxRising directly about this project, and they have granted me their permission as the copyright owners of the original material to upload this work! 

This is a translation of the Life Of The Party D&D web series from audio format to a storybook format. All of the writing is as close to word for word translation of the videos as I could manage.* This is in no way official, it is purely fan created! My hope is that this can be a community resource for those who might wish to enjoy the Life Of The Party D&D web series by reading it through in written format.

If you would like to learn a bit more about this project, please read on through the preface for a more in depth explanation! Otherwise, feel free to jump to the next chapter and relive the adventure, or skip around to your favorite moments.

_ *Please note that the Prologue has mixed elements of the Episode 1 introduction, the “It’s Dangerous To Go Alone, Watch This!” introductory LOTP video, and a general summary of the “off-camera” episodes. All of the other chapters are written as close to original dialogue and narration as possible. _

  
  


Watching Life Of The Party has been my only experience with D&D. As a big reader, I couldn’t help but think to myself that this epic saga would make a great novel. When the Quarantine happened, I realized I had plenty of time to make that idea happen. I would guess this took about 200 hours to complete, but I was determined to see it through, and it was a great excuse to rewatch everything! The process involved listening to a few seconds of an episode, pausing, copying it down as well as I could, and then checking the fan wiki for spellings. I made a schedule for myself to transcribe at a rate of one hour of video per day. This meant one to three hours of working each day, depending on the narration to dialogue to combat ratio. It just so happened to perfectly work out that I would finish just in time for the hiatus.

The bulk of the task involved cutting out-of-character moments such as dice rolls and commentary, transforming all the narration from second person to third person, and changing everything from present tense to past tense. I tried my best to preserve the canon story as much as possible, but I am in no way claiming that this is perfect!

If you’re an artist, you’ve probably heard the phrase  _ draw what you see, not what you think you see. _ I learned what this meant in elementary school art class when I drew a vase of flowers, and the teacher pointed out that I had included flower stems when no stems were actually visible on the model we were supposed to be using. I tried my best to apply this concept here to prevent my own interpretation of the story from needling its way in.

Of course, that goal is not a completely feasible task. It was inevitable that I would have to insert some of my own creativity to fill in the gaps. Dialogue tags were the main example of this problem. If I were to make the story completely accurate, I would have some very boring dialogue tags.

“Are you okay?” said Astra.

“Yes,” said Elyse.

“Alright,” Astra replied.

This might be the most accurate conversation to original audio, but it’s not very interesting to read (especially when there’s no way to directly convey all the amazing voice acting). Instead, the story I have made looks more like this:

Astra frowned in concern, looking over to Elyse. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” she responded, a bit too quickly.

The bard stared at her for a moment. “Alright,” he relented, unconvinced.

This version works much better for the novel format. However, who am I to say whether Astra was actually frowning? Technically, that’s my own original idea sneaking in. Another example of this problem came from how I named the characters. I had to decide how best to name each character to emphasize different qualities and emotions. For example,

“It feels weird not to have money on me,” Vanden admitted.

Is much different than:

“It feels weird not to have money on me,” the prince admitted.

In these small ways, I had to insert a bit of my own interpretation of the events to fit a written format, walking the line between a fanwork and a reflection of pure canon.

This was also an obstacle for spellcasting and combat. While sometimes these actions are described in detail, there were many times where I had to create an original description of certain actions. (“Cassian used Arcane Bolt on the creature” vs “Cassian flicked his wand, sending a blast of arcane energy crackling towards the creature.”)

It is also important to note that the way people speak naturally is different from the way we write formally. Some of the dialogue or narration that flows well to our ears can translate awkwardly onto a page. I tried to keep everything as close as possible to the original spoken story, and to match all spellings with the LOTP wiki, but if anybody notices spelling or grammatical mistakes please comment and let me know. This project has an astronomical word count, making it very hard for one person to edit, so feel free to call out any errors. If anyone is inspired to go above and beyond to beta a full chapter or more, message me!

This project took absolute ages, but it was so much fun. Again, this is not at all 100% accurate to pure canon, but I gave it my best. It is my hope that this can be a resource for other fans to relive the series in a different way.

A huge huge thanks to the cast and production team of Life Of The Party D&D. I’ve been a fan for almost three years now, and it has been so inspiring to see such a diverse group of friends thrive and grow across the life of the channel. It may be a fantasy, but you are all truly Dawnbringers for so many people around the world.

Thank you, and enjoy.

<3


	2. Prolouge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to check all spellings with the LOTP Wiki, but there are a few words I couldn't find. If anyone notices any spelling errors, please comment and let me know!

Our story is set in the land known as Caldera, a wide reaching, diverse expanse of mountains, jungles, forests, lake formations, and plains. To the South, the mighty jungles of the Sivrei and the Reidcone team with life and activity, while in the North, the frozen shoreline known as the Glittering Coast stretches as far as an elf eye can see. The landscape between is vast and varied, with an expansive set of lakes called the Shaiste taking up much of the land in the southeast, feeding the country with a multitude of rivers and water courses. In the Mid-North, huge crests of mountain ranges tower over the forests and plains, the most prominent being the Needles, the Ashcrest, and the Chimera Mountains. To the West, the swamps of the salt marshes and the jagged black crest of the Slavers’ Ridge look out to a seemingly unending sea. Off the eastern shore of the mainland, the islands of Arakhis, Kassahn, and Starstone are the last points of calm on the long journey across the ocean to the continent of Ospeia.

Though our story starts out in Caldera, that’s not to say it won’t end up across the seas in other lands. Scattered across these lands are a multitude of independent city-states, each governing and ruling themselves in their own provinces. The remnants of shattered empires and dead dynasties exist in lore and legends only, their influence not felt for hundreds of years. Each city-state has a unique culture and way of life, ranging from the milararitistic regimented city of Shadebourne tucked deep in the mountains, the stunning palaces and coastal gardens of Mirrortail, the marvel of Sanskra floating entirely on docks, and the elaborate mosaic towers of Arakhis. Governance varies from city to city, with Riven governed by a council of twelve, whilst Fang is ruled with an iron fist by a long founding line.

A spectrum of races, lineages, and species coexist in these cities, and many in the forests and fields between them. Humanity is by no means majority, though it is one of the commoner races. Halflings, gnomes, dwarfs, and elves are as average a sight as humans. Races such as the orcs, tieflings, dragonborn, lizardfolk, and even genasi are not uncommon. Communities of half-elves, half-orcs, half-dragons, and half-dwarfs are often found as bloodlines and individuals mix over the centuries, creating unique new peoples, families, and cultures.

The influence of the Gods is felt in Caldera, though it’s extremely rare that they exert this influence in any way more than the blessing of a zealous priest, or favorable winds in a sailor’s long journey. The Divine Pantheon reside outside of the mortal plane, watching over their creation with a close eye. Devout believers say that Melora can be encountered as she wanders the fields and woods of the mortal plane, while Moradin can be heard breathing fire into the volcanic forge. Very few people garner attention enough to draw the eyes of the Gods personally, let alone encounter them.

And now for our Party. A few members of our party have met each other, in pairs and trios, but as a whole have yet to come face to face with each other fully. Our adventure started very recently, in Farrelstadt, a coastal city on the Bay of Blades with an active Navy who defend against marauding pirates. Renard the mercenary, Astra the musician, farmer Boblem, and the researcher Elyse were at the right place at the right time to get caught up in a pirate crew’s planned raid on the city’s black powder reserve, a rare, dangerous, and valuable resource. The four encountered a young sailor attempting to warn the guards of the pirates' plans, and brought him to safety, fighting off the cutthroat pirates in the streets and on bridges over the river. These adventurers joined forces with the city wardens, defeating the marauders. Elyse struck down the crew’s spellcaster, who was summoning a storm over the city to aid their assault.

After this ordeal, Elyse conducted her own research privately while Boblem and Astra accompanied Renard on his own errand. The mysterious masked mercenary sat down with Captain Elio Kolz to discuss the Weeping Eye, a mercenary company Renard wanted to track down. Later that night, the trio relaxed at the Giggling Squid Tavern. There, they met Sariel, a druidic elf, and Cassian, the wealthy merchant with flair and disdain aplenty.

Though Cassian seemed rather arrogant and selfish, he did enjoy Astra's music, and gifted him a seashell necklace after the bard expressed interest in the wizard's jewelry. Not interested in drinking himself, Cassian continued to pass his drinks over to Astra. By coincidence, this was also the bard's first experience with alcohol, and it wasn't long before the drinks inspired him to ask a local street vendor to embellish his horns with mother of pearl.

Together, these individuals took on some odd jobs before travelling across the sea to Mirrortail, the neighboring city on the bay. Elyse made her way up separately, conducting private research and picking up a book on Arcane Foci from the Mirrortail library before meeting with Renard and Astra once more. Together, the three procured a contract from a cartographers’ guild to map out the Flooded Hills and swamps south of Sanskra. Cassian had returned to his shop while Boblem and Sariel spent the day on the docks, the two druids using their wildshape magic to swim through the waters as a pair of octopi. Elyse, Renard, and Astra managed to embroil themselves in the business of a local merchant lord, confronting him on how harshly he treated a captured reptilian creature, eventually breaking into his estate in the dead of night to free the chained and beaten beast.

That is where you join our story now, in the streets of Mirrortail at night, a mighty creature set free, and a trio of adventurers making a hasty exit from the scene.


	3. Converging Paths, Episode One

Three adventurers stood outside the house of Lord Arangi Komo, after releasing a black Guard Drake from its stables where it had been chained, tied up, and beaten. The Lord’s guards alerted, they stood in the middle of the city road. Lights were flickering on, and people were coming out of their houses. It was the dead of night, and the beast had vanished into the shadows. A few of the trio were hurt and wounded. In trying to free the beast, Astra had touched a tender spot where a hook had pierced its mouth, and it snapped down, taking a sizable chunk out of his arm. They looked down a long, flagstone paved street with elaborate and fancy estates on both sides of the path. While it was the dead of night, there was a commotion from around the other side of the house. The guards had been summoned, and they were moving. There were lights turning on in Aragni Komo’s estate. On the other side of the road, one or two flickered into existence as well.

Renard glanced around at the lights with concern. “Okay, well…”

“Seems like people are waking up now,” Astra observed, seemingly unbothered.

Elyse grabbed the two men by their arms. “I can disguise or make invisible two of us, of the three.”

“Why do we need to get disguises?”

“Do you have any idea the impact of what we’ve just done?” Renard whispered to the tiefling, growing frantic.

“Yes, we saved an animal,” Astra smiled.

“We can talk about it  _ later, _ I’m saying let’s start moving,” Elyse turned to the tiefling. “You’re the most visually recognizable of the three of us, so…”

The air shimmered as the sorcerer cast two spells in quick succession. The dark skin and striking blue hair of Elyse transformed to the average sight of a typical street person as the disguise magic settled. The shocking teal skin and curving horns of Astra fell away completely, leaving the bard completely invisible with the second spell. “Sorry Renard,” she offered, slipping her arm into his, the two mimicking an innocent couple as they began to furiously power walk down the road.

Renard wasn’t sure this was the best plan, as he didn’t exactly blend in with the rest of the town. Coming in at about six feet, he wore a long, black, and thin breasted leather coat, with a mask covering his face, his hood up and over his head, a scarf around his mouth, and a bloody sword at his side. Trying to communicate this to Elyse with a strong side-eye, she brushed him off. “It’s fine, just hide it under the cloak!”

He did.

They started making their way off and back up into the city. The trio made it about ten meters when they heard the sound of a door slamming open behind them. In the dark, Astra could make out one figure, flanked by two more. A voice cut through the night. “Find it! Where has it gone? Find them!”

They sped up.

The three figures split up, one remaining at the door and one disappearing into the night the other way, but the third was zigzagging down the road in their direction. Acting quickly, Renard unlinked himself from Elyse and jumped over one of the many small garden walls that surrounded each estate, ducking down to hide. Elyse shortly followed.

Astra’s voice came from somewhere above. “Where are you going?”

“We’re hiding,” Elyse whispered.

“Oh we’re hiding, okay, I’m invisible though.”

“We can still hear you,” Renard deadpanned.

Astra jumped over the wall to join them. Elyse smiled as strands of her hair began to float, Astra’s way of signalling he was near.

They watched the guard move. Fifteen feet away, ten feet away. As he grew closer to them, he looked in their direction, but it was dark enough that they could barely see his features. Invisible, Astra waved, while Elyse flipped him off in the dark. He moved past, to the other side. Poking his spear into a bush, he continued on into the night.

“He doesn’t seem very nice,” Astra whispered. Renard held up a finger to silence him. They waited thirty seconds, then a minute. The guard didn’t seem to come back.

If they carried down on this street for twenty feet, they would be another road that led to the center of town. Renard stood, heading that way without consulting the others. Elyse followed. After a few seconds of watching the guard disappear, Astra turned to realize the other two adventurers were leaving. He quickly began to follow. “Oh, we’re going this way now, okay.”

They found themselves on a separate street, though still a residential area. The trio looked around to see classically white washed walls with heavy black oak beams. They could only see in shades of grey and silhouettes. Starlight illuminated most of the city, but they couldn’t see too far ahead. The streets were almost deserted, save for the occasional person leaning up drunk against the wall, trying to stumble their way into the house.

“Right, I think the best thing to do at this point would be to find the others and get out of Mirrortail,” Renard decided.

“Yeah, probably,” Elyse shrugged.

Astra scratched his invisible head. “Well I mean, Boblem and Elyse went into the water.”

“I’m Elyse,” the sorceress interrupted.

“You’re Elyse, sorry. Boblem and Sariel went into the water,” he amended. “I’m not sure we can actually follow them, or find them.” Astra gave Renard a questioning glance. “Can you turn into an octopus?”

Unsure of where to look, Renard aimed his bewildered response to the air. “....No, I can’t turn into an octopus.”

“Me neither,” Astra frowned, disappointed.

“I kind of wish I could. Seems really cool,” Elyse lamented. “Anyway, we need to- ”

“Find a local tavern,” Renard supplied.

“Yeah, just somewhere we can lay low until tomorrow,” she finished.

Astra raised an invisible hand. “I would like to sleep, I’m rather hurt.”

“Yeah, me too.” Elyse’s arm was covered in blood, slowly dripping.

“Tavern it is.” Renard led the group to a nice looking inn. He turned to Elyse and the invisible area where the tiefling might be. “I’m going to go in and secure us a room. Will you two just wait?”

“Okay,” the sorcerer grinned. Her hair was floating again.

“Maybe keep yourselves out of sight?”

Astra whispered with audible excitement. “I’m very out of sight right now!”

With a sigh, face unreadable under the mask and scarf, Renard turned to enter the inn.

Pushing open the door to The Moon and Stars, the inn was softly illuminated, with no patrons about this late at night. He could see only one person inside with his back to him, a male figure with black hair tied up in a bun, and falling just beyond his shoulders. He turned upon Renard’s entrance. “Oh! We weren’t expecting visitors so late.” With a whistle, a dog appeared from behind the bar, sniffing about. “Are you looking for rooms?”

“Yes I am, there’s three of us. We’d like a room as quickly as possible, just for the three of us.”

He looked him up and down. “Sorry, how many did you say?”

“Three.”

He seemed bemused by this for a moment before it clicked for him that there must be others waiting outside. “Yeah, yeah, it’s late but we got places. That’ll be two gold each.”

“No problem.” Renard passed six gold to the man.

“There will be breakfast in the morning.”

“Fantastic.”

He was given three room keys, shown to the gantry level where the rooms were. The room weren’t entirely bare, they had the essentials, but it certainly wasn’t a five star place. Renard opened the window and whistled out.

Astra looked up and whistled back. “What are we doing?” he whispered.

Elyse dropped the spell. “You’re not invisible anymore. We are going inside, staying here.”

“Right, just thought we were having a whistling contest,” Astra nodded.

Seeing the bloody state of the other two, Renard dropped his rope out the window. The two looked at it, unconvinced. “Just climb the rope,” he called down.

“I’m gonna go through the door,” Astra decided, walking away.

He pushed the door open, and saw the human man, mid 50’s, packing away things into the cupboard. Astra approached him. “Hello! My name is Verdant Astra, it’s nice to meet you. My friend has just booked rooms.”

The man turned again. “Fantastic, I’m Huck. I… own the place?” He gave a little pose.

“That’s amazing!”

Huck looked up and down at the spectacle of the teal tiefling in front of him, mother of pearl inlaid horns curving above his head

“I’m also covered in blood,” Astra grinned, noticing the man’s stare.

“Oh… you most certainly are. Can... can I help you? Um…” he went rummaging about for a bowl of water. He pulled out a rag, dipping it in. “Come, come come come…”

“Thank you!”

He tried to clean some of the dried blood off of his arms, very tentative and tender, not really knowing what to do. “I appreciate it,” the bard smiled. “Thank you!”

Seeing this, Renard ran back down the stairs to the tavern to catch up with Astra. Elyse walked in shortly after, her disguise dropped but her hood still up. She entered the inn loudly proclaiming, “Oh my Gods, those dogs were vicious! We really thought we could take on those wild dogs, didn't we Astra?”

Huck stopped what he was doing, looking at her in complete disbelief. “What dogs?”

“Outside the city, we just got here,” Elyse waved a hand at him.

“Right…” he said, aiming his gaze up the stairs to Renard. “You must be the friends.”

“I’ll take them upstairs,” Renard offered.

Huck took the rag back, squeezing it. “I’ll be closing up.”

“No worries,” Astra smiled. “Thank you, for that.”

Ushering them upstairs, the two bid the man goodnight as Renard offered him a silver piece for his trouble.

“Can I pet your dog?” Astra smiled brightly.

“No...” The man looked back at the many cuts on the tiefling. “It’s not a good idea if you say that… Some people just don’t get on with dogs, and that’s okay.”

“But I get along with dogs!” Astra pleaded as Elyse pulled him away.

“They were wild dogs!” she called back down to the poor, confused owner.

“Elyse, just upstairs,  _ please," _ Renard begged.

Huck went back behind the bar, comforting his dog.

“Sorry,” Astra apologized. “I like dogs.”

The two followed Renard upstairs.

Elyse stood at about 5’ 10”, with electric blue hair and matching eyes. Her clothes gave the appearance they were once rather fancy and nice, very colorful with reds and golds, but they had since been mixed with combat boots and shielding. They were worn down over time, with a few more recent tears as well. She had a freshly healed scar running down the side of her face and through her eyebrow, curving down.

Astra was 6’ 2”, with pale teal skin. He had long green hair, filled with braids and decorations that pulled it away from his face. Two black horns that curled away from his face, mother of pearl winding down for about three inches at the tips. His travelling clothes were simple, made of browns and beiges. He wore his new shell necklace, and a few other string necklaces as well.

Renard led them to a room. It wasn’t fancy, though it was clean and presentable. There was a nightstand nearby with a fresh cup of water, simple bed linens and hangings, wooden walls and flooring, with a closed window that looked out to the street below. They had each been given a single room. Renard turned to the others. “You wanna sit down and we’ll take a look at… that?”

“Yeah, that might be ideal,” Elyse agreed, holding her wounded arm.

Astra sat near the fire, casting a healing spell on himself to fix the small hole in his own arm.

The sorcerer sat on the floor. “So that went really well,” she sighed.

Renard rolled his eyes. “It’s done.”

“I thought it went really, really well actually,” Astra countered. “We managed to save that creature.”

“...Yes.”

Elyse shrugged. “Well, we kind of need to talk about you guys not following the whole plan, but I’m too tired to do that right now- ”

Renard jumped on the accusation. “I’m sorry, your plan was to come back and tell us what you were doing when you found it?”

“Yeah, I was- ”

“And when we came back and you were nowhere to be seen- ”

“I was searching for information on where he’d got the Guard Drake from, because I thought we could take it back to there. I didn’t get to find that information because as I was searching the upstairs of the house I hear roaring and screaming and fighting- !”

“Elyse, time was  _ slightly _ of the essence. Maybe next time be a little quicker.”

“I was invisible, nobody was going to- !” With a harrumph, she looked at Renard with a bit more irritation. “Wow, well I don’t see you being able to turn yourself invisible- ”

“We heard when they saw you from the street.”

Elyse blinked. “They didn’t see me…”

“And that’s when we entered the building. They were screaming,  _ she’s in here!" _

“They did see you, that’s what we heard,” Astra interjected, offering an apologetic smile to the sorcerer.

“...They didn’t see me, they thought there was something in the room,” she countered.

Renard stood. “If you two are alright, I’m going to bed.”

“Goodnight!” Astra brightly replied over Elyse’s grumbled response. “Thank you for your help tonight, you did a wonderful job.”

He left the room and slammed the door.

“Oh that might- !” Astra called out in warning, but he was already gone. “...He’s not very good with people sometimes.”

Elyse stared at the door. “Yeah, I get that.”

“He’s very nice though, he helped a lot.”

“Eh, jury's out.”

“Not really.”

Elyse eyed the tiefling for a moment. “How are you feeling?”

“Great, about what we did. Give me your arm?”

She allowed Astra to take her injured arm, and the bard began to sing softly. Her flesh began to knit its way back together. It was a bizarre and disturbing feeling, and Elyse felt pins and needles on her skin as the feeling swelled, magic coursing through her veins. She watched fine golden threads pull her back together, threads that shimmered and disappeared like dust or steam as she watched. The wound closed up, leaving the skin pink and raw. The pain was still there, and though the skin was healed, she felt the muscles underneath still knitting back together.

Elyse looked away from the arm to Astra, trying to talk through the process. “Should we maybe follow that Guard Drake? Or attempt to find out where it has gone? Because we kind of just unleashed quite a powerful creature… or do you think it’s just gonna head home?”

“I have a feeling it knows where it is going to go. It was stolen from someone else, so I have a feeling it might know where to go back to. Either that or it will just leave the city. If not, I’m sure we can help it again.”

They had done some research on the creatures. They generally lived in jungles, black Guard Drakes especially living in swampy, marshy terrain.

“Well, considering what we are doing right now, I don't think it likes us too much, but hopefully it appreciates being set free.”

“I think it likes Renard a lot,” Astra reflected. “It let him do it, which I think is a good judge of character.”

Elyse gave an unsure face in return.

“I’m going to sleep,” the bard decided. “Little bit tired.”

Their rooms overhung a bit onto the street. Elyse went to her own room, taking the pouch with her Arcane Focus from her belt. Stuffing it under the pillow, she slept. Astra messed around with the contents of his own bag for awhile, and soon joined the others in sleep as well.

  
  


Around dawn, they awoke to the sounds of commotion in the streets. People were moving past, carts were clattering, voices were shouting at each other. They heard a couple figures stumbling in the corridors, heading past their rooms and downstairs. As they woke, the light hit their eyes. They heard the noise of people within the bar, and the very faint whiffs of cooking meat reached their noses.

Elyse reattached her pouch, going to knock on Astra’s room. “You awake? You want to go get some food? I’m starving.”

“Yes! Hello!” The door opened. “We can do that! That sounds good, let’s get Renard.”

“Okay…” Elyse relented, turning to knock on the third door. No answer. Trying the door, she found it locked. Regretting that she did not yet have lockpicking spells mastered, she backed away. “Ghosted.”

“Renard! We’re going downstairs for breakfast!” Astra called.

“I don’t think he’s there, I think he’s fucked off… I don’t think he likes us very much.”

“He’s our friend! And as our friend he wouldn’t do that.”

“We’ve met each other twice.”

“So?”

There was a beat as she stared at him. “Okay, let’s go get some food, yeah?” She began to walk away.

Not to be distracted, the bard continued to talk to the door. “Renard, we’re going downstairs! We’ll see you there soon.” He turned back to Elyse. “Okay, let’s go!”

The two made their way downstairs to find that Renard was already there. Huck was now joined by a young woman with similar black hair, in her late teens, and the two of them were bringing out platters of food to those who had ordered them. There were steaming platters of fish, a small dish of meat, and an array of grains and vegetables. There were ten or twelve people in the tavern, travellers, people in different styles of clothing, and a few merchants. No one paid him any attention. One patron looked up, noticing Renard’s mask with mild intrigue for a moment before returning to their meal.

Renard asked Huck if anything noteworthy had occured in the town that he ought to know about.

“Well, in terms of what? How recent we talking?”

“Any big news from the last couple of months, or anything happening in the last few weeks?”

“Last few weeks, well there’s been the joust. You can find lots of patrons through the taverns… we’ve never been so busy, and rightfully, but things wind down again. They’ll pick back up though, they’ll pick up. And recently there was the… you know, with all the… you’re travelling through here?”

“Yes,” Renard nodded.

“Oh, okay okay, so I guess you wouldn't know, well, the Royal Family has had some issues. Not too fond of the bourgeoisie myself, but they have friends in high places who pass through here. Well apparently, there’s some dodgy business and gossip going around that someone in the family is pissed off about who’s marrying who, and what’s happening, and… Couple of them we haven’t seen in a fair few weeks. But that’s none of my- I keep my hands clean, I do.”

“Sounds like you do.”

“But if you hear anything more, you look like a discerning man with fine taste. I’m sure if you heard anything, my ear is always open if you need to… chit-chat.”

“...Right.”

Huck grinned for a moment before he realized Renard wasn’t going to spill any more gossip. “Will you be eating?”

“Yes.”

“Drinking? Whole meal? Slice of bread?”

“That will work, anything you have in the back. And for my friends as well,” he gestured to the stairs, noticing the others making their way down.

“See? I told you he didn’t ghost. He’s not a ghost,” Astra smiled as the two walked down.

She chuckled. “That’s not... Okay, nevermind.”

“He’s still here.”

Huck turned to the two arrivals. “Cost is included in your stay. I’ll have it brought out.”

They sat. “How much do we owe you?” Astra prompted.

“It’s all paid for,” Renard brushed them off.

“Your friend’s taken care of it,” Huck nodded, moving into the back.

Elyse gave a pointed look to the masked man. “You sure about that?”

“Thank you!” Astra beamed.

“On one condition,” Renard continued. “You don’t do that again. I don’t want to get into it now but, next time you… listen and discuss?”

“Well, we did discuss.”

“Nevermind,” he sighed. The three had occupied a corner table. Renard had his back to the door while Elyse propped her feet up onto the table. After a few minutes, the younger server placed down a pitcher of honied wine and a jug of water with the rest of the food, dropping it down and seeming busy with a dozen things in her hands. Elyse immediately began shovelling it all into her mouth. “Good food!” she exclaimed, chewing loudly.

Astra picked out the small vegetables and grains from the platter, eating around the kippers and herrings. “I wonder where our friends have gone. Do you think they’ve come back from being octopi?”

Elyse swallowed. “Are we meeting with them for this Sanskra thing or, are we even still doing the Sanskra thing?”

“Well, we signed a contract,” Renard reasoned.

“Well I just thought… we might…” she trailed off under his stern gaze. “Never mind, I guess we still are doing the Sanskra thing.”

“The only place I can think to look for them is back down at the docks, or we look for Cassian’s shop, or whatever it is he said he ran.”

“Who’s Cassian?”

“Oh right, you haven’t met him. You’re lucky.”

“He’s lovely!” Astra exclaimed.

“Okay...” Elyse grinned, amused by the contradiction. “Lovely like Renard is lovely?”

“Well yes, Renard is very lovely!”

Renard tilted his head away from them. “I know what that means,” Elyse laughed as she settled back into the chair. “So there’s another octopus now? I saw the other octopus... So it’s not Boblem being two octopi, there’s another octopus?”

“There’s another octopus,” Renard confirmed.

Astra grinned. “Yes, her name is Sariel, also lovely.”

“We last saw them at the docks, so we could head back down there to look for them. Or we could look for Cassian’s family business.”

“Yes, he’s very important!”

“Oh really?” Elyse smirked.

Renard grimaced. “Apparently so.”

Astra stood and headed to the bar. “Excuse me! Have you ever heard of... Trinkets & Tailors? Cassian’s thing?”

Renard called over from his seat, “Thiarin’s Trinkets & Tailors.”

“Thiarin’s Trinkets & Tailors shop. Is it here?”

Huck thought to himself for a second before shouting something into the back. “...Yeah…? Snobby…?”

“No, his name’s Cassian!” Astra corrected, oblivious.

“Yeah, yeah… you after them?”

“Yes! Where are they? It’s our friend’s thing.”

Huck nodded and ducked into the back, returning with a scrawled address.

“Thank you!” Astra smiled, returning the paper to Renard. “This is where he is, I don’t know where that is here though.”

“Yeah, you know the city,” Elyse shrugged, looking to the other man.

“Sure,” Renard nodded. “So, should we finish up, return the keys, and leave? I don’t think we should stay in this area.”

“Yeah, I guess. I don’t want to stick around this city for long.”

“I thought it was nice,” Astra defended.

Renard held out his hand. “Key, Astra? Elyse?”

He collected the keys from the group and handed them over to Huck. He thanked them for their patronage, telling them he looked forward to welcoming them back. Elyse wrapped some leftovers in napkins, shoving them in her pants.

Stepping out into the street, the three began walking in the direction of Cassian’s store. Mirrortail was a very high society place, almost perisian in aesthetic. Though the streets weren't paved with gold, there were smooth white flagstones and high arched buildings swooping with pastel tones, supported by dark beams and slotted roofs with dark tiles. The shoreline glittered like spilled jewels, and the ships in the port were all uniquely painted. There wasn’t a clear fleet or navy visible, but there were many individual captains and privateers employed for hunting pirates, and they enjoyed showing off about it. Each one was a lavish piece of art wrapped in guilding, gorgeous wood, and detailed paintings. The houses on the shorefront reflected that this was indeed a place of wealth. The people walking through were clad in silks, fine robes, and long gorgeous dresses. Down by the coast, men and women walked on the promenade in bustling, flowing skirts, horned headdresses, and throats emblazoned with chokers, netting, and diamonds. Many people were carried through on palanquins, seated atop peoples’ shoulders, looking down on those below them. Of course, there were the workers as well, striking a discordant note as they clearly hailed from other places, regarding the city and its people with a wary eye. It was a pleasant area, but there was certainly an air of wealth and culture, and perhaps snootiness. On street corners there was the occasional bard plucking at the strings of an instrument, or a dwarf speaking poetry, but there weren’t many people asking for coin, and there weren't many job notices either.

In about twenty minutes, the trio had made their way through craftspersons' guilds, past rows of intricate houses, each reflecting the intricacies and skills of that house. The carpenters’ guild had elaborate archways and ballistrays, with door frames that appeared as though the tree simply grew out of the house in burning hues of burgundy, maroon, and orange that shone through. In the stonemasons’ guild, each building was clad with panels of sandstone carved intricately to depict faces, monsters, stories, and gargoyles. The tailors’ alley crowded the sun a bit, making the street a little darker. On the sides of the street, fabric was unloaded into the many shops. There were people with donkeys pulling carts, racks and racks full of fabrics and materials and leathers. People were shouting to each other across the streets. Two in opposite windows were arguing with each other passionately.

They spotted the sign for Thiarin’s Trinkets & Tailoring, and standing outside, arms crossed and facing out into the street, was a familiar figure. Cassian was dressed quite differently from the last time he saw the others. The dark-skinned high elf had pointy yet delicate features that gave off a severe look. His hair was still wavy and slicked back, giving the impression that it had been effortlessly swept by the wind, a look no doubt achieved by two hours of styling. He was decorated with a gold henna piece on his forehead, eyeliner, and a black mark down on his lip. In his new outfit, his arms were exposed to the shoulders. An absolutely lavish gold henna design travelled up to his elbows on both arms. He wore a blue tunic and leather chestplate with a vested robe that flowed from deep blue to sea green. A large, industrial belt was strapped across his middle, where a satchel holding his wand and shells was attached. On the other side, he had a rather large tome holstered. The look was finished with brown-green pants and black leather boots.

As he stared angrily outwards, lost in thought, Astra approached. “Cassian, my friend! It’s good to see you again. You look very fancy.”

The elf glanced up. “Oh, thank you, I usually do… What brings you all here, and who is this?” he asked, noticing the sorcerer.

“This is Elyse.”

“Hi, I’ve heard so much about you, you look amazing,” Elyse greeted with an amused smile.

He looked her up and down. “I’ve heard so much about you too, you’re very beautiful.”

Renard interrupted the pleasantries. “We were headed to Sanskra. We thought we would extend the offer seeing as you were interested before?”

“Still am, Sanskra it is. Where are the other two?”

“Probably octopi!” Astra offered.

“We’ve yet to find them,” explained Renard. “They went into the water- ”

“Didn’t come out.”

“Did their thing.”

After a confused look passed his face, Cassian waved a hand dismissively. “Maybe they live there now. Who are we to disturb them? Let’s go to Sanskra.”

Renard shrugged. “I suppose we might find them at the docks while we try to secure a canal boat.”

“A canal boat?” Astra wondered.

“To cross to Sanskra. It’s not on this island.”

“What’s the shop?” Elyse pointed up at the sign behind the elf. “Can we go in? Can we look?

“No,” Cassian answered, his voice flat.

“This is his shop!” Astra smiled, explaining.

Elyse gasped. “Can we see your shop?”

Cassian rolled his eyes. “It’s not my shop, it’s… No, we cannot go inside- ”

“Why?”

“You’ve told us so much about it!” Astra pressed.

Cassian shook his head. “There are reasons- Can we  _ please _ just go to the docks, please.”

Elyse grew a mischievous smile while Astra’s face fell. “Oh, but, you kept saying it was really nice, and I’d like to see it,” the bard tried.

“It is really nice, but no.”

Elyse made an attempt to slip into the store, but quickly found the elf’s hand pressing her firmly out of reach of the doorway. He did not budge, firm and resolute. There was a cold fury in his gaze, pale amber eyes burning through her.

“You really don’t want us to go into this shop,” she grinned, still teasing. “Are you hiding bodies in there?” she whispered loudly, amusing herself.

Renard rubbed his forehead, pleading. “Can we just go to the docks, this is not important.”

“For once I agree with Renard,” Cassian smiled. Renard bristled at that, turning on his heel to walk towards the docks.

“ _ Fine," _ Elyse huffed, following.

“We’ve got so much to tell you!” Astra grinned at the wizard, delighted.

Regarding the tiefling for a moment, the elf gave a grumbled “Whatever,” and began following Renard as well. They turned back up the street, heading towards the docks. It would be about a fifteen minute walk.

Not to be deterred, Astra kept up the conversation. “So what have you been up to?”

The elf gave a look to the bard who had fallen in step beside him. “...Business, like I said.”

“Okay, that’s fair. We were saving a drake- ”

“Can we not?” interjected Renard from the front. “Not whilst we are in the city?”

“Yeah maybe don’t... say that out loud. We’ll talk about it later,” Elyse agreed.

“I’ll tell you on the boat,” Astra offered.

Cassian’s eyebrow raised. “Komo’s drake? He brings that terrible thing around all the time…”

“Yes!”

“Can we not discuss this within the city limits,  _ thank you," _ Renard repeated, more of an order than a request.

“For once I agree with Renard,” Elyse replied, teasing both of them.

Cassian didn’t notice. “You know, if you’re going to continue with these subterfuge operations, you really should be more careful.”

“That’s what I told them!” Elyse sang, vindicated as she kept walking on.

“Somebody with some sense,” Cassian quipped, following the sorcerer.

The four moved through the guild and made their way down to the docks, the sea breeze hitting them with the smells of salt, fish, and various spices being traded and unloaded in the city. Sun sparkled off the coast, hitting their eyes as they looked over the wonder of the Mirrortail docks. There were hundreds of ships with tall masts, banners fluttering colors as they pulled into the harbor.

After twenty minutes of walking through the docks, they saw two figures sitting on the jetty, shoeless legs dangling in the water as flying fish darted up around them.

The smaller of the two was Sariel, wisps of white hair falling on her shoulders. A waif of an elf beside the tall druid boy, her wide silver eyes reflected the scenery wherever she looked. With a usually rather pinched, nervous, and secretive expression, she seemed to be in a moment of rare relaxation. Her trousers were rolled up to her knees as she kicked the water. She wore mostly patched rags, clearly self-made from leather and found fabrics, with a belt around her waist and a cloak around her shoulders. The hood was down for now, but everything else was covered.

Next to her was Boblem. He was quite tall, even sitting down. He was dressed in blue overalls and a baggy white shirt with a red handkerchief around his neck. He swung about his arms animatedly as he spoke to Sariel. He had curly black hair reaching his shoulders, an olive skin tone, amber eyes, and a light smattering of freckles. The other four came upon them from behind.

“It’s all about the arms, you see! I thought you were quite well along the way- ” the boy was chattering.

“You’ll have to teach me how to do it, Boblem. I don’t think it’s the same as how I did it,” Sariel’s quiet voice returned.

Astra ran up to them, excitedly waving his arms as well. “It’s about the arms! Hello!”

Turning at the voice, Sariel instantly stuffed her wet feet back in her boots, rolling her trouser legs back down.

“Is this the other octopus?” Elyse asked with a glance at Astra.

“Yes! This is Sariel, my friend.”

“Oh, hello!” Boblem waved.

“Hi!”

“Blessed day,” Sariel nodded.

“Where were you guys?” Boblem asked.

Astra shrugged. “I’m not allowed- ”

“We’ll talk about that later,” Elyse cut him off with a sharp look at the bard.

“I’m not allowed to talk about it,” he whispered to the druids.

“We’ll tell you later.”

“They’ve been around,” Cassian sighed.

Renard put his hand on his hip. “We’ve got our contract with the cartographer’s guild, if you’re still willing to head to Sankra.”

“I suppose,” Sariel replied, looking to Boblem.

“Yeah, I can teach you to be even more of an octopus along the way!” he beamed.

“Okay, I’d like that. And who is this?” Sariel continued, gesturing to the sorcerer.

“This is Elyse!” Astra grinned.

She waved. “I’m Elyse, hi.”

“This is the famous Elyse,” Cassain brought out a hand in presentation.

Boblem looked at the two with confusion. “Famous? I didn’t know you were famous!”

“Um, I’m not famous… why are you smiling at me like that?” Elyse trailed off as she noticed Astra grinning at her.

“Astra loves to talk about you,” Renard explained.

“Oh okay, aw, Astra!” Elyse put a hand on her heart.

“That’s because you’re my friend!” the tiefling responded brightly.

“That’s so nice… but yeah, I’m Elyse. And you’re… Sariel?”

“Sariel, yes,” the smaller elf replied.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Pleasure.”

“Did you have fun being an octopus?”

“It’s something I’ve only learned very recently how to do. It is a lot of fun!” She smiled at Boblem.

“Ain’t it!” the farm boy grinned. “To just have a bunch of arms in the water. Comes in handy!”

“Handy!” repeated Astra, emphasizing the pun.

Cassian glanced at the druids with disdain. “We had to have two of them…”

“So we need to find a boat before Renard’s head explodes with anger,” Elyse began, glancingtot the masked man, “How do we go about that?”

“Why are you angry?” Astra and Sariel chorused.

Renard crossed his arms. “... I didn’t say I was angry.”

Elyse crossed her arms back. “Well you’re huffing and puffing, and sighing and- ”

“It’s very easy to assume that you’re quite angry,” Cassian finished.

Boblem glanced between them. “You know, my ma and pa used to argue like that!”

A faux gasp from Cassian. “Like an old married couple,” he teased, putting a hand on his chin in mockery.

“What’s made you angry Renard?” Sariel pressed on.

He took a steadying breath. “Nothing, can we  _ please- " _

“It's the thing we aren’t allowed to talk about,” Astra supplied.

“We will tell you when we are out of the city.”

“So you’re looking for a boat,” Cassian moved on.

“We need a canal boat over to Sanskra, and if anyone wants supplies, now would be the time to get them.”

Elyse turned to him. “So are we going to get passage on someone else’s boat or are we going to make our own way there?”

Renard looked at her with confusion. “Are you suggesting we... buy a boat?”

“Well you can rent boats, right?”

“... I think we’ll get passage.”

“Okay, okay.”

Cassian rolled his eyes and walked away, beginning to ask around the docks. Renard followed a lead from the previous day. Walking five minutes down the jetty he found an array of smaller ships, barges, and tugs. There was a smaller and simple looking ship near a posting that said “Mainland.”

“Do you think it goes to the Mainland?” Astra teased.

Renard gave a long suffering look to the bard. “Do you think?”

He backtracked. “I was making a joke.”

“It was a good joke,” Elyse comforted the bard, grinning.

Walking to the other side, the group could make out a second sign that said “Jetty Service.”

Boblem watched Renard walk on. “Perhaps he doesn’t understand humor,” he wondered, sadly.

Elyse gave another sly smile. “I don’t think he does.”

Renard strolled down the gangplank that led to the boat. There wasn’t anyone he could see on deck. The vessel was small, only about 40 feet long and 20 feet wide. “Hello? We are looking for transit to the mainland?”

There was a crashing sound from the cabin at the rear of the ship, and a figure poked out their head. It was a distinctly non-human figure, with three scaled fingers creeping around, revealing a sandy brown body with white speckling. The long snout and reptilian face was accompanied by unblinking eyes with slitted pupils. The figure was humanoid, with two arms and two legs, but it had definite lizardfolk blood. Their tongue flickered out. “You’re looking for transit? It’s early, but I can take you.”

“Great, we are heading for Sanskra?”

“Sanskra I can’t take you, I go across to Jennicks village, is closest point, you’ll have to walk from there. I only go over to Mainland.”

“Is that okay?” Astra looked over to Renard.

  
  


“How far is the walk?” came Sariel’s quiet voice from behind. Renard echoed so the boat owner could hear.

“Eh, hundred kilometers, hundred and fifty. Few days if you go fast.”

“Well, we need to do that map thing anyway,” Astra reminded the group.

“Not too bad,” Elyse agreed.

Renard didn’t look convinced, but he relented. “It’s better than the three weeks it was going to take us. How much will it be for the six of us?”

“For six of you? Hmm, that’ll be… do you have gold or copper? I’ll give you a discount if you have gold.”

“We have gold.”

“Alright… five gold.”

“Each?” Sariel worried.

“Total.”

“Five total, that’s fine,” Renard agreed.

“Good, that’s good,” Elyse nodded. “It’s a deal.”

“Welcome aboard,” the sailor replied.

“Before we go, do we need to get some supplies? I used all my potions in that battle so, I think we need to stock up, don’t we?” Elyse advised. “Is there anywhere around here we could find potions, travelling supplies, that kind of thing?” she asked the sailor.

Cassian gave Elyse an affronted look. “Of course there are places, we are in  _ Mirrortail, _ there are merchants everywhere- ”

“Okay but I don’t know  _ where _ they are- ”

“I will be your humble tour guide,” Cassian countered, exasperated.

The sailor watched the exchange curiously, darting his eyes between them. “Travelling supplies, yes. Potions, I’m not too sure.”

“Everybody’s very angry today,” Boblem mumbled.

Cassian rolled his eyes. “Look, the quicker we can get this done and leave- ”

“I thought you were keen to- ?”

The sailor made his way out of the cabin door and into full view. “Are you coming or not?”

“Yes, can you give us one hour?” Renard negotiated.

“I’ll endeavor, but if someone else comes, ship’s gone.”

“We’ll be back in one hour.”

Cassian began walking in the direction of the nearest shops. He knew of plenty of places that had travelling supplies or fishing materials, but potions would be hard to come by. He had heard of people buying them in the city, but they were fairly rare. “I can’t think of any places with potions around here, I’m sure they’re somewhere but I can’t think what. General supply store would be easy enough.”

“That’s okay!” Astra assured him. “We can do that.”

As they walked, Renard looked around for a place where he could stop to make an offering to Melora before travelling. He knew they were common in coastline cities and ports. It wasn’t hard to find. Further in the square, he saw an open patch of compact stone with the wheel of Melora inlaid in the ground. The stone was bench height, placed flat on the floor. Inside, there was space for a campfire, and a few offerings had been left as a give and take for travellers in need. Renard watched someone leave the altar. “Look for your supplies, I won’t be long.”

As Renard peeled off from the group, Elyse searched for a news or notice board. All she could find was the same one from before, with no new information since. The main news was information on a missing person in connection to the royal family, which tied into some of the gossip they had been hearing about the local guard searching for this man. There were some odd jobs as well, including a more recent posting of a husband who had lost his engagement ring, and was looking for help to get it back. The board was mostly filled with smaller contracts about escorting ships as hired muscle through more dangerous territory for factories and trading companies.

With no help from Cassian, she tried to search for a potions shop. Suddenly, she sensed a place that definitely had what she was looking for. She walked over. It smelled nice. She looked up at the sign.

It was a bakery.

“Great. Fantastic.” With a sigh, she turned to the tiefling. “Astra, you hungry?”

“It smells good!” he piped. “Did you want- ?”

“No, I want potions.”

Cassain approached an elegant looking woman with dark skin and dark brown eyes, flashes of silver makeup matching her smokey dress. She would have been indignant, but she seemed to recognize that someone of her esteem was speaking to her.

“Excuse me, my friend, do you know where we might find some potions within the city?”

“Potions? Potions of what, exactly?”

“Well you see, I have met some rather notable explorers, they are looking for healing potions before going on an epic quest, all very romantic and exciting you see…” he charmed.

Elyse stood behind him and flexed, leaning on Astra in a dashing pose.

“My, my…” said the woman, taking out a small fan. “And would these be the adventurers?”

“These would be two such adventurers, you are correct,” Cassian answered, holding his poise.

“Well you certainly lead exciting lives. Potions of healing… I confess I’m not so hot on arcane practices and alchemy. But, if you head to the craftspersons’ guild, I’m sure you would pass by one or another. But don’t take my word for it, explore yourself,” she winked and glided away, her perfume lingering behind.

“She was so beautiful,” smiled Astra after her.

“Right, to the guilds,” Cassian grumbled, the polite facade gone in seconds.

Astra shook his head. “No, we can’t go there. It’s too far away, at least a half hour.”

“Then no potions for you. You might be able to get ingredients for potions…” he shrugged. “If you know how.”

“I know how to!” Boblem offered.

Elyse blinked, a bit surprised. “You do?”

“Well, I don’t know if it’s exactly a healing potion. All I know is that, on my farm, I would get some ingredients together, make my ma’s sweet tea, and if someone was sick it’ll make them feel better! Is that what a healing potion is? I brought two packs from home if you wanna try them…” he pulled a jar from his pocket.

Elyse examined the jar, swirling it around. It was the same color and consistency of a dark, cherry sweet tea, but it also had the spark and glimmer of healing potions. “Could be!” she approved. “Do you have ingredients to make more? We could maybe get some here. What are the ingredients?”

“Well, I think it will cost altogether about 25 gold for the ingredients, and then I can spend half a day making it. I’ve only recently just learned. Worst comes to worst you can have one of mine.”

Elyse considered the price. “We might be able to forage for ingredients once we get across the water.”

“Yeah, but if you need one in the meantime.”

“Should we head back and see if we can find Renard?” Astra suggested.

Cassian glanced over the others. “If everybody’s satisfied.”

Sariel glanced around for a shrine to Sehanine, but saw nothing beyond general religious iconography. In the square, there was a statue of an armored tiefling, horns acrest and glittering in the sun, entirely made of greened copper. They were striking down with a burning warhammer onto some demonic figure. The demon was on its back, wings outstretched with one hand reaching out, face curled in rage. Its horns seemed to match those on the tiefling. Baleful fire spilled out from the hammer. The plaque underneath explained it was a depiction of a Moradin champion, slaying a great demon. Besides that, there were one or two shrines around the city that resembled doors, open archways with many scattered offerings. She saw the name “Avandra” and gathered there must be some connection there to luck or the sea. But she didn’t find what she was looking for.

“Well, this was a massive waste of time,” Elyse sighed. “Let’s go.”

“To the docks,” Cassian agreed.

“It was nice to see the town though! Before we leave!” Astra smiled.

Sariel pointed to the tiefling statue as they walked. “Look, it’s you!”

Astra frowned at the violent scene. “No, it’s... certainly not.”

“A very angry you,” Boblem considered.

As they walked by, Elyse tried to peek into the offering bowl, but her gaze was blocked by the crowd. “Alright, then let’s go try to grab Renard. Who I can feel scowling at me even though he’s not even next to me.”

“I’m sure if we just head back to the docks, he’ll be there whether we want him to be or not,” Cassian smirked.

“Well we do, so that’s great!” Astra nodded.

“Sure.”

Making their way back to the docks, they spotted the lizardfolk sailor sitting on a crate and mending a net.

“Hello again!” Astra greeted.

“Ah, you came back. Ready to set sail this time?”

Renard appeared, walking up next to the group. “We ready?”

There was agreement all around, and the sailor stood. “Any of you have any experience sailing?”

Cassian, Renard, and Elyse nodded. “Great. Step onboard, hand me those.” The three helped him with the ropes as the sailor pulled up the gangplank, which clattered onto the deck. Swiftly moving through the ship, he unfurled a line as the sheet came out. It instantly filled and swelled with wind as the boat cleared the jetty, the familiar bob of the waves taking them.

It was relatively early morning, bright and breezy. As they left the port, small schools of flying fish soared and arched across the boat. The captain took his place at the helm, leaving them to their business. He had informed them that it would be a few hours before they crossed. It was sunny and warm, with a few patches of clouds in the sky. Renard found himself a spot to sit in the shade as Boblem ran to the front. The boy looked over at the fish with wonder, stretching out his hands to try and touch them. Cassian chose to stand by the front as well, but turned the opposite way, watching the city shrink as they left. Elyse followed them, feeling the wind on her hair and skin, a sheen of spray growing on her as they cut through.

As they exited the dock, the captain pulled another line, and the rest of the sail billowed as they picked up speed. They cut through the waves, each peak and trough spraying mist up against them. As they moved to open waters, the flying fish ceased, only a few ships moving in and out of port around them.

As Boblem looked out, he noticed something break the waterline about a hundred meters in the distance. Something winged took shape, beating its wings as it skimmed over the surface. “Yeesh, that’s big wings… y’all seen this?” he called out.

“What is it?” Sariel looked over. Hanging low over the water, two large and leathery wings beat in quick succession, cutting a line behind as a tail dragged across, diving through the waves and soaring out again in an erratic zigzag. It was something reptilian, travelling quickly away from them. “It’s not a bird. More like a lizard. Is it a dragon?” she wondered. At this distance it was little more than a marble.

Boblem guessed it was a water wyvern. “I’ve never seen one that big!”

“I’ve never seen them, I’ve just heard about them.”

“We catch them out in the bay sometimes,” Cassian interjected with a shrug.

“So does that mean that you guys can turn into one of those now?” Elyse grinned at the druids.

“It’s rather big…” Sariel warned. She knew that her abilities matched Boblem’s, and druids could only shift into beasts rather than animals of draconic origin.

Boblem did not know this. “Ah, I’d like to try but, I don’t know if I can think about having wings…”

“You should try it right now,” Elyse egged him on.

Boblem started flapping his arms.

“Don’t tease them like this, it’s painful to watch,” Cassian sighed.

“Ah, it’s okay,” Elyse grinned at the boy. “Maybe some other day.”

“I’ll keep working at it,” Boblem continued flapping his arms.

Cassian tapped Elyse on the shoulder. “So Elyse, if you are to be travelling with us, what exactly is it that you do?”

“Well… I’m a sorcerer, so, magic stuff?”

“...Wow. Care to elaborate on that?” he responded with a flat look.

Unsure what to do, she cast a short spell,blue flashing light and electricity sparking around her hands and fingers, surging and crackling around her hands before dissipating.

“You’re like a thunderstorm,” Sariel commented in quiet wonder.

“So pretty!” Boblem agreed.

Cassian’s face hadn’t changed. “I mean, it’s a very attractive trick, but I was talking more like occupation.”

“Oh! Well, currently I am researching arcane artifacts?” she tried.

“There we go.”

“Is that acceptable to you?” Elyse retorted, the beginning of annoyance in her voice.

“That’s all I was really trying to ask!” the elf defended. “And thank you for the display.”

“Well what about you, will you be bringing your talents as a tailor to our party?” she goaded.

“Well, I’ve already promised Sariel I would make her something better than… that.”

Sariel’s head lifted again. “I told you, you don’t have to do that.”

“I will, my dear.”

Elyse looked over the smaller elf’s rags. “Honestly, thank the Gods.”

“Precisely.”

Sariel looked down at herself. “Is there something wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“I don’t see anything wrong with it,” Boblem followed.

“I think it suits you,” Astra complimented. “The colors are nice on your skin.” 

Renard’s voice came from behind them. “I think it’s a little… below Cassian.”

There was a tense pause. “Renard is correct,” the wizard admitted.

“They’re not Cassian’s clothes, they’re mine,” Sariel countered.

Astra glanced at the druid. “She is quite small.”

“She can’t help that she’s short!” Boblem protested.

That got a laugh from most of them. Cassian slowly sucked in air through his teeth. “To answer your question, I will be bringing some of my tailoring talents, some of my trinket talents, but mostly, I am also of the arcane nature.”

Back a joking mood, Elyse smirked at him. “Well… I showed you mine,” her hands sparked again. “Now you show me yours.”

Cassian mumbled a retort about asking him to dinner first, but relented. He looked out to the ocean for a spot free of wildlife, not wanting to kill a fish in front of Astra. Reaching into his satchel, he pulled out a driftwood, crystelline, shell covered wand. Raising an eyebrow at Elyse, he shot a bolt off the side. A crack of blue arcane energy streaked out from the water, a minutaure explosion of bubbles and seafoam fizzling around his hand before disappearing. The beam of blue-black energy crackled out, hitting the water as a jet of foam soared up.

There was a shout from the back of the deck. “What was that?” their captain cried out. Cassian slipped away his wand.

Elyse grinned. “That was dope.”

“Thank you.”

“Did you see?” the sailor continued.

“It was nothing!” Elyse called. “One of those wyverns, just…”

The sailor lashed a line to the wheel, scuttling down as his tail slithered behind him. “You say it was nothing? I heard something, I swear.”

“Well, there’s creatures in there, you know.”

“You don’t need to condescend me, human,” their captain retorted.

“I wasn’t condescending, I was explaining!”

“Let’s not throw racial insults around,” Cassian mediated. But the sailor had already stalked back to his post. Unleashing the helm, he carried on, keeping a closer eye on them.

“Do you need help with anything?” Astra offered.

“No, we’re making good waters now,” the man waved him off.

“And what was your name? I didn’t introduce myself, I’m sorry, I’m Verdant Astra.”

“Askepi.”

“Askepi, nice to meet you, thank you.”

Askepi grinned in response, revealing a row of yellow teeth. “Pleasure.” He slipped a pipe in his lip, puffing on it.

Cassian lowered his voice. “I think our fun is pissing him off a little bit.”

“I can cast a better spell,” the sorceress replied, mischievous.

“Don’t waste it.”

“Yes, I think perhaps you are both  _ done _ with that,” Renard’s voice came once again. “Or are we trying to draw attention everywhere we go?”

“Alright,  _ dad, _ ” Elyse poked.

“Can we tell them what we did now?” Astra pleaded.

“Yeah.”

“Fine, since you’re so proud of it, go ahead,” Renard grumbled.

“We saved a Guard Drake from a man who was torturing the poor thing,” Astra informed the group.

“Well done!” Boblem brightened.

“So he can’t walk it around the city anymore,” Cassian sniffed. “Good, it takes the biggest shits.”

Astra fixed him with a cold stare. “Well, it was also bleeding from the mouth profusely from the way it was being treated but, let’s talk about it’s feces, rather.”

Boblem was still confused. “Why were you all secretive about it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Because we broke into a Lord’s house and freed his pet!” Renard exclaimed.

“They could probably have them executed,” Cassian elaborated, “Or at least imprisoned.”

“Oh, that doesn’t sound like a very nice man,” Boblem worried.

Astra looked to the floor. “He wasn’t.”

“He wasn’t a very nice man,” Renard admitted, Bbut that still doesn’t mean we wouldn’t get in trouble.”

“But he got what was coming to him I guess, and he can’t torture that creature anymore…” Elyse countered.

“Exactly, the creature is free,” Astra nodded.

“Where is it now?” Sariel asked.

“It’s hopefully gone home. It left.”

“Oh, it’s just… released into the city,” Renard rubbed his temples.

“You just... let a Guard Drake loose in Mirrortail?” Cassian pressed, incredulous.

“Oh yes!”

“Well we didn’t have much of a choice,” Elyse defended.

Boblem seemed worried. “You didn’t ask where it was going?”

“Well I tried to learn Draconic,” Astra explained. “We went to the library and I got a base idea of some words, but I wasn’t able to communicate properly.”

“Well, either the Guard Drake or someone very powerful is going to have a good meal soon,” Cassian concluded.

Astra looked quite upset. Elyse distracted him. “You said they have good homing senses, right?”

“If it doesn’t get hunted down on it’s way out of the city limits,” Renard griped.

“Which wouldn’t surprise me,” the wizard finished.

Astra looked between them in concern. “Then we should probably go back and make sure that’s not happening!”

“Astra….” Renard grit his teeth, “We’re doing something else now. Can we please move on?”

The tiefling gave the group a look before leaving the conversation to sit somewhere else.

Elyse followed, squatting next to him and whispering conspiratorially. “Astra, I got you a present on our mission.” The sorcerer pulled out one of the crystal decanters of bath oil she swiped from Komo’s house. It was a sparkling blue liquid with oily consistency, a couple of bubbles floating on the top and sealed in a fancy crystal case. “I like to get presents when I go on missions.”

Astra smiled, going in for a hug. “Thank you!”

Elyse was genuinely shocked by the touch. “Ah, I got one for Ren too, but he seems very… tetchy right now. I don’t think he would appreciate it.”

“Maybe it will cheer him up! I think maybe take a moment to speak to him, it could help him calm down.”

Elyse made an unconvinced sound, glancing over to Renard. She couldn’t tell anything about his expression through the masked face. There was gauze under the eye holes as well, preventing her from getting a read on him. “Maybe I’ll wait a little bit.”

“Thank you for this, though.”

“You're welcome.”

Renard put his head between his knees, trying not to think about the rocking of the boat. He felt a bit nauseous, but he would be alright. He put his hands on the back of his neck.

Cassian gave him a very condescending pat on the head. Renard moved fast, reaching out to grab his wrist and twist it, pushing the hand away. “Don’t touch me.”

Cassian pulled his arm away and looked down at the smudged henna with disappointment. “You really ruined my makeup.”

“I said don’t touch me.”

“Just trying to make sure that you feel a bit better. You seem uneasy on the waves,” Cassian purred. “And as a  _ caring _ friend, I just want to make sure that the team’s doing okay.”

“Mmm.”

“Mmm,” he echoed back.

Renard waved him off. “Go stand at the front again, will you? Stay away from me?”

A tense silence.

“Something you will learn about me very soon Renard, is that I don’t like to do what I’m told.” He sat down next to him.

Boblem was just starting to make out the smudge of the shoreline on the horizon. The boat was small, and they could all see the heated exchange.

Cassian leaned in as close as he could without touching the other man, whispering so the others couldn’t hear. “Word of advice… don’t fucking test me. Or you will end up at the bottom of the sea.”

Cassian walked away.

Renard didn’t seem to react.

The sorceress reached out to give another little pat to the masked man with her Mage Hand spell. Renard whipped around to Elyse’s joy, but Astra was too distracted by the bath oil to notice the prank.

Cassian, pointedly walking to the back of the ship against Renard’s request, climbed a few steps to the elevated deck.

“Not long left,” called out the captain. “Half hour at most.” He looked at Cassian. “You, since you’re here, pass me that.” A jerk of his head indicated a bottle of materials. The wizard simply stood, befuddled.

“Right, guess I’ll do it myself,” Askepi grumbled, pushing past to grab a bit of the thick, purplish moss. He packed it down into his pipe, lighting it with a tinderbox. Silently, he offered it out to Cassian, but the elf just gave him a look before sitting at the back of the ship with his book. Elyse was doing the same with her own reading.

After a few minutes, Astra moved over to Renard. “I think I’ve done a bad thing,” the bard confessed. “We’ve left Mirrortail… and I never returned the book to the library, that I borrowed.”

“...Well, you paid for it,” Renard reasoned.

“No, it was a loan…”

“You can return it at any time, and then they’ll give you back your copper piece,” he explained. A sigh of relief escaped Astra. “Tiefling, were you really stressing about that? You paid one copper to borrow a book.”

“Well I only just realized… But they said we had to take it back and then we left.”

“Right… I’m sure they won’t miss it for now.”

The bard nodded, and slipped off to read the book on Draconic. Boblem soon offered to help.

Astra was delighted. “I would love if you helped me to learn to speak it! It came in more handy with the Drake that we dealt with, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to properly communicate what we were doing.”

“Yeah, I’d love to!” Boblem sat down next to him. “You see, Draconic is all about the throat.”

“Similar to Infernal, is what I’m getting. Pretty similar.”

“Oh, I can’t speak Infernal.”

“Well, it sounds like this…” He growled and rasped in demonstration.

“Oh, my…”

“You shouldn’t really be speaking like that, though,” he admitted. “It’s a bit rude.”

The landscape manifested from a dark smudge to a clear coastline. It was nowhere near as built up as the shoreline they had left, with rolling hills in the background of a low lying inlet. As they grew closer, a couple of buildings, houses, and huts began to appear. There was a very simple makeshift dock and jetty, with the coastline stretching as far as they could see.

“Can’t wait to get out into the wilderness, instead of towns,” Astra reminisced.

Renard pulled out the half-finished map given to them by the cartographers’ guild. They were headed for the empty patch, Sanskra, where they were to fill in what they could as they went along. People knew where Sanskra was, generally, but it wasn’t commonly visited. It was hard to get to. It wasn’t unwelcoming, but it was a remote and fantastical place that some people didn’t entirely believe in.

The ship pulled up and docked at a long jetty. Their ship was now the largest in the area, with only a smattering of fishing boats around. There were ten or twenty people nearby, offloading catches and hauls, slamming nets full of fish onto the decks. The sails were furled back up as they slowed to a crawl. Askepi leaped overboard and deftly looped around lines and knots on the jetty as the ship grinded to a halt.

Askepi jumped back on, throwing down the gangplank which clattered onto the jetty. Renard was up and off the ship as quickly as possible.

“Was a pleasure to have you,” the sailor nodded. 

“Thank you so much for the ride, Askepi,” Astra returned.

Boblem tipped his hat. “Thank you!”

They disembarked, Cassian tucking his book away.

“If you’re going back in the evening, I’m going to be making a return trip,” Askepi offered.

“We won’t be going back for awhile,” Renard explained.

“Understandable. Safe journeys.”

A chorus of “and you” came from the more polite members of the group as Askepi turned on his heel, taking a seat on the deck as he laid to soak up the sun.

Standing on the jetty, they saw a cluster of thirty or forty buildings, only one or two larger than basic huts. It was a pretty small village. One group of four people, three humans and a dwarf, were carrying large nets of fish. A few others were setting up a small cog to make another fishing journey out. It was about midday, the sun still shining brightly through patches of clouds. A few people nodded at them as they walked. They drew a couple of looks from Astra’s teal skin, Renard’s mask, and Elyse’s blue hair, but nobody approached them.

The town was mostly human, with a few elves or dwarves about. They all had relatively tanned and weathered skin, people who had obviously spent most of their years working on the deck of a ship, selling or trading. They wore simple, utilitarian clothes, with baggy white shirts, green or grey trousers, and simple shoes. Nothing like the opulence of Mirrortale. People seemed to be coming in from their first catch.

It was comfortably warm, a small breeze coming off the sea. “Has anyone ever been here before?” Astra wondered. General sounds of dissent came from the group. “But you’re from the area? Since you’re over there?” Astra nodded towards Cassian, gesturing to Mirrortail across the waves.

“Does he look like he comes over here?” Elyse whispered.

“Doesn’t look like Cassian’s sort of village,” Renard agreed, getting out the map once more.

“What’s that?” Astra leaned over.

“This is what the cartographers’ guild gave us.”

“Oh, and we’ve got to fill in the little boxes?”

Renard chuckled. “Yes, fill in the little boxes. Does everyone want to get straight to it, or spend time in the village?”

Elyse glanced around. There were thirty or so small buildings near them, probably housing. They weren’t poorly built, but cobbled together within their means. In the distance just beyond them was one longer building, about four times the size of a house. There were a few small penned fields, with a couple of cows and sheep. Definitely not their industry, but small enough for the realms of a hundred people. “Well if we couldn’t find potions in Mirrortail it’s unlikely we would here, but we could stock up on some food and water before we head out,” she reasoned.

Renard looked at the map. “Seems like a good idea. The cartographer… Middler, was it? Said this was going to be mostly mangroves and wilderness, so.”

“Good, I’m looking forward to getting out of the cities,” Astra smiled.

“Food that isn't perishable, then,” Sariel considered.

“Yes,” Renard nodded. “Rations.” The village backed onto an extent of hills. There was a main road that went through the village, curving along south, but there were high hills beyond it. “This is going to be a slow process, so make sure you have everything you want.”

“The quicker we get on with it, the quicker we get paid,” Cassian agreed.

They walked from the jetty, passing two larger buildings that seemed to be fishing warehouses. They made their way into a round spot of beaten down earth near a small stone ring, larger buildings clustered around it. There was a signpost in the center, pointing off at all angles. Looking at it, it held directions for a herbalist, a carpenter, “The Itchy Ship,” the “Dancing Deer,” general supplies, fishing supplies, and one large sign to the Southern Road.

“Well Elyse, why don’t you take Boblem to look for herbs, and the rest of us can get general supplies,” Cassian suggested.

“Yeah, you guys get food and we’ll try and get some stuff for potions,” Elyse agreed.

Renard studied the sign. “That sounds fine with me.”

“Boblem?”

“Yeah, sure!” the boy smiled. “I can show you the sweet tea recipe.”

They began discussing how much they should buy, and how long their journey would be. The map revealed that it would be about 200km to get to Sanskra, and the group could only travel about 50km per day in the best of circumstances. However, with the difficult terrain and the need to actually map the land, it would likely take them over a week to make the journey. Factoring in the rations they already had, and their ability to forage (or hunt, if Astra was sufficiently distracted), they decided that about a week of rations should be enough.

“I’m fine with that,” Renard agreed. “Shall we?”

“Seems like you all have this covered, I’ll just wait here,” Cassian decided, making himself comfortable with a seat on one of the larger stones.

Renard crouched down to achieve eye level, giving Cassian a condescending smile. “Would you like to put some money towards your food?”

“How much do you think it will cost?”

Rations were cheap. They would be hardened breads that wouldn’t go off, dried meats, cheeses, a package of fruit. It would probably be about a silver each per day. “It’ll probably be about a gold each per day.”

“I'll give you gold then…” Cassian trailed off as he searched his bag, not catching the bluff. “Seven gold.”

  
  


Boblem and Elyse made their way to the herbalist shop. The sign read “The Chamomile and Clove” in green and gold, intricately painted outside a house of grey and brown stones. Lots of windows surrounded the house on each side. It was light and airy, with a wooden door that had a small window in the shape of a moon.

“Cool sign,” she noted, and the two entered. Pushing open the door, they saw inside. It felt very cozy, clearly someone’s home converted into a shop, a number of desks and shelves filling the space. They were packed with ingredients and supplies, herbs and seaweeds dangling in bunches, on shelves and walls. There was a human woman behind the counter who looked up to greet them.

“Ah! Good afternoon to you,” she smiled, fussing with a mortar and pestle.

“Hi,” Elyse grinned.

Boblem tipped his hat. “Afternoon. Kind of looks like my ma’s kitchen!”

“Well, your ma must be of good taste,” the owner responded kindly. “How can I help?”

“We’re looking for potions, or ingredients to make some,” Elyse answered.

“I have a recipe for sweet tea,” Boblem offered.

“You’ve come to the right place for potions and ingredients… we’re fairly short on sweet tea here.”

Elyse looked at the owner in surprise. “You know what the sweet tea thing is?”

“I’m... aware of what sweet tea is?”

“But like, the magic sweet tea?”

“Sorry, magic sweet tea? What is it you want?”

“We need health potions, or the ability to make some.”

The woman gave a slow nod. “You need potions of healing, the ability to make some, and sweet tea? That’s where I’m losing you.”

“No we don’t need the sweet tea, he has the sweet tea, he can make the sweet tea. The sweet tea is a health potion.”

“What?” Boblem glanced up. “I thought it was just sweet tea.”

“Let me see your sweet tea,” the woman beckoned. Boblem handed it over. Taking the jar from the boy and looking at it in the light, she looked at him with concern. “Sir… this is a potion of healing. Are you drinking this like sweet tea?” Boblem nodded as the woman popped the cork and took a sniff. “Aye! Did you brew this?”

“Yeah! My mamma taught me.”

She put her hand out to shake his. “I haven’t been so impressed since I saw my husband! Frankly, I don’t know what to say.”

“That’s quite a compliment! My mamma’s recipe. And my ma’s.”

“Your ma gets wiser and wiser in my mind.” She did her hair in a ponytail, swirling around the potion. “So this is sweet tea. I confess, mine looks and smells a bit different, but it’s the same process I imagine. We do have a few in stock, what sort of potency are you looking for? We have potions of healing, or greater healing… I’ll go fetch some.”

The woman placed three small vials up on the counter, the same red sparkly liquid glowing inside. “These, potions of greater healing. I’d ask for 500 pieces of gold, for one of these.” She pulled out some slightly larger ones, in globular vials with little caps, tucked in a small leather harness. “These, more similar to what you’ve got. Potion of regular healing. I’d ask for 60 gold pieces for one of these. Save you in a pinch.”

“How much if you could just sell us the ingredients?” Boblem asked.

“The ingredients for one… 25 pieces of gold?”

“That’s quite a lot…”

“They’re not easy to come by, I’m afraid. I have to make a living. You know what, for you, since you’ve opened me up to new avenues of trade… Let’s see, let’s see,” she picked something down, taking clumps of seaweed and pulling out some dry powder. “Alright, that’s enough for one. I’ll sell you that for 20 gold pieces. That’s five off the asking price.”

Elyse looked over to the boy. “How much gold do you have, Boblem?”

“Uh, I think I have 25?”

“Well then,” the woman nodded. “We’re in business.”

Boblem and Elyse placed ten coins each on the table.

“Pleasure, a pleasure,” she wrapped the ingredients in a cheesecloth, tying it with a cord and handing them over.

“Thank you very much!” Boblem grinned. “It’s lovely of you.”

“I have other things as well…”

“Like what?”

“What sort of things?” Elyse wondered.

A sly smile crossed the owner’s face. “You two are…” she swirled a finger in the air, whistling. “You know, right? I have… my specialty in this town, I call it ambrosia, it’s… don’t ask much for it,” she winked.

Elyse’s eyebrows shot up her forehead. “Oh…. no… I think you’ve misinterpreted our relationship wildly…”

“What’s that?” Boblem pressed.

“Well, it’s a potion that um, increases how amorous you might be towards your… partner. Keeps energy up, if you know what I mean. Keeps the mighty tree standing all night.”

Boblem looked to Elyse. “Are you tired? Is that what you’re after?”

“He’s very naive,” she whispered to the owner. “I don’t think his parents have had  _ the talk _ with him.”

She leaned back. “Ah, so you two…”

“We’re not together, just friends. Just, travelling companions.”

“I understand.”

“Yeah, we are travelling. I mean, I did talk to my parents plenty,” Boblem added, overhearing. “Before my dad died.”

“Oh child, I’m sorry to hear that,” the shopkeep consoled, as Elyse awkwardly patted his shoulder. “Well, there are other things! Potion of water breathing, should you be not so accomplished swimmers. And oil of slipperiness, get you out of some mighty dangerous scrapes.”

“How much is the potion of water breathing?”

“I’ll give it to you for 75 gold pieces.”

“I don’t have that much money, I’m afraid. I have this crystal decanter?” Elyse offered, showing her the second vial of bath oil she stole.

The woman took it, shaking it. “I mean, it’s not what’s inside, it’s the decanter itself I’m most interested in. I’ll give it to you for 35 gold, and this.”

“Yeah, I don’t have that much gold…”

She handed it back. “Nevermind.”

“Maybe another time.”

“I’ll be here, you know right where I’ll be.”

“Lovely doing business with you,” Boblem tipped his hat once more.

“And you, and you. Have another talk with your ma.”

“About what?”

She hesitated. “Life. The birds, the bees.”

“Oh I’ve talked to them. I’ve talked to birds and bees!” he informed her. Elyse was sure he must have with his druidic abilities, and couldn’t help laughing.

“No no no, um…. Yeah, yeah you know what, do that,” the woman gave up.

“I’ll try, but they’re not all that chatty.”

“Well… that’s fine. My good sir, my lady fair. It’s been a pleasure.”

Elyse pushed Boblem out of the shop as the woman went back to her work.

  
  


Astra and Sariel had gone along to the general supply store with Renard, who bought two weeks worth of rations for the group. It only cost 8 gold and 4 silver in total for all of them.

Cassian had received a fair few stares as he sat, waiting for the rest of the group to return. One man with an old face and one tooth came into the square, looking the wizard up and down. Cassian returned the stare. The man began to cackle at his appearance. “Funny sights, funny sights.”

The man carried on. Soon enough, the rest of the group met back up in the square.

“What do we owe you?” Elyse looked to Renard.

He brushed her off. “It’s sorted.”

“Yes, how many? Cassian gave you seven.” Astra pressed.

“It’s sorted,” Renard tried to shush them.

Cassian glanced up. “Yes, I gave you seven, so surely everyone else should pay their way.”

Defeated, Renard dropped Cassian’s change on his lap. “You should pay more attention to what you're paying for things.”

A figure came out of the longer house. It was a stout man, very broad, with white hair and a tidy cropped beard. He had an age spotted face, with quite tanned and dark skin from a life led outdoors. He was wearing simple leather patch clothes with a nicer blue green cloak. Glancing at the group, he closed the door and made his way over.

“Hello!” Astra greeted the man.

“Afternoon. You must be new here…”

“We are! We just arrived. I’m Verdant Astra.”

He smiled. “Welcome to Jennicks. I’m Barrot.”

“Nice to meet you Barrot!”

“And… what are you doing in our city?”

“Passing through,” Renard shrugged.

Elyse gave a nod. “Yeah, just passing by before we head somewhere else.”

“We’re on our way to Sanskra.”

The man was surprised by that. “Sanskra? What brings you so far north? Not much up that way. Some say it’s just a rumor, a tall tale. Slipped past you, but I described this as a city a minute ago and you didn’t even twig. Well, they say that’s a city up there that floats on docks. And if you look out over our docks, they can’t support much. Our fishermen are heavy set, muscled and built, and that struggles to carry them. A whole city? You’d be laughin’.”

“Stranger things have happened,” Cassian countered.

“Aye, aye… Star fell north of here not but a week past.”

“Star?” came the collective, confused response.

“Aye! Whole village saw it, landed in the hills. Sent two of my best to go check it out.”

Renard gave the man a once over, but he seemed honest and earnest.

“Did your men come back?” Boblem pressed.

“Ah, well, they’ve been gone two days now… not returned yet.”

“Do you think you could point us in that direction?” Renard asked.

The man leaned back, pointing a thumb over at the hills.

Astra looked over. “We’re heading that way anyway.”

Renard nodded. “We’ll see if we can find your men.”

Barrot waved a hand. “I wouldn’t worry, they’re not in too much danger.”

“Sure would like to see a star though,” Astra smiled.

“Yeah, I’ve never seen a star!” Boblem agreed.

“We’re hoping to find something sparklin’ or shiney on it,” the man winked.

“Speaking of the danger,” Renard began, “As for your personal experience, what do you find out there?”

The man sighed. “There’s been a couple bandits who’ve been… waylaying nice and kind and innocent folk doin’ nothin’ but walkin’ through those areas. If you’re headin’ in, I’d keep your eye out for them. Nasty folk, take off with the skin of your back.”

“Hm. I’m sure we can handle it.”

“Other things… big fish with sharp teeth in the lake. Manner of creatures in the hills but, to tell you the truth, we keep out of them.”

“Well, we’re heading straight over there,” Astra worried.

He smiled. “Well, I wish you luck. Keep your feet firm and your eyes up. And, if you see my lads, give ‘em a kick on the butt.”

Boblem raised a hand. “How will we know they’re your lads?”

“Well, one’s got blue skin, you’ll recognize her. The other, human man, about late twenties. Patchwork armour. They’ll have a cloak like this,” he lifted his. “That’s our, ah, we like to call it a uniform. We’re the rangers of this here village, we protect it.”

“And what about your friends who are out looking for the star? Their names?” Sariel pressed.

“My friends, well, we maintain a sense of professionalism, They’re my junior rangers. Ezra and Kahena. Ezra’s the one with the blue skin, hard to miss.”

Renard scribbled down the information. “Thank you very much. We will keep an eye out for them.”

“I ‘ppreciate it. Enjoy your time in Jennicks while you’re here.” After a round of thanks, he turned and left.

“Everyone here seems really nice!” Astra beamed.

“Yeah, the lady at the store was lovely,” Boblem agreed.

“She gave us a discount. We only managed to get ingredients, turns out potions are pretty damn expensive,” Elyse informed them. “But we got enough to make a health potion.”

“Seemed to quite like my sweet tea though.”

“She was really impressed! I told you it wasn’t just tea.”

Boblem frowned. “I still can’t believe that ain’t just sweet tea…”

Renard looked around. “Right, so do we think we have everything we need?”

“Let’s find ourselves a star,” Cassian nodded. “And if we do find this apparent star, perhaps there is some sort of material we could harvest from it. Precious metals, something otherworldly.”

Astra looked at him and tilted his head. “You think there would be metal in a star?”

“If it’s like a meteorite…”

“If it’s a star it should be returned to the sky,” Sariel suggested.

Cassian hesitated. “I don’t think we can… quite reach the sky.”

“I don’t think that’s really how it works,” Renard agreed.

“We could try and throw it back real hard?” Boblem offered.

Renard put a hand over his face as Elyse laughed. Cassian rolled his eyes. “Are we leaving or not?”

General agreement came from the group. “Let’s go, please,” Renard urged, beginning to head towards the hills.

They walked through the village, cutting through the houses as the road curved around. They made a slow and steady climb up the hill. It started with a relatively low incline, but after a while they were taking large steps, focused on putting one foot ahead of the other to climb. After half an hour, they crested over the top. They saw a plethora of islands, crests of hills poking out of shallow surface water. The sun high in the air, it glinted off the pools and streams, creating a dappled effect as light filtered through the clouds. As far as they could see were grassy hills, a few craggy outcroppings of rock bursting through.

At the bottom of the hill was a walkway that snaked out for about a hundred meters before curving around behind a hill. It had a few branches coming off it, but they all seemed to end abruptly, either fallen in or stopped during construction. It was hot and humid, a few clouds in the distance building and bunching, getting darker in color.

“Should be a pleasant hike,” Renard shrugged as they made their way over the crest.

Astra smiled. “Much better being out of the towns finally, and back into nature.”

“Just try to enjoy it, Ren,” Elyse smirked.

The tops of the hills were scattered and speckled with blue plants and weeds that came through in shades of turquoise, azure, and cerulean, poking out of the water’s surface. Renard stopped for a moment, taking out the basic tools of the cartographer's kit. He quickly sketched some lines. Able to see pretty far in the distance from this, it came out well.

“So how far do you think we can get today?” Astra wondered. “Back down the hill on this side, and a bit further down?”

Renard put away his tools. “Depends on how far and fast you want to go. We’re supposed to be mapping the area, we don’t want to just shoot through as quickly as possible.”

“I suppose not.”

“Have a leisurely stroll until nightfall,” Cassian suggested. “And set up camp.”

“Walk until we find a good spot for camp,” Renard agreed. As they climbed to the bottom, they noticed the ground become a much marshier. Stepping in, their feet sunk into the ground, filling a bit with water as it grew muddier. “This is going to slow us down considerably,” Renard lamented.

From where they could see, the water rose to four or five feet, but there were walkways over the deepest parts, snaking towards the closest hill. Stepping onto the bridge, it creaked. It was a little bit slippery, with a lot of moss and algae buildup on the wood, but it was in pretty good condition.

“Incredibly different from the last place we were. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this,” Astra remarked.

“What sort of places have you seen?” Renard wondered.

“I come from a forest area, and I came down from there… from near Riven? So I travelled from there. Only really seen mountains and fields, forests. Nothing like this.”

Boblem looked over at the bard, surprised. “Just on your own? How come you’re travelling on your own?”

“Just, you know, just trying to see the world and find… places. See what’s about.”

“Yeah, I get that.”

They were about fifty or sixty meters out on the walkway when suddenly, they heard the unmistakable sound of movement in the water below them.

Astra peered over excitedly. “Are there fish here?”

Cassian and Elyse took a peek over the side as Renard, leading them at the front, froze.

The water was murky and dark, with lily pads and algae clouding the view. “Must be fish,” Astra repeated.

CRASH!

The group whipped around to the other side of the bridge at a thunderous splash. A chunk of wood planks had fallen into the water.

Cassian began to run forward to get across, but about fifteen feet in front of them a green, curled claw sank into the bridge from underneath. The black, oozing claw raked a gouge in the wood as two more planks crumbled and fell into the water. A head emerged, lank black hair dripping in slime and viscera. The head was colossal in its features, a green hooked nose, skin bubbling and dripping in puss and boils, and baleful yellow eyes staring out under half slits.

Cassian pulled out his wand as Renard drew his sword.


	4. Trolls And Tribulations, Episode Two

Some manner of creature had appeared, destroying part of the bridge. Seeming fairly aggressive, it was blocking off the route ahead of them. Two long and spindly yet muscular green arms, each about two and a half meters in length and tipped with long curved talons on warty fingers, raked across the wood. The smell that came with it burned like an acid in their noses as they breathed in, its baleful yellow eyes staring as the mouth dripped with viscera and slime. It pulled itself out of the water, clambering onto the bridge, mud sloughing off it and landing in piles and puddles. It crawled onto the bridge, standing close to six meters. Where the piles of mud hit the wood, they coalesced and began to form little faces, and the mud balls began rolling towards them as well. They moved unnaturally, almost forming limbs and little wings that sprouted as they cackled with a gurgle, popping and bursting with bubbles of mud.

Thinking quickly, Boblem stepped forward and raised his staff to the skies. The clouds above opened as pale moonlight sparkled through in a beam that tangibly hit the troll, and where it did, steam poured off like green mist as it let out an unearthly warble. Astra pulled out his lyre and began to play a song. As he plucked out the tune, the group felt the spark of magic course through their veins, arcane adrenaline surging through them.

Elyse ran through her allies and cast a spell of her own, arcing her fingers forward as a manifestation of flame and fire sprang from her hand. Flying forward, it hit the troll square in the chest. The fire burned a hole in it, singeing at the edges of the moonbeam wound.

One of the mud balls made a disgusting sound, and sent a projectile of mud from its mouth onto Cassian. It gave off a stinging pain, gluing the wizard’s arms to his side.

The long, gangly green creature snarled and took a swipe at Cassian with its claws, then another. Unable to stop the blows, one landed right across his chest, the next through his throat. He felt his blood running down his body, mixing into the mud. Still attacking, the creature leaned back and lunged forward with its jaws. Its mouth snapped around Cassian's shoulders and the rest of the group watched his form go limp as the three inch teeth pulled out with a popping noise. Cassian slumped, his unconscious form held upwards in the mud.

Sariel quickly made her way to the other elf, casting out healing magic in an attempt to revive the wizard. He gave a loud gasp, and Cassian looked down to see the mud and blood smeared across his chest. A vague concern for his dirtied outfit passed through his hazy mind.

Another mud ball spit the same sticky glob at Renard, who had been frozen in fear. The hit struck him out of his stupor. "Elyse. Attack! Do something!" he yelled, struggling against the restraints.

Elyse moved to physically place herself between Cassian and the troll. She knew trolls were vulnerable to fire, so she took out her arcane focus and wrapped it around her arm as it crackled with energy, and a bolt of burning arcane light soaring out towards it. It whizzed past the creature’s head, and the troll snarled. In that time, Renard had managed to get his arm just dislodged enough to swing out at one of the balls of mud with his longsword.

The third mud creature spat, this time at Elyse, binding her as well. Boblem squeezed past those stuck to the bridge. Clapping his hands together, a thunderous boom rippled across their enemies. One of the balls flew back and splashed into the water, but the face reformed as it floated up and began to make its way back onto the bridge. Another ball ripped in half, but it seemed to be reforming as well.

Astra, still frantically playing, changed his tune to a healing song for the others before throwing the instrument onto his back and speaking to the troll in its mind. Growling in Infernal, the bard ordered the creature to bugger off. The psychic attack caused the creature to jump backwards and land on the other fragment of the bridge, scuttling back.

Two arms manifested out of a mud ball and smacked Cassian clear across the face. The troll bellowed, still feeling the constant burn of Boblem’s moonbeam. Elyse made an attempt to attack a mud ball with another spell, but it glanced off easily. Using her frustration, she managed to free herself from the restraining mud as the troll brought its fist down onto the bridge and jumped into the water. It was further away now, but its head was still at level with them even with most of its body submerged.

It slashed with its claws towards Boblem, landing a blow before rearing its head to bite Cassian once more. The jaws, a familiar sight to the elf now, crunched and battered him about. He managed to retain consciousness this time, fighting the wave of noxious green gas it breathed out onto him. The wizard reached into his bag as best as he could, and pulled out a little spiked conch shell, throwing it to the floor like a smoke bomb. A streak of blue-green mist shot thirty feet down the bridge, and Cassian reappeared out of harm’s way, flinging the mud off himself. 

A look of deep anger was visible on his face even from far away, and he lifted his wand with a flourish before casting a bolt of blue-green energy, hitting the back of its neck. The troll was confused and angry about the disappearing act, and Sariel took this as an opportunity to open a second moonbeam. A bright white sparkling energy blistered across it, and it howled again, suffering from multiple burns. Unfortunately, some of the wounds seemed to be closing and healing themselves.

Another pile of mud made an attack, lashing with its fist towards Boblem, who reeled with the blow. Renard tried to strike out with his sword, but his arms were too heavy with the coagulation of mud across them. “Boblem, hit it again!” he yelled, forcing himself through his restraints.

With another roll of thunder from Boblem, one of the balls was scattered into the air, bursting in an explosion of viscous mud. Seeing how well it worked, he aimed the same spell towards the troll, who staggered but remained standing as another mudball was tossed backwards.

Astra called out to it. “What did the man say to the bear that's on the tree?” he yelled. The monster looked at him. “Come on bear!” he finished. After a beat, he elaborated. “It's a cheese joke, do you get it?”

The troll, like the rest of the group, did not seem to get it. The language barrier likely played a part in this as well. However, understanding the joke wasn’t necessary for the end result of the magic. As the spell hit, the troll convulsed with laughter. Its head tilted back as it let out a loud bellow, falling backwards.

Elyse ran towards the beast and cast another orb of fire, blue energy crackling around her. When it hit, she stepped backwards and up into the air, floating and surrounded by swirling smoke as she flew over to Cassian. She gave him a wink, and he returned with one of his own.

A hole opened up in the creature’s face, but the two sides of the wound mixed and reformed as it shrieked, churning up mud and bubbles as it writhed. Sariel and Boblem shared a look, and the two druids allowed their beams to converge, bathing the monster in heavenly moonlight. It glowed in unearthly pale white light, flickering blue and green as the troll laughed and writhed in the water, burning away.

As the smoke cleared, the dried-out husk of the troll bobbed in the water, still slightly fizzling with divine magic.

Cassian stepped around Elyse, waving his arm in a circle with his wand to fire another bolt at one of the mud balls. With all his injuries, the shot whizzed past.

“It’s okay,” Elyse whispered, giving him a short pat on the shoulder.

Jumping over the broken pieces of the bridge, Sariel moved her beam towards the smaller creature instead. It advanced to hit with tiny fists, but it could only flail under the light.

Finally able to help, Renard lifted up his rapier and swung it down onto both balls of mud. The power of the sword and the moonbeam caused one to fizzle away, leaving just one left.

Boblem attempted to finish it off by kicking it, adding a fire spell for safety, but he missed entirely as his leg swung into the air. He gave an apologetic smile towards the rest of the group.

Astra stepped forward, pushing his voice into its mind. “All your friends are gone,” he warned.

That was enough. The final ball melted away as the little face screamed. Silence fell, but for the bubbling and slight fizzing on the troll's corpse. The moonbeams faded, and the group took a long moment to catch their breath.

“Astra!” Cassian called. “Can you clean my outfit please?”

“Oh! Of course I can!” the bard responded, making his way over. 

Elyse rolled her shoulders. “Right. Is there anything interesting we can take off that… big motherfucker over there?”

“Do you want to hop into the swamp?” Cassian grimaced.

Renard was already going, lowering himself into the water while holding onto the bridge. The water was cold, and thick, hitting up to his waist, then his chest, as he realized his feet would not hit the bottom. Reaching over onto it, he looked at the oozing body. There was a scrap of some sort of loincloth covering… something.

There was a pouch hanging off the hip, and Renard reached in. Something inside was squishy… and then he felt something wrap around his leg.

Giving up on the bag, he quickly pulled himself out. “That was not worth it, that was not worth it.”

Elyse chuckled and cast a mage hand, allowing the specter of an invisible hand to reach over and grab the brown leather pouch.

“You could have just done that in the first place!” Renard scolded.

“I didn't know it was there, did I?” Taking it from the air, she looked inside.

Hm.

She took one out.

“Bag of ears,” she declared, holding a long and pointed mammalian ear from between the ghostly fingers.

Renard pulled his dirty scarf over his mouth and retched.

“Elyse, that is disgusting,” Cassian proclaimed. “Astra, please clean me.” 

Elyse waved around the rotting ear a bit more. Renard moaned. “Elyse, what are you doing?”

“You never know, might come in handy!” she grinned.

“You’re disgusting.”

Astra jumped the gap in the bridge over to Cassian. “How are you feeling?”

“Absolutely terrible,” he replied.

Astra began to cast healing magic on the wizard, and when that was settled, he switched spells to draw the dirt from his clothes. Cassian immediately set to mending the tears in the fabric. Gold and arcane energy swirled as mud and dirt pulled off and evaporated, clothes stitching up in the same fashion as his wounds closed.

“Feeling better?”

“Still not great, but better. Thank you,” Cassian nodded. “Well, that was a shit show.”

“Does anyone else need healing?” the tiefling offered. Boblem raised a bleeding hand to accept. “Don't worry, everything's going to be okay.”

“Perhaps we should reach some sort of clearing and just, take a breather after that?” Cassian suggested.

Boblem agreed. “I'd like to sit down.”

Elyse began to unwrap her focus from her arm. It appeared to be a double-ended Moroccan lantern, with two ends in gold, and a length of chain. There was a gold cage around it, and inside, a crystal containing a thrumming ball of blue energy. Making sure it was secure, she returned it to her pouch.

Renard shook his head. “I think we should just keep moving.”

A mighty burst of a bubble rang out as the corpse sank beneath the water. Renard pushed some mud off himself and started to march forward.

“I can get rid of that for you,” Astra offered.

“Please don’t,” came the short reply.

They continued on, looking for a place to rest.

Boblem caught up to Renard. The mud combining with his multi-layered disguise, his figure almost indistinguishable. “So you kinda froze back there, are you all right?” he asked.

“Yes, I'm fine.”

“He probably doesn't want to talk about it. He doesn't like to talk about a lot of things,” Cassian taunted.

Boblem cocked an eyebrow at the wizard. “I mean, he's not the only one.”

Renard laughed. “I don't like water. I'll be honest and say, I felt that hit the bottom of the bridge and I froze.”

“You don't like bathing or swimming?”

He grinned a bit at the boy. “No, I like bathing.”

Astra’s eyes flicked with recognition. “That's why you hid in the bottom of the boats when we came here. When we went to Mirrortail, from Farrelstadt.”

“Yes, and that's all I want to say on the subject, can we please drop it? I promise it won’t happen again.”

Boblem shrugged. “I mean, it's okay. I'm not worried about it. Just wanted to check if you were okay.”

“Yes, I’m fine, just glad we all made it through that.”

Another fifteen minutes of walking took the group to the base of the lavender hills. In the deep water, they could see piles of rotted timber.

Renard looked on. “They were building this and they gave up.”

Astra looked as well. “Maybe because that thing came along and moved in.”

“That thing or any other number of things.”

“Who were building?” Boblem asked.

“I don't know, I suppose the people back in the village.”

“We are in a dangerous area,” Cassian rolled his eyes. “It's uncharted for a reason, surely.”

“Well, yes, obviously,” Renard snapped. “But I think just one troll perhaps isn't enough to make them give up.”

“Maybe there's more of them,” Elyse thought.

He shrugged. “Anyway, we should keep going.”

The group hopped off the bridge onto the slightly marshy ground. After a bit, they were able to step on it without their feet sinking in at all. Renard offered a gloved hand back, which only Astra accepted as he pulled himself past the mud. The rest of the group simply jumped.

“I didn’t want you to feel awkward,” Astra whispered to him. “Thank you though.”

Renard grimaced.

“You saying that makes it awkward,” Elyse explained.

“Oh right, sorry.”

“Lovely gesture though!” Boblem offered.

“You're very chivalrous,” Elyse teased.

Renard walked away from the conversation.

Trudging up the crest of the hill, they were greeted with the familiar sight of the scattered hilltops. They could just make out the village from their vantage.

“I don't know about you guys, but I'm rather hungry. We only had breakfast this morning,” Astra nodded to the position of the sun. It was well into the mid afternoon.

Elyse shrugged. “Yeah, we've got our rations. Or if you want a nice ear to chew on?”

Opening the disgusting bag, the scent of the troll burst out, and they could almost see the smell coming out of it through the bottom. There was a fatted scum in the bag where the ears had been decomposing into a liquid.

“Why do you still have that?” Sariel groaned.

“You never know, it could come in handy!” Elyse responded brightly.

Astra grimaced. “No. I don't think it can.”

“No,” Cassian flatly replied.

Renard sighed. “Elyse thinks we can use it as bait.”

“We could throw it at somebody…” Boblem contemplated.

Elyse held the bag in the air. “If the creature had it, it clearly likes it. So if there's more of them- ”

“How ‘bout you try a bite?”

“I don't want to eat it. I'm not a troll.”

Cassian scoffed. “Maybe they'll seek you out for your bag full of ears.”

Elyse sat and placed the bag on the ground. Cassian looked Elyse dead in the eyes and shot a bolt of energy at the pouch, quickly transforming the bag of ears into a mist of ears. The smell pervaded, and a piece of flesh rolled away down the side of the hill.

“Fine, I wasn't that attached to it! Geez, you guys need to calm the fuck down,” she complained.

Renard checked the arcane pocket watch he purchased in Mirrortail. The exact time: 2:34pm. A few more hours of daylight to travel. They would take a short rest, and then continue.

Astra strummed his lute softly, singing quietly in the fey language of Sylvan as healing magic relaxed the rest of the group.

Renard turned to the others. “Alright, we have about six or so hours of daylight left.” 

“Should we try to see how far we can go?” the musician asked. A few of them walked around, looking to the horizon for the “star.” Nothing.

“I think we should keep moving. We've barely made it anywhere. Everyone in a fit state in case that happens again? Is everyone happy to keep doing this?” After everyone gave their agreement, he pressed on. “Okay. I think we should keep moving.”

Elyse put a hand on Boblem’s shoulder. “Boblem have you… Have you had a chance to rest? Are you feeling any better?”

“Uh… Yeah, I'm feeling better. Not at my best but, feeling better.”

“At least you have sweet teas if it happens again?” Cassian glanced over, wondering. Boblem nodded.

Renard gathered them up, and taking out his compass, he led them down the hill to the patches of standing water at the bottom. They spent a good few hours fording much smaller rivers and streams, avoiding various floating debris. After about ten kilometers, dusk hit.

“What do you think?” Astra glanced to Renard.

Renard surveyed the area. “We should look for somewhere to stop.”

“Should we try and find some high ground again?” Elyse suggested.

Astra, used to living in nature, spotted a fair number of hills with rocky outcroppings. Over the centuries, some of the earth had eroded back, the skeleton of rock punching through. One of the hills closer to the group had a particularly large outcropping. It wouldn’t be high ground, but it would be solid.

Astra pointed. “Over there, to the east, you can see the rocks coming out? You'll be good to go on top if you want to have a look around, or go underneath for some shelter, just in case. Because the rain might be coming in. It's a little bit off our track…”

Elyse looked to Renard. “Should we go in?”

He nodded. “That's fine. We can go back and forth and make this map any way we want to. If everyone's okay with that?”

The clouds had been gathering in darker gray patches. There wasn’t any rain falling yet, but they looked more threatening than before.

Heading forward, Renard made himself comfortable on top of the rock, sitting down to fiddle with the cartographer’s kit. Elyse followed while the others sat underneath. Boblem and Astra busied themselves using their magic to build a small campfire.

Sariel used a spell of her own to tell what the weather would be like. There was certainly a storm arising, soon. “We shouldn't camp out on the top here tonight. There's going to be a storm coming.”

Acknowledgement came from the two on the top of the rock, promising to be back down shortly. The pair looked out across the hills and wrote down their observations.

“Elyse, can we have a word?”

She looked up in surprise. “Sure.”

“Can I just ask what, and you don't have to tell me, what brings you out here to do this with us?”

She thought about what she could tell him. “Well, I kind of like hanging out with you guys, believe it or not. But um, I was intending to go to Sanskra anyway. I'm… trying to locate an arcane artifact and I heard a rumor, actually the rumor about the falling star, that sounded like it might be related to that artifact. So I was planning on coming out here anyway, but it was just fortuitous that you guys happened to be mapping the area.”

He reflected on the admission. “That's good, that's something. I have to be honest, this isn't exactly what I was intending to do. I just thought that passage to Sanskra would be useful but… I'm glad to have you, to have my back.”

“Oh. Well. Thanks. I'm glad to be here too.”

“I'm not particularly proud of what we did back in Mirrortail, in any sense of the word. And we would have been royally screwed had you not come in to help us.”

“You're welcome.”

He paused. “I don't want any of our new… friends... winding up dead.”

“No, me neither. So, if this wasn't what you envisioned doing, what were you intending to do, if you don't mind?”

“I'm looking for someone. The others know this, they were with me in Farrelstadt when we sought out Captain Kolz and… I'm looking for a company of mercenaries called The Weeping Eye.”

“Okay…”

“And unfortunately, I don't have much of a foot to stand on with information on where to go but, I just figured, travel far away from where I started and eventually someone will know something.”

“Are you seeking a member of The Weeping Eye, or are you seeking someone who they have captured or something?”

He hesitated. “I am seeking, um, you may have heard in Mirrortail that some of their royal family are missing. It seems that The Weeping Eye are responsible, and it's part of my work to find them.”

“...Okay. Good to know.”

“I trust you for this.”

“Yeah, if I hear anything, I'll let you know.”

“Yes,” he replied, thankful. “I'll finish this up. You can go down and eat if you want to.”

“Oh! No, I actually, it feels nice to be using these things again,” she held up the tools.

“Yes, I haven't done anything like this for quite some time, but… it’s good.”

Elyse smiled and reached into her bag. “While we’re here… this is for you.” The other crystal decanter, filled with about 100 milliliters of a shimmery purple liquid, appeared in her hand. “I got one each for you and Astra, just as a gift.” 

“When? You didn't steal this did you… You know what? I'm not gonna ask.” He shook his head. “You know somewhat how I feel about the arcane arts, and I shouldn't have given you such a hard time in the square at Mirrortail, so…” he snapped the arcane pocketwatch off his wrist. “I don't particularly want to have this. Look after it, use it.”

“Thank you! I will. I actually… don't know how you feel about the arcane arts. We haven't had this conversation.”

“Well, it’s one for another another time perhaps.”

Sensing the moment was over, she conceded, putting the watch into her pouch. “Okay, well, thank you.”

He nodded. “I'm gonna see if I can potentially find some clean water to wash myself off with.”

“You sure you don't just want Astra to…?”

“I’d rather not.”

Down below, Astra had pulled out his lute by the fire, and Cassian had wandered over. “Astra, what do you sing about when you sing your… Sylvan, was it?”

“Oh, I sing the songs my mom used to sing to me.”

“Are they about anything in particular?”

He thought. “There's a lot of them about… lots of them about love. She had a big heart. Well, has a big heart, I should say. She's not…”

“Gods forbid.”

“Yeah, her songs always make me feel good, and they make me feel safe. So. That's why I like to share them with others.”

Cassian tilted his head. “It's just a very beautiful language. If you ever have the time to teach me a few words, I'd like to know.”

“Of course,” he smiled.

“Thank you.”

“I'm currently trying to learn Draconic with Boblem, but I'd be happy to help you with Sylvan.”

Cassian looked over to where Boblem was warming his hands, shocked. “You speak Draconic?”

The boy looked up. “Yeah! I mean, I didn't know you didn't speak Draconic. Don't you?” 

Cassian blinked, and then walked away to be alone for a moment as Astra pulled out the book to study with Boblem. Moving away from the group, he took a moment to stand and breathe. He put a hand over the pendant that was hidden under his clothes. “Not going to let any injuries like that happen again, please,” he whispered.

The wind whistled like a melody. He watched the sun set, and the stars began to peek out, surrounding a half moon. Only the light of the campfire illuminated the space.

Around ten o’clock they spotted two figures emerging from the side of the rock. One of them seemed to have something slung over its back.


	5. River Of Ruin, Episode Three

Resting under the outcropping of rock, the humanoid intruders were only silhouettes to Renard. The rest of the group was able to make out a tail swishing from one of the shapes. Two hunters approached, wearing makeshift all-weather gear, leather with shawls, warm hunting clothes lined with fur, their hoods pulled up. The long, distinctive snout of the lizardfolk emerged from underneath, reflections of the starlight above in their eyes. One was carrying a large animal over its shoulder.

Spotting them, Elyse took the opportunity to become invisible as Renard rested a hand on his sword.

The duo approached the campsite.

“Mind if we share some of that heat?”

Astra didn’t hesitate. “Of course!”

As they stepped into the light, they all could get a good look at them. One was speckled green and yellow, slightly larger, standing just under six foot, while the other was a bit shorter. Each carried a short spear on one shoulder, as well as a bow, over patchwork leather armor and furs. They seemed to have just slaughtered a wild boar.

“I’m Verdant Astra, nice to meet you.”

“Kijo, This is Rox.”

“Feel free to come and share our warmth, by the fire!”

The stranger nodded. “Strength in numbers,” he replied, stretching into the circle, tongue flickering out to taste the air. He dropped the carcass on the floor, and it was huge. At least two meters, with huge tusks, blood was crusted all over it.

“Bigger than I am,” Sariel remarked, astonished.

“Good catch,” Cassian approved.

Reptilian eyes flicked over them. “We’d be willing to share if we could… rest here for the night.”

“You can rest here, but I won’t be partaking,” Astra replied, hiding his discomfort towards the meat. “Thank you, though.”

The man shrugged. “More for the rest, if you want it.”

Renard nodded. “I don’t see any problem with you sharing our campfire. Like you said, strength in numbers.”

“I don’t see any problem with you sharing some boar,” Cassian added, giving the feast a once over.

It was difficult for the group to read non-human emotions, but the pair seemed honest enough, if rather cautious and distrusting themselves. As they set their spears down, one began to eat while the other leaned forward to speak. “So, where y’all headed, where y'all been?”

“We’re heading up to Sanskra,” Renard answered.

The two looked at each other in surprise. “That’s quite a journey.”

“Have you been there?” Boblem wondered.

“No, no, clan mates have though. Funny folk to be making a journey to Sanskra… Don't usually see so many fair skinned up and down waters…”

“Where is it you’re from?” Sariel interjected, redirecting the conversation.

“The hills, here… don’t travel far.”

Elyse was still somewhere along the edges of their vision, watching.

“What brings you out here?” Boblem asked.

One of them nodded at the boar. “Good catch. All manner of things here, usually find crocs or snakes. This is unusual but, ain't gonna pass up food. Could eat for weeks.”

“Do you have many… unsavory encounters around here?” Renard questioned.

“There’s rough folk in these hills, bandits…”

“Trolls?”

“Trolls, aye.”

“Many of them?”

“Mmmm, never encountered one, but heard of them. They don't really pay too much mind unless you go wandering into their zones.”

“Hm. Guess we were just unlucky.”

He gave a surprised laugh. “You encountered a troll?”

“On our first day,” Sariel nodded.

“Oh, precious,” the man chuckled.

Renard redirected them again. “We heard rumors in the last village we were in, something falling from the sky, maybe?”

Kijo shrugged. “Yeah, yeah we saw it.”

“What did it look like?”

“Eh, right from the sky, fell in the swamp somewhere.”

“How far?” Cassian pressed.

“Hm, a day’s travel? Suppose I’m not entirely sure, but I watched it go down.”

Boblem had wonder in his eyes. “You saw it fall? Could you tell us where?”

“Not up close, but, we saw the arc. Couldn’t miss it. I can point you in the direction, but couldn’t do much more than that.”

“We appreciate that,” Astra smiled. “We thought we'd see that on the way we're going.”

“Did anything happen on that particular night?” Sariel asked.

“I gotta say that was a pretty particular night, seeing that,” the man chuckled, elbowing his companion.

“Yeah how often you see a star fall from the sky?” The other chuckled. “Maybe you folk see more than me, heh. Naw, we sure that was a one off.”

The pair pointed at the base where two hills met in the distance, agreeing on the landing place. Elyse, deciding the pair was no threat, walked out of the camp before returning, fully visible, and greeting the group.

“Elyse, we have company,” Renard covered.

The duo didn’t look too sure. “Right, so, explain this, when we turned up we saw you, then didn't see you, and now we see you again.”

She shrugged. “Must have been mistaken.”

The group offered excuses, and the pair backed down. One turned to the other and laughed, “Rox, if you’d disappear like that, I’m sure I’d wander off without you!”

“Psh, you a fair weather friend, man,” Rox retorted.

Renard tried to move on. “Could I ask you something about these hills? Are there any particular landmarks that you navigate by, anything that sticks out of the scenery, anything remarkable?”

Kijo sucked in through his teeth. “Mostly we use stars. There’s the border of the mangrove swamps, and lake to the northeast, San’Ka’Shelle.”

Getting out his map, Renard began to scrawl notes. “And how far would you say that you usually venture?”

“Well we meander around the whole hills so, from one tip to another, four or five days. Quicker for us like, we're used to it. You ah, heavy foot might struggle a bit more. The mango swamps are between here and Sanskra.”

Renard shifted closer with his map so that the duo could have a look and describe more details. They discussed, pointing out some spots, and he thanked them.

“Is there anything we should look out for, any creatures or beasts?” Elyse continued.

“If you’re heading up there, you keep your eyes up. Crocodiles, snakes, big snakes, little snakes, poisonous snakes, squeezy snakes.”

“Snake people!” Rox added.

Kijo turned on him. “Shut your goddamn mouth, ain't no snake people in the woods.”

“I'm telling you I seen them, I seen them!”

Renard looked up. “I'm sorry, snake people? Even just a rumor would be helpful- ”

“Don't humor him! Don't humor him- ”

“I tell you!” Rox soldiered on. “They got a snake and then they got arms.”

“I want to hear about snake people!” Boblem grinned.

Kijo sighed. “Sir I assure you, you do not want to hear about snake people.”

The other shook his head. “They are not friendly! They’ll poke you through with holes.”

“Shut up Rox, you don’t know shit.”

“How do you know they’re people?” Boblem asked, still entranced.

“Right, right,” Rox stood and grabbed his javelin, using the butt end to draw in the mud. It seemed to be a snake, mostly, with a human head and torso at the top. “You ever heard of centaur? Picture that but, ‘stead of horse with the legs… snake.”

“What’s a centaur?” Astra wondered.

Renard leaned over to explain. “Half human, half horse.”

“My artistic skills only go so far…” Rox apologized. “A snake is kinda like… a long tube.”

Boblem nodded, considering, while Renard pulled his scarf up again to laugh. Astra excused himself, telling them he wanted to go for a walk, before climbing back to the top of the rock.

Kijo turned the conversation back to his point. “Anyway, I’d be mighty careful, there's a matter of fae creatures in swamps as well, hence why we don't delve too deep into the swamps unless we have to. Trees that move and speak like people and- ” upon hearing the sounds of excitement from the group, he shook his head. “No no, you don't… they're charming sure, but they'll lead you down dangerous paths, and before you know you’ve slipped and cracked your head, fell in a puddle.”

“All the trees I’ve spoken too have always been nice,” Boblem frowned. “Not much to say, but…”

Cassian cocked an eyebrow. “Maybe you should try talking to them.”

Kijo looked like he was about to dissent again, but was stopped by Renard’s baffled outburst. “What? You talk to trees?”

“It’s a magic thing,” Elyse explained.

“You’ve never spoken to a tree before?” Sariel wondered.

Renard blinked, astonished. “I’ve never spoken to a tree! And I never understand anything that comes out of his mouth,” he pointed to the boy.

“Might be the accent,” Boblem reflected.

“You from ‘round these parts?” Rox wondered.

“Um, I’m kinda from around everywhere,” Boblem replied.

Kijo grinned. “Now that is curious...:”

“Aren’t y’all kinda from around everywhere as well?” Boblem asked, confused.

“You know, when you put it like that, I suppose you’re right. We’re from the hills, but the hills are a big place, and we move…”

Cassian had been entertained enough. “This conversation has been delightful, but I’m going to go get some sleep,” he announced, placing his bedroll a bit further away.

“Y’all mind if we…?” Kijo, motioned towards the boar.

“Go for it,” Renard nodded. In a flurry of movement, they pulled out tiny knives, beginning to skin and treat the meat.

“Are all the boar this big around here?” Sariel asked, impressed.

“Not all, this is the bigger end.”

“The biggest you’ve seen?”

“Tell you the truth, being these wetlands, tend to find larger fish and snakes. Boars are rare, maybe it escaped. Maybe it’s someone cursed,” he winked.

Not amused, Sariel shuddered. “And you’re… skinning and eating it?”

“Well, you don't waste good meat. Lizard folk, we’re pragmatic and proud of it.”

“Would the curse pass to you then, if you ate it?”

“Oh, I hadn’t even thought of that!” Rox yelped.

“What are you doin’, Rox? You know I was just makin’ it up,” the other scolded, quietly.

“You killed the creature!”

Tuning back in, Renard grew concerned. “I’m sorry, did you say this was cursed meat?”

“No, no! Just, the possibility that this could be a cursed…. Frog. Frog. Frog could got cursed...”

“Does that happen a lot around here?” Elyse laughed.

“I don’t know many frogs,” the stranger tried to defend, But it’s a possibility. I’ve heard stories of folks being turned into frogs… Frogs bein’ turned into folks. Why not frogs turned into boars?”

Renard shook his head. “That certainly is… a point.”

Elyse considered this with great enthusiasm. “If an animal was cursed to turn into another, would it return to the original form upon death?”

Renard leaned over. “Is this important or are you just humoring it?”

There was an immediate reaction in their guests. “Excuse me, I’d mind you wouldn’t call me “it”, I may speak with a certain je ne sais quoi but, I deserve some respect!”

“Sorry, sorry, I was talking about the subject matter, and not you,” he explained.

Kijo considered for a moment. “Yeah that makes sense.”

Rox gave his partner a teasing shove.

“Anyone need to get some rest?” Renard offered.

“I’m trying to,” came the exasperated voice of the wizard.

“We know, Cassian,” Renard shot back.

Elyse grinned. “You need your beauty sleep, right?”

“Somebody gets it,” Cassian mumbled in response, not catching the sarcasm.

The group discussed who would take watch when, and settled on a general plan. Elyse addressed the hunters once again. “Can I ask, about the falling star, you seem to know a lot about it. Has anything happened in this area since it was seen?”

“Besides the boar? Hm, haven’t seen bandits around in a few days, usually they make these spots their spoil. And bandits are pervasive, you can’t get them out of nowhere. It’s like trying to get leeches out of your favorite pack of food.”

“An experience we can all relate to,” Elyse mumbled to herself, as the two argued with themselves over who knew more about the biology of leeches.

“Anyway, the allegory remains. Bandits are everywhere, this is a rough area, dangerous area.”

“But you haven’t seen them since the star fell?”

“No, interestingly. Maybe the star landed on and them squished ‘em. One can hope.”

“That's one way to get rid of bandits, drop a giant rock on them,” she agreed.

He looked at her in curiosity. “Are stars rocks?”

“Stars are souls,” Sariel corrected.

Elyse shrugged. “Well it could have been a meteorite, we don’t really know- ”

That stirred Renard, who was just beginning to rest his eyes. “I’m sorry, did you just say stars are souls?”

Sariel shrugged. “That’s what some people believe.”

“Is that what you believe?”

“Perhaps. And I hope that you would respect people’s beliefs, Renard, when you have your own.”

Those awake watched the drama with rapt attention. Renard backtracked. “I wasn’t disrespecting your belief, I was just curious. I had just never heard of that before. Just interested, no disrespect meant whatsoever.”

She regarded him a moment. “None taken.”

The two intruders shifted, now looking a bit uncomfortable. “We'll busy ourselves with the boar, but a word of advice. If you can, stay out of the water. There's nasty things.”

“Yeah we know, had that experience,” Elyse sighed.

“Well, trolls like bridges.”

“I’ve heard, yeah. I’ll let you get back to your… meat.”

“Appreciate it, we'll keep an eye out along with you all.”

Elyse sat next to Boblem for the first watch, looking over the hills. Above, Astra had busied himself with his bag, filling in his journal. It was a cool night, and he noticed a puff of pollen around him. Looking out into the distance, he could make out blue twinkling lights. Three, four, five, ten, twenty, until there was a complete cloud of them.

Fireflies surrounded Astra, a few settling on his shoulder and horns as the area illuminated. As the moment faded, they flew away. Smiling, he finished with his journal before coming back down. Kijo slept while Rox remained on watch. By the time Sariel and Cassian woke for their shift, the boar was nearly half skinned.

As they woke to relieve Elyse, she whispered to them. “Ren did say he would take the second one, I could wake him up.”

Cassian threw a disdainful glance at the sleeping form of Renard. “Let him sleep, I do not wish to converse with him.”

Elyse shrugged. “Fair enough.”

She put her focus under her bedroll once more, and slept. Nobody was exactly comfortable, but it felt generally secure. Cassian took his book out once more, now soaking wet. Sariel looked over at him. “I would quite like to pay my respects if you could keep watch for a moment.”

He sighed and snapped shut his book, but didn’t complain. The moon was high in the sky, and Sariel took a few minutes to give thanks for the day. The clouds, which had been scuttling across the sky, kept clear for those few moments.

When she was done, Cassian’s book opened once more. After while, they could make out something moving in the distance, but they couldn’t be sure what.

“Did you see?”

“Yes.”

Sariel considered. “At least we both think we saw....”

“As long as it stays that far away, shouldn't be a bother to us.”

She looked at him. “I'm glad you're so calm about it all.”

He flipped a page. “One should try and remain collected in such situations.”

“You're a very collected person, aren’t you.”

He glanced upwards. “One has to be when one is of my social standing.”

She stared at him for a moment. “I don’t think that matters out here.”

His face changed.

“I’m sorry, have I offended you?” she asked.

“..Nnot really. I just like to hang out in some semblance of civilization.”

“Well I think you're very dignified. The most dignified person I've ever seen.”

Finally looking at her solidly, he took the compliment. “At least someone here thinks so. And, I’d say you're pretty dignified yourself Sariel. And thank you for... bringing me back earlier.”

“That was the moon mother’s blessing,” she explained.

He flicked a page again. “Don't discredit your own magics in that.”

Sariel frowned. “it's her blessing that grants me such power.”

“But you are surely the channel for the power, and your own abilities are within that.”

“Some might believe that, but I choose to believe otherwise.”

Cassian’s attention went back to the book. “Then I respect your belief, but agree to disagree.”

“You say that a lot,” she responded, not looking at him.

He tensed for a moment. “I disagree with a lot of people.”

Dawn peaked over. A snort came from the masked man.

“Ugh, Ren snores,” Cassian complained.

“Don’t you like him?” Sariel replied.

“...Sorry, have you ever heard us talking to each other?”

“Many times. Now it seems that you don't like him.”

Cassian gave her an incredulous look. “You would be  _ correct _ my friend!”

Sariel took a different message from that. “You called me a friend?”

He blinked. “I mean, you’re perfectly nice…”

“I would like to be your friend.”

There was a quiet moment where Cassian wasn’t sure what to do. After a beat, he turned further away into his book, quite unaware that Renard had been lying awake for the past few minutes, listening.

Once Cassian had dismissed himself from the discussion, Renard rolled over. “Good morning Sariel.”

“Good morning Renard. Sleep well?”

“As well as you can on this ground.”

The sun rose from the east, and where the mist used to be, rays of sun had pierced through. “It might not be anything of significance, but,” she pointed in the distance, past a stream, “Just so you’re aware, there might be wolves out there.”

Renard thanked her and added the stream to the map. Cassian had firmly placed himself on the complete other end of the rock, meditating with his book. Peace was impossible to find, Renard’s voice echoing like a hornet in his mind. He held the shell pendant. “Now is really not the time,” he murmured.

The two guests from the night before were sitting on the rock, soaking in the sun. Eventually, the rest of the group rolled awake. Elyse had quite the case of bedhead, which she set about sorting as Renard climbed to a higher vantage to get a view of the land. Mist still enshrouded the bottoms of the hills, but the area was mostly visible in the daylight. When he finished, he quickly made his way to a clear patch of water, where he took everything off to wash all of the caked mud from his person.

He splashed the water onto his face. But there was another splash. Something had made a sound, about fifteen feet from him. He looked up in concern, but didn’t see anything. The water was clear, and only about five feet deep. Worried, he grabbed his stuff and moved a bit away, continuing to wash.

Another splash. He whipped around again. Nothing. “Okay...” There wasn’t a reason to be immediately panicked, they were out in nature, and nature splashed.

He finished up quickly, looking into the water at his reflection as he held his mask. But there was something wrong with the mirror. He watched as his eyes rolled back, his skin sagged, and his mouth lolled open. A chunk of flesh slid off of his face, hair drifting down, head rolling forward.

He put the mask on. And his reflection was fine. Shaken, he made his way back to camp. The rest of the group was getting ready for the day, Cassian doing his makeup, Astra braiding Elyse’s hair, and Boblem shoving his sunhat back on.

The lizardfolk approached Sariel. “Thank you for your kindness, warmth, and conversation.” They handed over a large package, wrapped in a thin brown sacking. “For you.”

Sariel thanked them, and buckled under the weight. “What is it?”

They gesture towards the rest of the boar. “Good eating. Covered in salt so it should keep. Needs to cure though.”

Cassian looked confused. Kijo leaned over to him. “It’s like cookin’, but for fancy

people,” he grinned, explaining. “Don’t need a fire.”

“I thought you were fancy?” Boblem said, looking to Cassian, who was red.

“I’m sure you are!” the hunter held out his arms. “Just, different customs, you know. Didn’t mean nothin’ by it.” They grabbed their portion of the boar, scratching a symbol in the air as they bid the group farewell.

“Safe travels,” Sariel bid as they turned to leave.

Renard made his way back as the two lizardfolk left. Hood down and scarf in hand, the group was able to make out more of his features than usual. He hadn’t had the chance to get fully covered. Long and wavy ginger hair hang wet around his face, framing a shaken expression.

“Ah, did you fall into the river and scare yourself?” Cassian smirked upon his return. A few others laughed, but they quieted upon noticing Renard’s demeanour.

“What’s wrong Renard?” Sariel asked.

“There… there was, something in the water, no…”

“What did you see in the water?” Boblem pressed.

“I don't know…”

“Did you want us to go have a look?” Astra offered.

“I think you probably shouldn't. It was something in my reflection that… they were talking about fae creatures last night, and I'm probably just losing my mind slightly out here.”

“Maybe you're just imagining things?” Elyse suggested.

“I don't think so.”

“Well, what did you see in your reflection?”

He took a breath. “Just don't stare too deeply into the water, okay.”

“Why don't you come sit down for a moment,” Astra offered.

“Yeah, he can braid your hair like he's braiding mine!” Elyse smiled.

“Please don't.”

“Maybe we should try and have breakfast?” Boblem asked.

The group agreed, and Elyse thanked Astra for the hairstyle. “I used to do it on my sister's hair, so, I’ve missed it,” he replied.

“You have a sister?” Boblem asked. “How many siblings do you have?”

“Two,” he smiled. “Both younger.”

“How come you’re not with them now?”

“They're not travelling. They’re back home. My brother Ammil, and my sister Lunette. Lovely people, I miss them, but I’ll see them again soon.”

“Where is it you said you were from?”

“Near Riven. Up north.”

Sariel nodded with recognition as Boblem spoke again. “If you want, we can travel there after this whole Sanskra thing, we can see your family again?”

“No, no, that’s okay. I’ll go back when it feels right to go back.”

Elyse walked over to Renard, who seemed to still be distressed. She reached out to put a comforting hand on his shoulder, and he jerked back.

“Don’t touch me.”

“Sorry, I just wanted to see if you were okay. Do you want us to move on so we're away from whatever it is that you saw?”

He collected himself. “Yes we should, we should get moving, we should make most of the daylight, we don't want to end up lost in the dark.”

“Quick breakfast and then go?”

“Yes, sure.”

The breeze picked up. It was refreshing, except for the smell of rotting fish.

Renard addressed the group. “Let’s move from this spot, we shouldn’t stay in one place too long.”

They collectively agreed, and packed up their things as Elyse stamped out the fire. Renard took the boar from Sariel to carry it himself. They continued their trek to the northwest, walking parallel to a stream, spending a few hours passing by some trees as the stream became a river. Cresting hills, more speckles of blue flowers were visible. Still early morning, the sun reflected off the water, illuminating the area as the mist dissipated.

The smell of the rotting fish grew stronger. The smell stuck to their clothes, thick in their throats. The surface of the river was covered in a thin slime, green and black, as rocks and bits of detritus poked out, covered in it. 

“Doesn’t seem like it should be like this down here, considering how beautiful everything else is,” Astra commented.

“It is a little… stagnant,” Renard agreed.

“Do you think it’s anything to do with the star?” Elyse suggested. The group couldn’t answer.

Astra looked at the water. “Do you think we need to cross the river, or shall we go around it?”

Renard frowned. “If we could try and find a way around it, that would be absolutely preferable.” But looking forward, he saw they would have to cross it eventually. The river maintained a constant width, and likely a consistent depth as well.

“Well if we’re going to have to cross it at some point, why not get it out of the way now,” Cassian decided.

“You have a good point, sorry Ren,” Elyse nodded.

Astra considered. “Maybe we could find a point that’s less…?”

“Foul?” Cassian finished.

“Anyone have any magic that might help us?” Elyse turned to the group.

“Possibly,” Sariel thought.

“I have some rope.”

Astra looked down the river. “There’s a bit further down, has a small island in the middle? Might be easier to get over there, less polluted.”

Renard contemplated. “Sounds like a better choice than here, I just don’t trust this stench.”

“When crossing the water, could we tie something around ourselves?” Boblem thought.

Most of the group agreed, but Cassian was frowning.

“I suppose Cassian doesn’t want to get his outfit dirty again,” Astra grinned.

“I also don’t want to be tied to the rest of you, so, keep it to yourselves,” he scoffed.

“Just when we’re crossing the water!” Boblem defended. “Otherwise you might be lost.”

“We aren’t sure how deep it is,” Astra warned.

“Well let’s keep going and then we can take a closer look,” Renard decided.

“Might be taken with the current,” Boblem continued.

“I do just fine in water, thank you,” came the tight response from the elf.

Renard threw out a response over his shoulder. “Cassian, if you’re so opposed to being with all of us, why did you come with us?”

“I'm not opposed to being with all of you. I never said that.”

Renard let out a dark chuckle. “Okay.”

He marched on, but Cassian wasn’t done yet. “You understand your own personal space Renard.  _ Respect mine," _ he mocked.

They came to the part of the stream that was bisected by a small island. “We probably should have crossed when it was a stream,” Renard lamented.

“You want to go back?” Astra offered.

He wanted to, but it would be nearly half a day’s journey already. “No, we’ve covered enough ground. Let’s just try and cross.”

The island was mostly a muddy piece of sodden ground, about 10 meters wide. Either side of the river around it was likely 10 meters as well. Upon realizing this, they decided to simply cross the side upriver to the island, that bit being much narrower.

“I don't mind going first you know,” Astra volunteered.

“You a strong swimmer?” Renard checked.

Astra nodded, and the group set about tying the rope around the tiefling. Elyse considered flying across, but she wasn’t confident she would be able to make the distance.

Heading down towards the river, the stench hit them like a wall, but they were able to overcome it as they held fabric up to their faces. The banks were covered in thin slime.

“Right,” Astra started when they had arrived. “Rope around me, I’ll go to the other side and you all can hold it as you cross, then the last person can tie themselves on.” He tied up his hair.

Renard peered into the water, where dozens of rotting fish were floating past. “Should we test that this isn’t toxic before?”

The group nodded at the suggestion. Elyse ripped off a bit of meat from the boar and dipped it in the water to see what would happen, but there was no sizzle or burn.

Renard sighed. Taking off a glove, he dipped in his hand. Pulling it out, his hand had an oily sheen. “Well, that’s rank. But I don’t think it’s toxic, at least not to move through.”

“We need to get over it,” Astra grimaced.

“We’ll just go as quickly as we can,” Elyse agreed.

Tying a very secure knot to Astra, the group held tight as he waded into the water, keeping his backpack as high as possible. His feet squished on fishy remains as he tried his best not to look. The water was cold, and it began to rush around his waist, much faster than he thought.

“You want us to pull you back?” Elyse called.

“No, you said we need to get over, so, we need to get over.”

“We’ve got you,” Renard reassured him. “If anything happens, we’ve got the rope.”

The water was up to his abdomen, and the cold squeezed like a vice. It was impossible to catch a full breath. He took another step forward onto a smooth stone, and it slipped out from under him. Immediately, he went under. His head smashed through the water, seeing nothing but bubbles. The bag went with him, but he managed to hang onto it.

The rest of the group felt the rope snap, jamming their feet into the earth to keep him from going downriver. They pulled to reel him in, but the current was fighting back. Astra’s face breached the water and took a gasp, green hair plastered down the side of his face.

He bobbed under the water a few more times, finally able to put a hand out and stand himself up. Cassian let go of the rope and pulled out his wand. He knew one grappling spell, but it was going to hurt. The wand extended into a living vine full of glass shards and debris, shooting out and wrapping around the tiefling. Binding him, Astra had enough view of the water to glance at his reflection. For a second it looked like him, but then it didn’t. A horn was shattered, his mouth long and open, an eye swollen. The jaws opened menacingly as Astra was ripped away back to shore, bleeding in a dozen small cuts from Cassian’s whip.

Once he was on the shore, Renard dropped the rope and ran to him, kneeling at his side. The whip disappeared back into Cassian’s wand.

“We’re finding another way… we, we have to find another way,” the bard chanted under his breath, terrified.

“We can find another way,” Renard consoled.

“Sorry to hurt you, I just couldn’t think of another way to get you out,” Cassian shrugged.

Renard whirled on him. “We had him on the rope!”

“He kept being pulled under!”

“The whole point of it was that we could pull him back,” Elyse retorted.

Cassian sneered. “Well you weren’t doing a very good job of it!”

“That was completely unreasonable,” Renard scolded.

“At least we were trying!” Boblem interjected.

“Yeah, and I got him out!” Cassian scoffed.

Quietly, Astra put his bag on his back and tried his best to move further away from the river, with Elyse following. A low chuckle began to build as they stepped on the fish, the noise growing ever louder with each step. It seemed to echo out from the corpses, growing and bellowing and swelling. Astra began to run, and the rest of the group looked on to see, standing over the body of now-still water, the form of another Astra. This one had a broken horn and waterlogged skin, covered in a white tinted-green. Looking through soaked hair, they recognized the grim reflection of the bard. 

Cassian looked on at the drowned form of Astra, hair now completely covering its face. Shooting out the whip again, the vine wrapped around the form and dug into skin as it let out a screech. This time, he chose not to pull the creature any closer than it already was, and the whip retracted as he backed up cautiously.

Elyse shot an orb of electric energy at the creature, pulling out her focus with a spin. A ball of lightning hit the figure, and its hair whipped back to reveal that its mouth was now split into a smile stretching ear to ear. The teeth were wrong as well, pointing in different directions, some of them just rocks and shells. The eyes were far larger than they should have been, taking up too much space like an angler fish, glowing yellowish white as it howled back.

Elyse’s electricity caused her veins to glow on her skin, matching her bright eyes. Not done yet, she flung another bolt of energy towards the beast with her other hand. A bit of its hair sizzled away.

Renard gulped. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, Cassian bring it closer to me!”

“Someone likes to live dangerously!” the wizard called back, bringing out the whip for the third time. Striking the target, he pulled the figure closer. Renard ran over towards it to attack, slashing with his rapier through the figure.

“Fuck you!” he screamed as the blade rang true.

“Agreed!” Cassian replied from further up the hill.

The face of the monster contorted in terror, howling as it looked around. He slashed at it again, pulling back with the rapier and driving it into the chest of the creature as he sliced up through its flesh. The form of Astra ripped apart, and the illusion faded. It remained green, a misshapen humanoid form falling backwards into the water as the wide grinning mouth slackened and fell back.

Renard felt relieved, but Boblem noticed the water continuing to boil and bubble near them, and readied a spell. Something else splashed out from the river, and before he could even see what it was, Boblem unleashed a wave of thunder onto the figure, slamming it backwards.

Another popped up by Cassian. It was a monstrosity of fish and person, a large and blue skinned creature with fins on the back of its head and arms, a twisted version of a mermaid. An eight foot tail careened out of the water as the figure was pushed back. Their enormous muscles bared tridents, and their mouths opened to a foot in width in a mess of spine and teeth as they shrieked.

Righting itself, one grabbed a harpoon from its back and threw it directly at Boblem. Dodging, it clipped his ear as he felt the wind whistle past, embedding itself in the hill behind the boy. It vibrated in the dirt, shaking from the ferocity of the throw. The creature dove under the water, the adventurers watching bubbles once more before it emerged back by Renard. Curved talons of ivory blue slashed out towards him, powered by arms the size of tree trunks. Its tail thrashed to keep it in place as it towered over him, but Renard was able to deflect the blow with his rapier.

Steeling himself, Astra entered the fray again. Forcing his thoughts into the mind of the one nearest Renard, he begged it to go away. Pain flashed on its face from the psychic attack as it stumbled back a small distance.

The second one approached Renard instead, launching a harpoon that whizzed by once more. Its jaws opened to bite, but Renard skillfully deflected once again. Sariel lifted her hands, and piles of seaweed rose up to tangle themselves over the one attacking Renard. She wanted to restrain it, but the beast tore through the binds with no effect.

Cassian held out a hand towards one of the shapes, swearing at them in Elvish. “May you sink to the bottom of these depths and never return.”

A bolt of energy blasted out to hit, as the figure fell back once more. The corpse of the false Astra still bobbed in the waves. Elyse threw a bolt as well, as the energy blasted into the closer one.

Renard let out a frustrated sigh. “Cassian, did you have to knock it away from me?”

The elf threw him an incredulous look.

“Can you just bring him back over here, please?” he shouted.

“I… suppose so!” Cassian relented, going for the whip again. Once more, the weapon unfurled to grapple the beast, dragging it closer. Renard slashed into it, a gash opening in its chest.

Boblem took the short argument as a chance to cast a moonbeam, familiar light burning down onto one of the fish creatures. In anger, it attacked Renard with its claws once more only to be expertly dodged. Sick of this, the creature pulled another harpoon and shot at Sariel. Before she could react, the spear was sticking out of her chest. There was a rope attached to the end of it. In a moment, she was yanked into the river. Breath escaped her as she fell in the mud.

Astra darted towards Sariel, shouting and casting healing magic frantically. He picked her up out of the water, and Cassian, too distracted by this to notice, found himself with another harpoon in his side. His neck snapped back as he was pulled in by the barbs, barely dodging another clawed attack.

Sariel, still in Astra’s arms and unable to free herself from the harpoon, opened her own moonbeam. The two attackers were now looking very rough.

Cassian glared at the beast who had speared him. He spoke to it again, this time in Infernal. “You're a fucking joke, and you'll die where you stand before me today.”

He spat blood, and it spit back at him in a roar.

Elyse thought of using her fire magic to burn through the ropes, but she didn’t want to hurt the elves. Cutting it with her knife would take too long. Steeling herself, she sent another bolt of fire into a creature’s head. Electricity shot from her eyes she yelled at the beast. “Leave my friends the fuck alone!”

The attack left smoke behind it, and the head ruptured as a fountain of water expelled from it, falling into the river. Sariel’s rope slackened, but the harpoon was still buried in her.

Renard moved through the battle to Cassian, deftly dodging the moonbeams. He wrapped the rope around his arm, hoping this would cause any further grappling to squeeze his arm rather than pull the irritating wizard further. With his free hand, he made a swing as Cassian let out a surprised greeting at his sudden appearance. Lunging out, with one hand literally tied behind his back, the swordsman pierced the beast’s throat as the figure bubbled. But it was still standing.

Frustrated, Renard used the sword to bring the injured beast closer, and he kicked at the creature with all of his might. Hitting its throat once more, he shattered its neck as it fell back. Renard suddenly found his arms full of Cassian, who had dramatically fallen against him as the fresh carcass of the second creature pulled on the rope.

The corpses fell back, and in an instant, quiet and stillness returned to the river.

Renard righted Cassian, hooking an arm around his waist to look over him. “Are you okay? Should we get this out?”

Cassian stared up at him. “I mean, if you’d be so kind, good sir…”

Renard helped the wizard back to the shore, lowering him to the ground to inspect the barbed spear. He carefully pulled it out, Cassian grimacing through it.

Astra had been attending to Sariel. “Don’t worry little sapling, we’re going to get it out of you,” he smiled comfortingly as he looked at the damage. Slowly pulling it out, he cast more healing magic as Boblem did the same for Cassian.

“We can salvage this, it’s alright!” Boblem consoled, motioning to the wizard’s clothes. Cassian was still a bit distracted, but he thanked Boblem anyway.

When Sariel was stable, Astra frantically checked his bag. Relieved, he saw there was only minor water damage. With a quick spell, it was dry once more.

“Everything alright with your bag over there?” Boblem called.

“Much better than it could have been.”

As the waves lapped, living fish began to trickle down the stream, and the stench began to subside.

Renard glanced over to Cassian. “We do make a good team.”

The wizard locked onto his eyes. “Quite.”

Renard took a breath, moving a piece of Cassian’s hair back into place before standing up to check on the rest of the group. Cassian’s reaction was instant, diving for his hand mirror to make any adjustments necessary to his style. His hair was absolutely everywhere, makeup smeared across his face as mud dripped from him.

“Astra?” he called out, looking desperate and motioning towards his mirror. “Please?”

Astra nodded and waved his hands, drawing the mud and water from him. Cassian gave his thanks as Elyse made her way over to the bard.

“Are you alright?”

Her answer came in the form of a hug, which she tightly returned. “It’s okay,” she comforted him. “We got you.”

“How are you doing ‘lil fella?” Boblem asked, sitting next to Sariel.

“Been better.”

“You took a very nasty hit,” Cassian recalled.

“How are you?” she returned.

“I’m fine, thank you, But yes, perhaps we should… get crossing.”

“We’ve still got to cross the river,” Renard sighed.

“Well as Elyse said, we have stepping stones now,” he pointed at the corpses.

“Could we take a short break before we do this? Because I’m sure everyone could use a moment to sit down.”

“Sure, we can collect our thoughts.”

The rest of the group agreed, and Astra went about drying himself. “Hopefully it’ll be a bit easier now that there's not a creepy monster living in the river.”

“Three less,” Boblem corrected.

Cassian looked over to Astra. “Do you know any songs in infernal? Perhaps we could sing together.”

Astra glanced back at him. “Not in Infernal.”

Cassian shrugged. “Well, maybe you can teach me one of the Sylvan ones.” Astra nodded, and beckoned for Cassian to sit with him.

For a short while, they all sat, tending to their wounds.


	6. Hide And Squeak, Episode Four

Elyse stood to look over the riverbank, considering it.

Renard approached her from behind. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking, if I jump up on this body, I can fly about halfway across the river, and then swim the rest of the way. It's risky though, because we just experienced what happens when people swim through this.”

The river looked much calmer, the flow no longer as fierce as the pull on Astra before. “I believe the river might be friendly to us now,” Boblem observed.

“It does look calmer,” Sariel agreed.

“Now that the creature is gone... maybe it was having some kind of effect on the water,” Elyse hypothesized.

“Maybe we can wait it out, without too much trouble.”

“Maybe we can go elsewhere,” Astra countered. “Try and cross higher up, if we really want to go across this river.”

Cassian frowned. “I mean... that's what got us in this mess in the first place, that we didn't cross it when it was just a stream.”

“Yeah,” Elyse agreed. “And I think we have to cross this river in order to get to where we believe this fallen star is. I think we just need to do it. And I know, you’ve just…” she trailed off, motioning to Astra’s general form.

“Perhaps it's time sensitive,” Renard worried. “The creatures might not all be gone permanently, we should probably move out.”

“Get to the other side, and then take rest,” Cassian agreed.

“How are you feeling about that Astra, you okay? You seemed quite upset,” Boblem worried.

He swallowed. “I don't ever want to go through the river again. I would prefer to go and… cross separately. If I need to.”

Elyse looked at Astra apologetically. “I don’t know if there’s going to be another way, this river cuts through quite a while.”

“I mean we could go to where it was just a little stream?” Boblem posited.

“That would be backtracking by about a day. I mean, I’m not entirely opposed, but we would lose a lot of covered ground, and it would probably be safer…”

Renard interjected as she trailed off. “I think we should be able to cross safely here. We should at least give it one more chance, right?”

Elyse looked back to Astra. “If it makes you feel better we can always have some of us cross first and then, maybe have someone tie the rope around you from this end. We can pull you through, rather than you having to swim on your own strength.”

“I’m fine with swimming,” he responded. “Not fine with what happened.”

Elyse thought. “What if we crossed together?”

Astra paused, and after a moment, agreed.

“If you walk upstream from the monsters, then if it does start to get stronger they'll be a barrier for you,” Sariel explained.

“If you want I can carry you on my back?” Boblem offered. That drew a shadow of a smile from the bard, but he shook his head.

Renard leaned over to Astra. “So, are you willing? I mean, if all else fails, Cassian can just whip you again.”

“That’s true,” the wizard agreed.

Astra grimaced. “It was helpful, but I'd rather you didn't do that again.”

“Got you out of the water, didn’t it?” Cassian mumbled to himself, earning a sharp look from Renard.

“I’ll cross with you,” Elyse assured him. “So who do we want to send across first? I think it should be someone who can pull the others easily,” she glanced at Renard, “Which unfortunately is probably you. I know that you have some feelings about- ”

“Fine.” He grabbed the rope and began to march into the river. He took a step in, past the remaining bits of fish that were laughing before. Looking to the horizon, he tried not to focus on the water rising up and pulling on his knees and hips. Pushing through, he made it two meters in when it was up to his abdomen.

Stopping, he found himself unable to move for a few seconds. But then, steeling himself, he took a breath and plunged through. Plowing through the mud, he made it to the other side.

“Well done,” Sariel called.

“You alright?” Elyse asked.

“I'm fine, it's not fast, you can just walk through.”

Elyse looked over to Astra. “Do you want to go next with me?”

The bard gave a small nod, but before they could prepare, Cassian threw a shell on the ground. As it cracked in a puff of smoke, he reappeared on the other side of the bank. Renard flinched as the other man suddenly appeared.

Boblem looked over at him in confusion. “Could you have just done that from the beginning?”

“And be left on my own on the other side? No thank you,” he scoffed.

“I didn’t know you liked us so much that you wouldn’t want to be alone!” Boblem smiled.

Astra looked to Sariel. “Can you do that? Can I give you my bag?”

“I didn’t even think of that. But yes.”

“Please look after it, please,” Astra reluctantly handed her the bag.

“I will.”

A streak of silver white fog, and Sariel was on the other side, eyes slightly wide, but clutching the backpack safely. Renard winced again.

Elyse rolled her eyes, exasperated. “I think we need to have a conversation about sharing abilities and resources with the rest of the party!”

Looking slightly more at ease, Astra held onto the rope and stepped into the river. He focused not on the water, but on the eyes of people waiting on the other side. The rope was taut and strong, like pulling along a tree branch.

Before he knew it, he was over, with Elyse right behind. “Wasn’t so bad, right?” she reassured, turning back to look past the river. “Bobem?” 

He nodded, and began to tie the rope around his waist, making it over easily. When the group was safely across, Astra started drying off the group again as Sariel passed back his bag. Renard check the map.

Elyse looked over to him. “I think we should move away from the water before we rest, just in case we have no idea what's going on. Let's just keep heading... in the direction we need to be heading?”

He nodded, taking off up the next hill again. Cresting the hill, Astra had settled himself in step with Cassian, discussing the Sylvan language. There was certainly wildlife moving about, including large birds, but nothing too close. “Seems safe to rest up here,” Renard declared.

“High ground is always good,” Elyse nodded. They sat, and Astra continued his discussion with the wizard.

“Syvian’s a lot different than Infernal,” he explained. “A little bit softer.”

“Yes, I can tell,” Cassian nodded.

“You said you wanted to sing some basic songs with me at some point, so…”

“I'm just interested in the language more than anything else.”

“It's a very common language.”

“Seems like you might need some of that now.”

Elyse scooted closer to the edge of the hill, looking out to the northwest and holding her focus, looking into it. When the reaction she was hoping for didn’t happen, she flipped her book back open, skimming for information on visions, hallucinations, and memory loss from Arcane Foci.

Renard sat the another side, overlooking the river. He could make out a smudge on the horizon, probably the border of the mangrove swamps. He made a few more notes on the map. They were about a third of the way there, he estimated, marking a vague scale.

He could hear the sound of a pan flute, Astra playing behind him. It was a very dainty tune that certainly contained more healing magic.

“That's a lovely tune,” Boblem smiled.

Astra nodded, unable to respond as he played. Elyse smiled and glanced at the musician, and Cassian closed his eyes as the song filled the air.

Elyse leaned over to Boblem. “I don’t know if you’ve made that potion yet, but it seems like we're going to need it.”

“Yeah!” he smiled brightly. “Might take awhile, but I can get started on it.”

“Yes, and given that you three have healing abilities,” she nodded at the healers, “Maybe we need to spread out the potions among the rest of the party so that we can all cover all bases if we need to. There’s things here that we weren't anticipating.”

“Speaking of, how’s everybody feeling?” Boblem addressed the group. There was a half-hearted general agreement that everyone was alright.

“We sound so convincing,” Sariel smiled quietly.

“Emotionally as well?” Boblem continued. This time, silence. Feeling awkward, he pulled out a mortar and pestle from his sack, cutting and grinding ingredients as the hour passed. Eventually, he wrapped the ingredients in a cloth and strained out the liquid, before returning the smaller sack to his bag.

Renard, who was watching the horizon to keep the time, stood up and announced to the group that it was time to keep moving.

The group packed up and began to head down the hill. Astra surveyed the land. “I believe if we go along this route,” he drew a line in the air that cut through the landscape, “We will be able to avoid some really nasty looking areas. Might be the fastest way.”

Renard nodded. “Good work.”

“Sure.”

By the time the sun began to set, they were once more cresting a hill. Renard led the pack, followed by Elyse, Astra, Cassian, Sariel, and Boblem, who had hooked his staff under his arms, walking like a scarecrow. 

As the light dimmed, Renard realized the need to find a spot to camp. “Astra,” he called behind him. The bard, who had been playing with his hair, looked up. “You seem to understand the terrain. Can you see a spot for us to rest again?”

“I can have a look, see what I can find.”

It took awhile, with a false lead on a hilltop that was much too marshy, but eventually they settled at a peak that was more suitable. The sun was gone, but there was a faint flicker of light to the distance, at the base of another hill.

“Light up ahead,” Astra pointed out. “East.”

“Do we need some light on our situation right now?” Cassian suggested, nodding to the general blackness of the sky.

“We could probably do with it.”

The wizard nodded, and two floating blue orbs appeared at the front and back of their line, pulsing like large fireflies.

“I could go check it out,” Elyse offered. Renard and Cassian overlapped each other's response, both declaring the light to be the fire of the lizardfolk they had met previously.

“I sure hope it is,” Boblem worried.

“Could be, but could be any number of things, or people,” Elyse countered.

“I say we avoid them,” Sariel warned.

“I mean, I could turn invisible and check it out.”

Astra nodded. “This is fine to camp, but it’s not optimal. We should find out if they’re fine to camp nearby.”

Sariel shook her head. “They said there were bandits in the area.”

“They said the bandits ran away after the star fell,” Cassian recalled.

Astra, who wasn’t present for that part of the lizardfolk conversation, had to be filled in on the details. Cassian reassured him that the bandits had left, but Elyse pointed out that the man back in the village had warned them as well.

“Well he also said some of his men hadn’t come back, we should check if that’s them,” Renard decided.

“Yeah, a blue woman, and a human man. Ezra and… Kahena?” Elyse guessed. “Anyway, I’m volunteering to…”

“Scout ahead,” Cassian finished.

“Sounds good,” Boblem nodded.

The group agreed on the plan, and they sat on the hill waiting as Elyse started down. “And this time, don’t come charging in before I come back,” she teased with half-seriousness.

“If we hear screaming…” Astra warned.

“Yeah, if you  _ come back," _ Renard defended.

“I was in the process of coming back when you charged in last time,” she countered as her form vanished into the air. The group sat in silence as Elyse made her way around the slope, and she noted how the hill seemed to have crumbled off, fallen like a sheer cliff. It was not too high, but certainly a sudden drop off. The light reflected off the rock face.

Moving as stealthily as possible, she made her way silently and slowly to the crest of the hill, peeking over and picking up the faint sounds of voices. There was a campfire, and about six humanoid figures eating and talking. There was a scattering of weapons and equipment around the group, but she couldn’t make out more than silhouettes.

“We should try to get a ransom for them.”

“Kill them. We’re in too deep now, fuck it. They’re waste.”

Elyse moved in closer, around the cliffside, taking a wide loop around. Behind a large rock, she looked out and saw tattered clothes and patchwork leather armor, the group armed with crossbows and daggers.

And then she heard the low growling of a dog. Elyse quickly tried to retreat, but then there was a second one. The figures around the camp stood up. “What is it boy?” one yelled. Then, “Do it. Just to be sure.”

Something whizzed through the air, just missing her. She continued to retreat, suddenly realizing she couldn’t hear anything at all. Something huge slammed into her and pierced her skin, and looking behind, there was a dog on her. As the pain flashed over her, the spell dropped, and her form returned to visibility. Thinking quickly, she tried to cast another disguising spell, but found she couldn’t speak.

Another force slammed into her back. Putting a hand on her shoulder, there was a bolt sticking out. Suddenly, she was illuminated by a glowing, bright light. Six figures completely surrounded her. A dwarf, holding his hands outwards, was clearly concentrating on a spell.

The bright light got the attention of the rest of the group. “Over there!” Boblem pointed as Renard swore.

“Has she gotten herself in trouble again?” Cassian glanced over with half interest.

Elyse did her best to look innocent, small, and scared, as three people moved towards her and pulling out ropes and manacles. The dog was still attached to her hip, holding her in place, and another was circling. She tried her best to run, elbowing the dog off her and sprinting away. The dog had a moment of shock, but it followed quickly, keeping pace.

Once she was a bit further away, hearing returned to her. Relieved, she kept running.

The rest of the group was still considering the flash of light. “She did say not to follow,” Astra thought.

“I don’t care,” Renard declared. He began to move, and as the rest of the group followed, Cassian dismissed the blue lights around them.

Another bolt whizzed past Elyse. “Get her! Don’t let her escape!” shouted a voice from behind. She frantically cast invisibility one more, and the dog halted for a moment, but picked up her scent again and continued the hunt. Elyse moved in a diagonal, trying not to lead the dogs directly to her group. The dogs were certainly heading in the right direction, but much slower with her invisibility.

A force hit Renard, starling him as Elyse flickered back into visibility. “They had some kind of thing, I couldn’t speak, couldn’t hear, I couldn’t… use magic, we need to go, we need to go, we need to go.”

Astra made a move to remove the bolt from her shoulder. “Not now, not now, just go!” she brushed him off, running back up the hill. Most of the group followed, but Renard took out his sword and surveyed the area as Cassian watched.

The dogs circled the base of the hill as two figures in hoods scanned the area for tracks. Astra and Elyse argued over removing the bolt as they moved, and Renard turned to the wizard.

“Can you do that thing you did at the river, get to them and tell them they need to hide?”

Cassian raised a brow. “I can just run.”

“Well then  _ run." _

He did, relaying the message to the group as they all agreed. Renard looked around for small rocks. Grabbing one, he hurled it away from his body. One head turned, and began to walk in that direction, but the other had vanished. Renard walked backwards, still watching.

“All we can do is keep going forwards, but we might run into the dogs again at the bottom of the hill,” Astra warned the others.

Renard rejoined the group. “They are not going to stop looking for us, what happened Elyse?”

“Want me to try and speak to them?” Boblem offered.

Astra considered. “Potentially, but we just need to carry on moving, find someplace to hide.”

“Or we could just dispatch the dogs,” Renard shrugged.

“We’re not going to kill the dogs!”

“You kill the dogs, the master comes looking,” Cassian warned.

“We’re just not going to kill dogs!” Astra pressed. “Can we move on from that, as a thought?”

“We could talk to them?” Boblem suggested again.

Renard looked over to Elyse. “Who were they? Bandits?”

She shook her head. “I’m assuming bandits but I don’t know, they had something that meant I couldn't use magic.”

“Can I please take a look at your shoulder now?” Astra begged.

“No, I’ll do it.” With a grimace, she pulled the bolt out of her back, wincing with the pain.

“We could create a distraction,” Renard strategized.

“Or we just keep going, find somewhere else to rest, just sleep into the morning. Better than being killed in our sleep,” Cassian retorted.

“I’m not staying here,” Elyse agreed. The sound of whistling cut through the air, from multiple places. Astra looked over to the whistling and held out a hand. A false copy of Elyse’s voice appeared thirty feet away, shouting “We need to run, this way!”

“Right we need to head in the opposite direction of that voice,” Astra ushered them. They made it to the bottom of the hill, slowly, and found no dogs. They continued to move between the valley. Most of the group could see in the dark, and they quietly made their escape. Finding a small nook, they backed into it to hide.

“So what now?” Renard asked. “We going to rest here?”

“Sleep,” Cassian replied. “I can stay awake quite a while.”

“Some of us can rest, or get healed,” Boblem agreed.

“I think you could use a rest, sapling,” Astra advised the sorcerer, who dodged the comforting hand. She was truly shaken.

Astra pushed some healing magic onto her anyway. “Don’t worry about them anymore. You’re with us again.”

“I should have been able to handle that,” she frowned.

“Sometimes things are bigger than us, and that’s okay.”

“You said there were a lot of them,” Boblem added. “You can’t expect to be able to take everybody on.”

Elyse tried to argue, but Renard was pressing her for more details on the attackers. She put her hands over her face. “Um, there were, I think six of them plus the dogs, they were wearing like, ragged, kind of dark clothes. I'm assuming they're bandits, they had lots of weapons and equipment on them. Magic casters as well. And I could hear them speaking a little bit, they were saying something about whether to ransom someone or kill someone, or a group of people. I didn’t get to see who they were talking about. I couldn’t speak.”

“Couldn’t speak?” Astra pressed.

“I couldn’t hear anything, I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t do anything.”

Renard looked at her, jaw set. “Well then I have to go back.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Cassian’s incredulous voice responded.

“Not by yourself,” Boblem cautioned. “Sound like dangerous folk, can’t go back on your own.”

“And there’s no guarantee the person was even there, they could have just been talking about… something else,” Cassian reasoned.

Elyse sighed. “I wanted to try and see who they were talking about, but I didn't- I didn't get the chance.”

“You did the best you could,” Astra comforted as Boblem nodded. Elyse slunk against the far back wall of the crevice in an attempt to get some space, holding her focus to steady herself. Cassian, sitting at the mouth of the opening, was fully aware and on guard. Using another illusion spell, Astra caused the opening of the rock to appear closed from the outside. The group was crammed in, with barely enough space for them all. Boblem leaned towards the entrance to listen for intruders.

“They shouldn’t be able to see us,” Astra informed the wizard. “The crack is closed. Don’t worry, it’s just an illusion.”

He considered this. “If they have magic, they might be able to dispel it.”

“If they have dogs, they might sniff us out,” Boblem warned.

“We’ll just have to be careful,” Astra sighed.

There were a few moments of tense silence in the small hideout. Renard moved to the entrance. “I’m sorry, I have to know.”

He passed through the illusion and out the mouth of the hole. Cassian tried to stop him, putting a hand on his surprisingly muscular shoulder, but Renard slapped him away.

The wizard bristled. “Have fun getting yourself killed, then.”

Sariel called out for him, “Renard!”

“Shh! Fucking idiot,” Cassian chided.

Sariel wasn’t deterred. “Do what you want but I think this is incredibly reckless!”

Elyse shushed her as well, and the smaller elf fell silent. Boblem followed, shifting his form into a poisonous snake as Astra and Elyse followed. Sariel begrudgingly went next. Cassian remained determidly in the crevice, glaring after them.

The group retraced their steps, making it to the bottom of the hill. Three figures were in the distance, illuminated by starlight, but they didn’t seem to have noticed the group yet.

Where Sariel stepped, the grass and leaves seemed to grow and knot together, creating pads underfoot that held back all noise. Renard reached under his coat, readying his knife.

The group crawled up on their bellies, and putting up their elbows to rise to the rim, they could very clearly see weapons on them. One of them had a longbow, as well as a small hand crossbow, with a hood up over pointed ears. Another had two swords, and the final one held a shortsword.

An inadvertent rustling sound from Boblem caused the one with the longbow to snap around and look in their direction. Renard ducked as one of the figures readied their bow, and he turned to see Astra with the long snaked form of Boblem.

The scout made his way to the edge, and let loose an arrow. Astra was forced to duck, and they were spotted. “They’re here!” one shouted.

Astra grabbed a piece of iron from his bag and held it tight, attempting to freeze the scout in place. He pressed his hands into the piece, but felt the spell dissipate as it was deflected. “They’ve got magic!” the voice yelled.

Boblem formed back into his usual self, trying the same trick that Astra had attempted. 

Elyse threw a bolt at the man, trying her best to run and retreat from the spot that lit up as she threw. Lightning flashed as it hit him square in the chest.

Renard ran up the side and grabbed the scout’s bow, throwing it as far as possible. He took out his knife and held it against the throat of the paralyzed bandit. “Astra, calm them down,” he called.

Astra’s head popped back up, and he stood as he spread his arms and sent a wave of calming emotions throughout the field. The one with the sword was certainly affected, holding his weapon loosely at his side. There was no telling if it had worked on the paralyzed one.

Sariel moved closer, finally caught up, casting an entanglement spell on the bandit who was still raging. Vines built up around him, but he kicked and teared through them. Reaching to his neck, he seemed to tear something off, crushing it in his hand and holding it up as the clouds parted. A beam of moonlight shone down on him as his face began to shift. His spine cracked and his elbows snapped. His face shifted into a long snout, eyes pulled back with sets of whiskers pushing out of his face, almost rat-like in appearance. He howled as he ran towards them.

Astra was horrified as he watched it run, screaming and skittering towards Renard, slashing out with its claws. They raked off his armour, but its jaws slammed down on his neck soon after. Something was wrong with the bite, and his skin tightened as something pushed for entrance. Quickly, he managed to shove the attacker away, fending off whatever was trying to intrude into his body.

Cassian, still in the hiding spot, heard the roaring of the beast. With a sigh, he glanced at his book, before rolling his eyes and walking out. He could make out the figures fighting, and one particular attacker that seemed to tower over Renard.

Reluctantly taking out his wand, he sent a crackling curse towards the creature, black energy spewing out before an accompanying bolt of arcane power. As he hit the target, he yelled towards his allies. “You’re a bunch of fucking idiots!”

“Not helpful right now!” Astra returned.

“I don’t give a shit!”

“It wasn't me who- whatever,” Elyse replied, distracted by the battle.

Astra pulled out his lute, strumming to return health to the group. It felt like a surge of adrenaline, filling their souls. Elyse tried to run behind them, staying low. The enemy who had previously been charmed by the calming spell was now reaching for his sword again. She took out her focus, wrapping the diamond shaped crystal around her arm by the gold chain before closing her eyes and sending an orb of energy towards the beast. Her trademark lightning zapped around her eyes and hands as the bolt exploded, and the creature was battered back. Boblem clapped his hands together to support Elyse’s efforts with a wave of booming thunder. The wall of sound hit, and it whipped back to stare down the farmer.

Renard, abandoning the paralyzed scout, swapped his dagger for his rapier. He made a swing for the throat of the rat creature, allowing his sword to follow through to hit the paralyzed scout as well. The blade physically connected to the creature, but it seemed to slide right off the beast. The scout was not so lucky, and a hole was torn in his belly as the color drained from his face, still held standing by the paralysis. Boblem felt the spell drop as the man died.

Renard looked up at the rat creature in horror, realizing his sword would be no use against it.

The third attacker shot a bolt at Renard, which missed by a mile. “Fuck this!” the man yelled as he turned to escape. Sariel pursued, casting her entanglement spell once more. With the moon out, she felt more energized. He stumbled, and found himself held in place by the vines. 

The creature ran over to Sariel and slashed towards her, clawing across her. It went in to bite her neck in the same way it had Renard. Something was definitely going to invade her if she didn’t act. With all of her strength, she just barely managed to push herself out of its jaws.

Cassian whirled his wand around in his hands before shooting another bolt at the attacker, a crackle of energy the color of sea foam slamming into it as Sariel pushed the beast away. Its head shattered, and it slumped to the floor.

“I told you guys this was a bad idea!” he called, finally making his way to join the group.

“Well it’s too late now, ain’t it,” Boblem replied.

“Yeah, you’re telling me!”

“We still have a problem,” the boy pointed over to the restrained bandit.

“Who’s the most intimidating?” Sariel asked as the group travelled over to him. Elyse eyed him closely, swinging her arcane focus.

“We need him!” Renard called, hoping to sway Elyse from dealing a killing blow. As they gathered and approached, Boblem readied another binding spell, in case the man was to break free.

Renard walked up beside Elyse. “You know what you did to that half-orc, in Ferrelstadt?”

“Yeah?”

“Where you put your hand on his shoulder, and… I want to talk to this guy,” he finished.

“The thing about that spell…” she considered, “Is that it doesn’t last long. Only about a minute.”

“That’s fine, I’m not going to attack him.”

“Let’s do it.”

In their discussion, they hadn’t noticed that the man had freed his arm. Boblem let loose his spell, but it didn’t take hold. The bandit, desperate, fired a crossbow bolt into Astra’s shoulder.

“There goes that plan,” Elyse warned. The man was trying to speak, but a vine covered their mouth. Sariel made her way towards him, sprinting as she transformed into a silvery grey wolf, holding him down and growling in his face.

Cassian twirled his wand, exasperated. “Well if we’re going to pursue this, I assume you want to make him talk, yes?”

Renard nodded.

“I’m sure that can be arranged,” he smiled at the man, allowing a bit of energy to fizzle off the end of his wand.

The more intimidating half of the group approached the man, Elyse swinging her focus as Cassian readied a bolt of energy with his wand, still smiling. Elyse crouched and put her hand on the man’s throat. “You’re going to answer all of our questions, or I will fucking eviserate you. Now, who are you?”

The man looked immensely panicked. He spat the vine out of his mouth, struggling for breath under the weight of the wolf. “My name’s Wilhelm,” he panted. “The fuck do you want?”

“I mean your group, idiot.”

“What, what d’you mean?”

“What are you, bandits?”

“Who do you work for?” Renard clarified.

“We don’t work for no one, we work for ourselves.”

“Who was it you had restrained?” Boblem piped up from the back.

“I overheard you talking about ransoming or killing- ” Elyse started, but the man quickly interrupted.

“Two rangers. Stupid fucks have been wandering through these hills. They know the dangers.”

“Might be our guys,” Elyse glanced to Renard. “Where are they?”

“They’re at the camp,” he spat, not happy to be revealing the information.

“How many more of there are you?”

“None.”

Elyse raised her eyebrow in disbelief as Astra gave a small yelp from the back, pulling the bolt from his shoulder. “I don’t believe you. I saw more people. I know there are more.”

Sariel snarled at him, and the man cowered in fear. “Alright, alright! There’s more, there’s a mage and, some dogs.”

“How many more of you can turn into that… thing?” Renard interrogated.

“That was only Yukine. Only he could do that, he has, something, he can do it.”

Cassian tilted his head. “Not anymore.”

“What were you intending to do with the rangers?” came Boblem’s voice again.

“Ransom. Kill ‘em. Fuck if I know, fuck if I care.”

Renard nodded. “I’m done, kill him,” he turned.

“No- no! You can let me go!”

Elyse turned to Renard. “I was actually thinking, maybe we can get him to allow us into the camp? Do an exchange so we can take the rangers.”

“Or,” Cassian thought, looking over the man. Human, late 50’s, balding, patchy beard. That could work. Waving a hand over his face, Cassian allowed a disguising spell to turn his figure into a double of the man. The group nodded in agreement, and Cassian fired a bolt of energy from his wand into the man. The light left his eyes.

“Nice,” Elyse nodded.

Boblem and Astra shared an uncomfortable look, not at all pleased with what had just transpired. Renard set about searching the bodies, finding a few gold pieces, a ruby, and a strange necklace. There were four little wooden sculptures of animal heads on the necklace. There was also the longbow, a knife, a shortsword, the crossbow, a few regular bolts, and a black bolt with gold inscription.

Astra looked at Cassian’s new form. “So you’re going to be disguising yourselves and going into the camp?”

“Yes, we’ll get the rangers out and bring them back here,” Elyse agreed. 

“Well, if you need…” he stopped himself. “Fine.”

“What?”

“Nothing, it’s…”

“No, speak up,” Renard encouraged.

Astra sighed. “I'm bleeding and injured. Why don't you take me back, because if you're going to disguise yourselves you can say you found somebody.”

Renard nodded appreciatively. “That's a good point.”

Cassian looked down at the body he had copied, and gingerly bent down. Very unhappy, he set about rubbing his clothes with the corpse’s. “Dogs,” he explained.

“Good idea,” Elyse agreed. “I know there’s at least three more people, plus two dogs. I don’t want you to end up injured in a situation where not all of us are there.” 

“If everyone else is still around…” Astra replied.

“If you guys can wait sort of nearby?”

“I can use that crossbow,” Renard agreed.

Boblem looked concerned. “Wait, like last time?”

His concern went ignored as Elyse passed Renard the crossbow. She examined the unique bolt.

“If there's a chance those are our rangers, then we need to take that chance,” Astra reasoned.

“Absolutely,” Elyse turned the bolt in her hand. The gold inscription seemed to hold a spell, but she wasn’t sure. “I have a feeling this may be what prevented me from casting.” She passed it to Cassian, who agreed.

“So don’t fire that one,” Renard decided.

“They do have a spellcaster. If you see him doing anything funny, maybe...”

“Take him out. Fine.”

Elyse disguised herself in the form of the one who had been wearing the necklace, heeding Cassian’s advice to gather some of his scent as well. The group readied themselves, and began to make their way slowly and stealthily towards the bandit camp.


	7. The Fallen Star, Episode Five

At the top of the hill, under the cover of night, the group made their way towards the bandit camp.

“Do you mind if I tie you up, take you as a prisoner?” Elyse asked the bard.

He nodded, and Elyse loosely wrapped the rope around him. Astra still looked rather despondent and quiet as she worked.

“You get the necklace?” she turned to Renard. The swordsman handed it to her, and she scanned it for enchantments. The face of a boar, a tiger, a wolf, and a bear stared back at her. The small heads were carved out of wood, the size of an acorn each, and very small writing across them.

“I will gladly let you take this off my hands,” Renard assured her.

“I think this could be fun,” she smiled, putting it on. The necklace melded into the illusion of the false duplicate already strung around the neck of her disguise. They took some time to survey the area, strategizing their attack. “It would be useful to have the three of you split at two different points,” she continued. “But that would mean someone would be on their own.”

“I’m fine being on my own,” Renard volunteered.

“So it seems we’ll have these two backing each other up,” Cassian nodded, looking over to Boblem and the wolfish form of Sariel.

“You can all see in the dark, can’t you,” Renard considered. “If anything goes wrong, can one of you spellcasters put out the campfire? Put them at disadvantage?” It would leave him blind, but it would hopefully blind the enemies as well.

The group agreed, but Boblem wasn’t so sure. “Should you be on your own, if you can’t see in the dark?”

Elyse nodded. “Good point, maybe you two go together and- ”

“I’ll stay back, I have a ranged weapon,” Renard interrupted.

“Mmm, maybe I should go with you…” Boblem warned.

Astra interjected. “Maybe you should go around to the top.”

The group looked over, surprised by his suggestion. The tiefling still looked pretty upset, but he seemed to have resigned himself to what was about to happen.

“Yeah, that’s where I first spied on them, it’s a good viewpoint,” Elyse agreed.

“No problem, I can go around to the top.” Renard turned to the other team. “I feel like it’d be more useful if you could get into the camp, rather than out of the way.”

“So Ren up on top, and you two maybe around the rock, hidden by the entrance,” Elyse agreed, as Boblem and Sariel nodded.

“Maybe you can try to talk to the dogs,” Astra thought. “If they come too close.”

“Yeah, I can try to make friends with them,” Boblem smiled.

“If they’re loyal to their masters…” Cassian shook his head.

Renard turned back to the bard. “Astra, are you prepared to put the campfire out?”

He nodded. As the group finalized their plans, they realized they hadn’t heard the paralyzed scout or the shapeshifting bandit speak. Elyse looked over to the disguised form of Cassian. “So maybe, you do most of the talking, and I’ll just handle Astra. We’ll say we took this one prisoner and killed the rest. Then we’ll see if we can swap the rangers in the camp, and get the jump on the others there. Take them out.”

“Just give me a sign when you want to douse the campfire,” Astra reminded them. Elyse nodded, agreeing to squeeze his arm to signal.

They considered sending the stealth teams ahead, but Cassian pointed out that if the disguised team went at the same time, it would serve as a good cover and distraction for the others.

“Let’s go for it,” Renard nodded.

Astra sighed. “I guess we’re doing this.”

His arms were now loosely tied behind his back, and the blood from the crossbow wound was still clearly visible through his shirt on his shoulder.

As quietly as possible, Renard, Sariel, and Boblem approached the camp. One of the dogs pricked up, beginning to sniff the air. Taking the main entrance, Cassian and Elyse dragged Astra towards the campfire. Upon their arrival, they could make out three shapes sitting near the campfire.

“We got one,” Cassian called. Immediately, they turned to look. One stood as Elyse shoved Astra forward.

“Yohan? Is it you?” the figure called.

The trio kept moving forward, and Cassian pushed Astra to the floor. The bard stumbled and fell as Elyse kept close.

The one who had stood removed his hood. It seemed to be a human man, carrying a small, battered shield and a shortsword. “They’re the only one you found, then?”

“Rest are dead,” Cassian confirmed.

“Ah, nice. Stick ‘em down with the rest.” he waved his head to a corner. “You got anything nice on ‘em?”

“Seems to be covered in instruments. Bit of a pansy one,” Cassian smirked.

_ That’s rich, _ Astra thought.

“Heh, okay, stick ‘em down here,” the man nodded.

Elyse picked Astra up, the rest of the bandits moving out of the way as she brought him over to the corner, revealing two humanoid shapes, tied and curled up on their sides on the ground. They were hidden behind the remains of a wooden cart, seemingly destroyed for firewood.

The dwarf turned to look. “What are we doing? Are we going, staying? Gut them, move on?”

There was a sound from the edge of the cliff. Boblem winced as the rock he had braced himself on rolled down the face of the cliff. Everyone turned to look, and the dog stood, growling.

The human turned back to Cassian. “Are you sure you killed them all? How many were there?”

“Counted three. Might of been one more, lost in the dark,” Cassian covered.

The man wasn’t convinced. “I’m sure there are more…”

Elyse squeezed Astra’s arm, and the fire went dark as she released a wave of thunder towards the bandits. With the wave from Elyse’s blow, they were all pushed back, and she allowed the power of the spell to guide her, gliding away from harm. One bandit flew against the cliff wall as rocks tumbled down on him.

Cassian reacted by spraying poison towards the nearest man, but the bandit was able to duck and avoid the attack. Eyes glinting amber, Cassian’s disguise dropped.

The man stumbled as he ducked, falling on his rear before shouting, “It’s them! Quick, quick!”

Sariel’s instincts were on edge, she could see everything with perfect clarity. Poised and ready to pounce, none of them had noticed her, except possibly the dog. She pounced, slamming into the dwarf and pinning him, his flowing robes tangled in her claws. Her jaws clamped around him as blood poured from his face.

Elyse was fairly certain the one who hit the cliffside was already dead, so she lobbed a ball of fire at the final enemy. Renard, sharpshooting from above, aimed a crossbow bolt at the same man. It stuck into his back, and he stumbled to the ground.

Boblem moved over to the dog, looking for an opening to speak to it. Astra, who had since freed himself from the ropes, put his hands out towards it. Its hackles were raised as it snarled by the wall.

The two prisoners, now clearly a human male and a blue skinned female, were tied, gagged, and bound. One looked up at Astra with terror. “Barrot sent us,” Astra whispered reassuringly. They looked around frantically as the bard sawed at the ropes.

Sariel’s catch was struggling. They managed to grab onto her front paw, singing her with a fiery burn.

The dog was looking antsy. Boblem began to speak to it, yipping and growling. “It’s okay, we mean you no harm.”

The dog’s face snapped over to Boblem. “No harm, no harm,” it repeated in a bark. “Let go. Me. Run.”

“You? You want to run?”

“Me. Run.”

Boblem’s face brightened. “Yes! You can run, go be free!”

He barely had time to step out of the way before the dog bolted past, into the night.

Cassian leisurely strolled over to the man pinned beneath the wolf. He took a moment to look down on the dwarf’s face before shooting him point-blank with another bolt of energy, the second time he had done so in the past hour. His eyes glazed over, and his head rolled to the side.

He considered the body for a moment. “Well, we’re safe now guys.”

Boblem made his way over to the freed prisoners while Renard lowered himself down the side of the cliff. The blue skinned woman gasped as Astra took off her gag.

“Izra? Is that your name?” the bard asked.

“Ezra. Thank- Who are you?”

“I’m Verdant Astra. We’re here to help.”

“Agh, okay, did they send you from Jennick’s?”

“Barrot told us we might find you out here, that you were missing.”

“Oh, yes, it’s- we’ve been with them for a day, they were talking about killing us. Thank you.”

Cassian set off a few dancing lights to illuminate the area, and then set about looting the body under Sariel with Elyse. The two found a pouch of basic spell components, incense, some kind of dust, and a brass amulet in the shape of a disk with a dragon design. The symbol of Pelor. There was also a bit of silver and a small club, but besides that nothing more than the burned patchwork armour and robes he wore. The other bandits had their crossbows, and scimitars as well.

As Astra conversed with Ezra, he noticed a large black bruise on the side of the male’s head. He was still unconscious. With a bit of healing magic, the injury started to fade as his breathing evened out.

A bit of lightning danced as Elyse allowed her own disguise to drop, crouching near the rangers. Ezra seemed about 30, with long black hair and pupilless blue eyes. She handed Ezra a ration from her bag, and she began to eat with fervor.

Astra left the rangers with Elyse, walking back to the fire. Looking at it for a moment, the fire sparked back to life. Cassian was appreciative, but he kept the dancing lights in the air for the atmosphere. Sufficiently illuminated, Renard set about checking the perimeter. With Boblem joining, it didn’t take long before they were certain nothing would bother them.

“We can camp here,” he called.

There was general assent from the group. “It’s already set up, so why not,” Cassian shrugged. Sariel began pulling the bodies away from the site, using her powerful jaws to drag them away.

Astra sat silently by the fire, healing himself as Elyse and Ezra helped the sleeping ranger to the campsite.

Boblem settled in as well. “How are you fellas doing?”

The woman sighed. “We’ve not been doing this long, when we signed up, but. At least this happened to us, and not anyone else in the village. Thank the Gods you came, I dread to think what would've happened if you hadn’t. I’m grateful.”

“What were you all looking for out here? Ranger business?”

“It’s our job to patrol the area. We heard that bandits were around and attacking people who came through. it's our job, it's our duty to come make sure they're not hassling people too much. We didn't expect this. I don't understand, they trapped us and came out of nowhere. They were determined, driven, not like the usual folk you find hassling strangers on the road. There was something about them.”

Boblem tilted his head. “They seemed to want something with you,”

“Not much more than the gold in our pockets, but when they found out we didn't have much of that I don't think they were gonna keep us around long.”

“There’s no use thinking about that now,” Astra comforted.

“No, but thank you. Come light, we'll make our way back as quick as we can, don't worry about bringing us back or anything. Unless you’re going that way.”

“This must be yours,” interrupted Renard, slinging the pouch of gold to the woman.

“Ah!” She examined the bag, “It’s not my pouch, but that’s my money,” she smiled. He nodded, and walked a distance away from the group before taking his own seat by the face of the cliff.

“By the way,” Boblem continued. “There were mentions of a fallen star?”

“Barrot said he sent you to investigate it,” Elyse clarified.

“Yeah, that was, sort of one of the things we were checking on at the same time.”

“Did you find anything?”

“Not found anything, but we were heading in that direction.”

“Did the bandits mention anything?”

“Didn’t hear that, no. It shouldn’t be far from here, maybe a half day’s journey if our estimation is correct.”

Done with the housekeeping, Sariel returned to the camp. She had returned to her usual small form, but there was still a large amount of blood on her face. She dragged an arm across her mouth as Ezra looked over to her, holding the green cloak a bit tighter around herself. It was the same color as Barrot’s. Boblem handed Sariel a damp cloth, and she set about cleaning her face.

“Was that… was that you? The wolf?” Ezra asked, astonished.

“That was me,” Sariel answered.

“Oh,” she responded, awed. “We could do with one of you in the village.”

“Tiny but mighty!” Boblem smiled.

Elyse gestured over to the druids. “These two can turn into all sorts of things.”

The ranger smiled. “Really?”

“It’s cool,” Elyse grinned back. “This one was a snake earlier,” she pointed, as Boblem smiled bashfully.

“That was very good, by the way,” Sariel complimented.

“I’m not sure I believe you,” Ezra started, but when Elyse urged the druids to show off their skills, she changed her tune. “You know what, I’ve seen some weird things lately... One of them turned into something as well.”

“Won’t be doing that anymore,” Cassian shrugged as Elyse held up the looted necklace.

“That’s it, that’s what he used! He became some hideous… bat creature.”

“Do you need a specific spell to use it?” pressed Elyse, intrigued.

Erza looked uncomfortable. “I don’t touch that, I wouldn’t… Whatever you do in your spare time, you can…”

“Still baffles me that you all can’t turn into animals,” Boblem remarked, thinking to himself.

“Now I can!” Elyse grinned.

“There’s lots of things about you that are really quite baffling, Boblem,” Cassian retorted.

“Thank you!” Boblem replied brightly, overlapping Sariel’s response, “Don’t be rude.”

“She’s got the right idea,” Cassian shrugged, tilting his head over to Sariel. Boblem didn’t seem to understand.

Elyse brought her book out of her bag, but was too distracted by Ezra to read properly. Glancing at her eyes and skin, she was intrigued, through trying her best not to stare. The firelight made it seem as if her skin was wet, with moisture gathering over it.

Ezra had noticed. “You could make a painting, though it’ll take longer.”

“I don’t mean to be rude, I’m just curious where you come from.”

Ezra shrugged. “Sanskra. Not far from here.”

“That’s where we’re headed. Are there more people like you in Sanskra?”

“Fair number. Never seen so many of us, but, it’s an interesting place. Be prepared. Not unwelcoming! Just…”

“Unusual?” Cassian finished.

“That’s a good way to put it. A lot of people you don’t see outside the walls.”

“Can you tell us anything about what we might expect, going to Sanskra?” Elyse pressed.

“All sorts. You ever seen a tortle?”

“No, but I’ve heard of them.”

“Like a… they stand about seven feet tall. Huge shells, mighty, strong. A tortoise walking on two legs. Speaks and acts among people- they are people. Interesting folk, a bit slow, but they’re wise. They don’t get anywhere too fast.”

“Like my grandparents!” Boblem smiled.

She laughed. “Charming, I’d be surprised if your grandparents are tortles, though. There’s a small community of triton there. You’ll meet merfolk, all sorts. It’s damp, but I like damp. It’s hard to find though, through the swamps. And the swamps are dangerous, especially for people like you.”

“Would you be able to give us directions?” asked Sariel.

“I can do.”

Astra pointed to the other member of their group. “Renard over there has got a map of the area, maybe you could help with that.”

“That’ll be helpful,” she nodded. She stood, and made her way to Renard, who looked up, surprised. “Sorry, I wasn’t listening…” he started.

“Take out your map, Renard,” Elyse called.

“I hear you’re going to Sanskra,” Ezra explained. “I’m familiar with the area, I can help you plot a course if you need.”

Renard pulled the map out of his bag. “Well, we’re actually charting the hills on our way. And looking for that star, and a number of other things. We haven’t gotten very far with the mapping today unfortunately. But if there’s anything you do know.”

She pointed on the map, drawing roughly where the mangroves started. She warned him to avoid where it met the shores, the most dangerous areas. Instead, she advised they go directly through the middle. She added a rough plotline, that avoided the swampy areas.

“If you have a small boat, it will help a lot. You’ll be wading through a lot of water, or climbing through trees. The trees start halfway in the water. Lots of swamp and marsh. There's dangerous creatures in there.”

“What kind of creatures?” Elyse called, doing her best to eavesdrop.

“Crocodiles, snakes. Yuan-ti.”

“Any- ” Renard sighed, feeling absolutely ridiculous. “Can’t believe I’m saying this, any snakes with- Cannot believe I’m saying this… Human torsos?”

“That’s Yuan-ti,” she responded, with complete seriousness. “That’s an old, old civilization. Used to live in a lot of jungles and swamps. As far as I know there’s not many around. You don’t find them in Sanskra, but in the Mangrove Swamps? They're there. And territorial. Keep away from them, if you see them.”

“Sounds fun,” Elyse remarked.

“How long have you been out of Sanskra, working in Jennick’s?” Renard asked.

She shrugged. “Ten years?”

“We heard word from various groups of people that... some people don't even believe Sanskra exists.”

She smiled. “That sounds like people who live in the same village their whole life and never see beyond their four walls. I can tell you it exists.”

“Does it… do trade? With other cities?”

“It does, but not in the conventional way that Fang or Riven do. It usually keeps itself. It trades between a lot of the communities and tribes in the swamps and in the forests, and there are arcane users, practitioners, in the city. But those who live there don't tend to leave. Not in any malicious way but, it's a haven for many people who find the environment unwelcoming elsewhere.”

Elyse, not even pretending to read anymore, was now fully turned towards Ezra and Renard. “What kind of arcane practices do they do there?”

“There’s no colleges or such, like Arakhis or further east, but I mean, the entire place is on docks. The Marid, the Lord, keeps the entire city afloat by arcane means. The mist that surrounds it, that pervades every surface and every street and every avenue, they're not natural. The city itself is imbued with some elements of sorcery.”

“Incredible,” Cassian replied.

“Amazing,” Elyse followed.

“It is. I look forward to hearing about your reaction one day, maybe. If you find yourself passing back through Jennicks, do tell me what you thought.”

Renard was still studying the map. “You said it would be easier to cross the mangroves with some sort of boat…”

“Yes, but obviously, I see you don’t have one. You could, I’m sure, fashion some makeshift raft. I would recommend.”

“We can try and make a boat!” Boblem piped, optimistic.

“We could try and make a boat,” Renard echoed, with less enthusiasm.

“Doesn't need to be anything fancy,” Ezra continued. “Though advice, stay out of the water as much as possible.”

“And the Yuan-ti,” Boblem worried, “Do they attack on sight? Or if we tell them we mean no harm would they just let us go?”

“I wish the world was like that,” Sariel smiled sadly.

“I wouldn't risk it,” Ezra confirmed.

Elyse pressed on. “Do you know how many of them there are in that area?”

“I couldn’t say. There used to be dozens, communities, a civilization even, maybe. But there have been all sorts in that area. It’s an old part of the world. All sorts of creatures there. But them, I’d steer clear of. If you see snakes around, or snakes carved on the walls of temples sunk in the floor. Turn the other way.”

“Are there many temples?” Renard continued.

“There are one or two actually, I knew an archaeologist back in Sanskra who makes expeditions into the mangroves.”

“How is this area still uncharted?”

“No one bothered to bring a map,” Cassian shrugged.

The ranger shifted. “Well, forgive me, but people like you? Tend not to like going into places like these.”

“Us?” Boblem asked.

“Humans, elves.” He nodded to Astra, “And yourself, is really- ”

“Elves?” Boblem interrupted.

She blinked. “Yeah, you know, pointy ears.”

Boblem nodded slowly, not quite understanding. “Like you? And them?” Renard prompted, nodding towards Sariel and Cassian.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Astra pressed, wanting Ezra to finish her sentence.

“Right, I just mean that the- ”

“I’m not an elf!” Boblem replied, surprised by Renard’s accusation.

Succeeding in distracting Ezra once more, the ranger turned to him once more. “I’m… fairly certain you are, sir.”

Boblem shook his head. “I’m just a boy! With pointy ears.”

Elyse began to hide her chuckling as Renard allowed the exasperation to show on what was visible of his masked face.

“Pointy ears tends to mean an elf, sir,” she continued carefully.

“It does denote being elvish,” Cassian added, rolling his eyes.

“Have you not noticed how the three of you… kind of have something in common?” Elyse continued, smiling as she put a hand on her chin to observe his reaction.

“Well… I just thought…” the boy looked around, not sure what to think.

“Did your parents have pointy ears?” Renard led him.

“My mama did?”

“So you’re a half-elf,” Renard concluded.

Boblem put his hands on his ears. “Wait…”

“You’re giving him a crisis,” Cassian shot over to Renard.

“Just don’t overwork your brain, okay?” the swordsman smirked at the boy.

“Go to sleep Boblem.”

Boblem looked around in betrayal. “No!” he protested, but the conversation was continuing without him.

“I don’t mean to be offensive but, I've never met somebody like you before,” Astra continued, making his third attempt to grab Ezra’s attention. “I was just wondering, what…”

“It’s okay, there are commoner races in the world, people that are more widespread. There are people who adapt to any environment, humans, half-elves, dwarves. But, places like Sanskra are a haven for those who require a certain sort of climate. Obviously the high moisture content doesn't do any bad things for triton, genasi, tortles, merfolk. People the same kind tend to flock together, if you catch my drift.”

Astra nodded. “I just don’t think I’ve met anyone of those races you've just mentioned.” 

“You’re going to meet a few,” Cassian replied.

“We’re few and far between.” the ranger continued. “There used to be many more of us, but many of us have traveled to other places, other planes.”

“Must be nice to have a place that you can all go together,” Astra nodded, understanding.

“A place you can call your home, yes.”

Renard stood, “I’m going to sleep,” he announced, moving his pack.

“Agreed,” Cassian followed.

“I can take first watch,” Astra volunteered.

“I thank you, for what you’ve done,” the ranger nodded, doing her best to look them all in the eye. “You’ve made an incredible difference.”

“Glad you’re safe,” Elyse agreed. “And your friend.” She looked over to her companion, who was snoring loudly.

“Astra, you can wake me up when you want to sleep. I’ll be fine.” Cassian informed the bard.

Renard rooted around in his bag and grabbed a few more rations, passing them to Ezra. “When he wakes.”

The man was starting to stir, and peered up at Ezra, bleary eyed. “What’s going on? Are they gone?”

She nodded. “Take your rest, you need one now.”

Most of the group settled into sleep, and Astra pulled out his bag. Opening his notebook, he began to sketch and journal about the day. Elyse stayed up for a bit as well, moving over to the far wall with her own battered notebook. It had papers sticking out of it, both burned and water damaged. Furiously scribbling, she took out her focus once more, pressing her forehead to it. Pouring her energy in it, she could hear a distant rumble of thunder. Light reflected off in the distance as the focus sparked. She could almost make out miniature storm clouds circling the object, and then, they were gone.

Elyse smiled and nodded. “Okay.” Gathering her belongings, she slept in the corner, keeping the focus in her hands.

After a few hours, Astra made his way over to Cassian.

“Cassian? Are you alright to take watch?” he whispered, waking him.

“Of course.”

“You sure?”

“Barely need any rest.”

Boblem, who had agreed for second watch as well, made his way over to Cassian to sit by his side. The wizard tensed as Boblem entered his space.

“So,” the boy started. “I know you don’t want to be bothered right now, but I have a lot of questions.”

“...What kind of questions?” he replied, knowing full well where this conversation would lead.

Boblem thought for a moment. “Are you sure I’m an elf?”

The wizard reached over and pinched the point of Boblem’s ear, before returning to touch his own. The farm boy rubbed his, easing the blip of pain.

“Same ears. Pretty much a racial feature.”

“But… it doesn’t make sense to me! Why would my family… say I was a boy? Why wouldn’t they say… we’re elves?”

Cassian shrugged. “It’s not exactly important to everyone.”

Boblem did not look comforted.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” the wizard continued. “It’s just… part of who you are. But it doesn’t have to  _ be _ who you are.”

The boy looked back at him. “It doesn’t change anything, does it?’

“No, it’s just… you might have some of the benefits of, being of the elven nature.”

Boblem considered this. “Like what?”

“Like, I for one don’t need to sleep very much, I can just meditate.”

“Oh, I need to sleep,” Boblem defended.

“Well that's the human in you. And, for example as well, I myself am very charming- ”

“When?”

Cassian paused. There was no malicious intention in the boy, just genuine confusion. Exhaling slowly, he put a hand on Boblem’s shoulder, with a grip that was just a bit too tight. “I myself, am very charming, but I cannot be charmed so easily by magic,” he finished, a tight lipped smile on his face.

“Ahhh,” Boblem nodded.

Sariel rolled over to join the conversation. “We can’t be easily charmed to sleep by magic either,” she added.

Boblem nodded, looking back to the wizard. “May I also ask, why are you so angry all the time?”

Cassian removed the hand. “I wouldn’t exactly describe it as anger.”

“Mmm, there’s something in there.”

Cassian put his hand on his chin, stroking. “Hmm, how shall I word this to our poor, sweet Boblem.” The boy grinned. “I’ve lived for a very long time, and- ”

“How long?”

He looked over to the other elf. “Sariel, what century are you in, of your life?”

“I’m in the 130’s,” she replied.

Boblem’s jaw dropped. “What?”

“I’m in my 200’s,” Cassian returned.

“What! Yeesh, that’s a long time!”

“I have seen a lot of shit,” he continued.

“Yeesh, that’s a long time!!” Boblem repeated, shocked.

“We can live for a very very long time,” Sariel explained.

Cassian tilted his head, thinking. “My parents, they’re like… 500? 600?”

“Whaaaaaat? You don’t look your age!”

“I knew someone who lived to their 800’s,” Sariel shared.

Cassian’s eyebrows raised. “Now that’s impressive.”

“She was a wonderful woman.”

“You guys are very speedy for people your age!” Boblem commented. “My ma and pa are not nearly as fast as y’all. But then again, they don’t have pointy ears.”

Sariel looked confused. “I thought you said your mother did have pointy ears,” she reminded him.

“Yeah,” he nodded.

Cassian blinked at him. “Your story is not adding up.”

“Yeah, but, my grandma. I kinda call her ma, since she raised me.”

“Oh, I see,” Sariel replied.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to confuse y’all. Just kinda came naturally. Thank you for answering my questions though. Hope your anger settles down someday.”

Cassian rolled his eyes as Boblem got up, moving to the other side of camp to keep watch. All was calm.

  
  


As morning approached and the group began to stir from sleep, they watched the rangers walk about the camp searching for their stolen things.

“How are you both doing today?” Astra greeted.

The man looked over. “Granted, not our best, but we appreciate what you've done. I can't tell you how grateful we are.”

“They take a lot of stuff from you?”

“Nothing we haven't got back. Like to give one of them a clip around the ear as well, but, what can ya do.”

“I'm glad you're safe. Hope you get back safely.”

“Your help is very much appreciated,” Ezra repeated. “There will be a meal, a warm fire, and much more for you in Jennick’s should all of you return. Stay safe when you travel. Enjoy Sanskra, if you go.”

The man looked at Ezra in surprise. “They’re going to Sanskra?” he whispered.

She raised her eyebrows at him. “Yeah.”

He nodded. “Okay. I wish you well. May the dawn father’s light shine on you all.”

With that, they turned, and began their way off back to the village. The man was still limping a bit, but he had grabbed a large stick as a makeshift crutch.

Renard stood, heading towards the top of the cliffside. “Elyse. Map.”

She began to rise to follow, grabbing her shoulder as she stood.

“You sure he’s not the angry one?” Cassian spoke in a low voice to Boblem.

He tilted his head. “I think there’s more than one anger issue in this party.”

From the top of the hill, the line of the mangrove swamps was clearer. There was something else too, something that wasn’t part of the hill. Though little more than a smudge, it didn’t fit in.

“Might be what we’re looking for,” Renard pointed as Elyse scribbled the information onto the map.

“I think so,” she agreed. “We should go directly there.”

“Did you get what you wanted from the… blue skinned lady?”

“I don’t know, but it’s interesting.”

“What are you trying to find out?”

“Oh, no, that wasn’t anything to do with the star business, I don’t think.”

“Just don’t think I didn’t notice,” Renard studied her. “You were incredibly interested with the captain back in Ferrelstadt, and they looked just like her.”

“I’m… interested in magical things and magical beings.”

He turned his head, unconvinced. “Okay.”

“There’s something clearly unusual about them. It’s just interesting.”

Renard shrugged, and busied himself looking for a clear path to the shape in the distance. When he came up empty handed, he turned back to the camp for help. ”Astra?”

“Hmm? Good morning…”

“Can you come up here please?”

“I suppose I can.”

When he had made his way over to the pair, Renard pointed out the shape for him. “As you seem to know the terrain- ”

“I’ve never been here before, but sure.”

“Can you see that shape over there?”

“We think that’s where we’re headed,” Elyse explained. “Can you figure out a safe, fast path for us to get there?”

He ruffled his brow. “I'm not sure…” It wouldn’t be as easy as before. They would have to scale a few more hills, and likely pass some more streams, but they could manage it within the day. “I don’t think it’s too far away, it’s just, a little bit more treacherous terrain than what we just crossed. It’s a few more rivers, which I’m not entirely keen on, but...”

Elyse nodded. “We can do this.”

“Alright, let’s get moving, let’s get ready as fast as possible,” Renard nodded, heading back down.

Down in the camp, Boblem had finished with his tea. A shimmering, amber red vial was corked and stoppered, and returned to his bag. Elyse put a hand on Astra’s arm for a moment, keeping him at the clifftop for a moment longer. “Are you okay? I didn’t get a chance to check in with you after you took a bolt.”

“Well, so did you.”

“Yeah, but I’m always okay,” she smiled. “How are you?”

“Physically fine,” he admitted. “Not too happy with… events, but I have to keep going on with this, and with all of you.”

“Sort of have to be… tough. To live out here. You can’t let things like that faze you too much. You know?” She chuckled. “Says me.”

“What about you?”

“I’m doing better. But I was wondering if you could do me a favor, quickly.” She turned, pulling back her cloak and cape to reveal the bolt wound, as well as the edge of a purple, veined wound. “This is an old wound… it won’t go away. I was wondering if maybe, you could do something about it?”

“I’m not sure, but I can certainly close up the other, and I can try my hardest.” Her skin knit back together where the bolt hit, but where the older scar was, the magic worked much slower. “It seems to be having a very small effect, but if you like we can take time every day to do something about it?”

“Yeah, just, don’t tell the others. I don’t want anyone to think I can’t handle myself. Yesterday was an anomaly.”

Astra smiled. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anybody. But you're one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“I do.”

Elyse covered her shoulder once more. “Thanks.”

The two returned to camp, where Renard was already giving out orders. “Right, pack up, we’re getting moving.”

“Yes sir,” Sariel responded quietly, in a way that could have been either respectful or sarcastic. Cassian made a face in response to the command that was certainly the latter.

As they began their trek, the hills flattened slightly, not as steep as they were before. The streams were mercifully narrower as well. Astra’s pep seemed to have returned, and he bounded along beside Elyse.

With every step, the smudge on the horizon sharpened into the clear boundary of the mangrove swamps. They could possibly reach it by nightfall, but they wanted to investigate the other shape first. A light rain drizzled down as the morning turned to afternoon. There was a bit of smaller wildlife about, but nothing large enough to threaten.

About three or four kilometers away, they took their last glance at the blues and greens of the flooded hills as they entered the final leg of their journey. Patches of trees and woodlands began to appear in the near distance.

The anomaly they had been approaching came into view. It was definitely a crash site, shapes of broken and shattered pieces everywhere. The landscape was clearly broken by something.

“That doesn’t look like what a star would be, you think?” Astra observed. “I’ve never seen anything like that, it almost looks like a building. I think we must have missed the star, this doesn’t look like- ”

“Astra, it wasn’t a star,” Elyse cut him off.

The bard was confused. “That’s what everyone was saying it was?”

“That’s what everyone thought it was.”

“What do you think it was?” Boblem asked.

Renard examined her face. “You think that fell from the sky?”

She kept walking.

Renard and Astra called after her, but she kept a steady pace. The rest of the group had no choice but to follow, Cassian breaking into a run from excited curiosity. The six made their way down another hill, splashing through the marshier spots. Cresting out of the water was an unexpected sight.

Where they had anticipated a crater and a lump of rock, they were instead greeted with a disarray of splintered wood, tattered linen, and twisted metal. What looked like a destroyed structure was embedded into the surface of the hill at a steep angle, debris scattered around the area. Looking closer, it appeared to be a ship, or at least the front of one. Plunged into the ground, and mostly waterlogged, the remnants of the mast were tangled in a mass of rigging. The hull was torn in half, with the other half nowhere to be found.

Astra was the first to name it. “It looks like... a boat?”

“Yeah, a frigate, what’s it doing out here?” followed Renard, similarly confused.

Cassian smiled, entertained. “Do you know more than you’re letting on, Elyse?”

She was already moving, trying her best to get into the wreck. The bits of hull that weren’t submerged were covered in scorch marks. The marks resembled tree branches, or veins, spread over the entire structure. Deep gouges in parallel lines of three were torn across the deck and into the hull. The planks and boards were shattered, mostly destroyed, the sails and rigging just a tangled mess. She could also make out the remnants of a copper cage, deformed and blown out.

Stepping on board, a plank creaked. She heard a growling sound in response. Something was inside the ship.

Renard stopped on the bank. Slowly and evenly, he spoke. “Elyse, step out and talk to us.”

Everything in her was pushing to investigate. The growl began to grow louder. With great regret, she gently stepped off and back to the bank. Renard put a hand on her shoulder. Another growl echoed from around the side.

“I don’t think we should be here,” Astra warned, quietly.

“We should back away,” Renard ordered in a similarly low voice.

“What’s this all about?” piped Boblem, worried.

Elyse was shaking her head. “I have work to do, I need to investigate this,” she started, and a flapping sound came from behind the hull. Something crested over the ship, wings silhouetted against the sky. They were leathery, scaled wings and a feline shape with a long tail that curved past, and turned into scales, segmented, hooked, and pointed.

Renard stared up at it. “What is that?”

The ungodly silhouette beat enormous wings. The strange shape seemed to have the body of a jaguar, but its tail was curved and pointed like a scorpion. Wood splintered as it launched off, and the group could hear a noise from underneath them as well.

Renard immediately backed away from the movement underneath him, trying his best to slide around the side of the wreckage. “Guess we’re killing this thing, right?” he called to the rest of the scrambling group as he raised his crossbow. If he had stayed, he would have caught Cassian’s aggressive nod, followed by the disapproving shake of Astra’s head. What he did notice was an overturned ballista at the prow of the ship, half sunk into the mud, but still moveable. He with all his might, he managed to flip it over, landing it on its feet.

“No, we’ve- Why can’t we just leave?” came Astra’s protest as the creature screeched. Something shot out of its tail. A spike, about five inches long, embedded itself behind Cassian. Astra ducked, and another landed in the spot where his head was. A third spike went just wide of Elyse.

“It certainly wants to kill us!” Cassian argued.

“We’ve trespassed in it’s home, we just need to leave!”

Sariel raised her hands, causing a purple translucent flame to surround the creature. It was now entirely visible. A lion’s body, a dragon’s wings, a scorpion’s tail, and a hideous human face twisted into a howl. Two enormous tusks pointed up, a halo of spikes all around it.

Elyse stared at it. She had heard the myths before, the drawings and stories, but never seen one in person before. A manticore.

Pulling out her arcane focus, once more whipping it around, she sent an orb of lightning towards the creature. The creature was illuminated in a light unlike what she had previously seen, striking the creature but then somehow arcing off and bouncing around. The ship crawled with the residual electric energy. Hit square in the chest, the creature recoiled with a howl. She flew back, power crackling off her as patches of her skin turned dark blue, veins illuminating and cracking as she landed gracefully on the bank.

Cassian watched the display of lights, and noticed another pair of eyes in the hold underneath. “We have more friends, it seems,” he warned.

“Then maybe it’s their nest and  _ we should leave!" _ Astra repeated.

“It doesn’t belong to it,” came Elyse’s cold reply. Boblem tried to get her to expand, but received no response.

Cassian stared back at the creature. He made no movement other than backing away, but inside the mind of the creature, an operatic note crescendoed to an ear piercing pain. The creature responded with an unearthly howl of its own, batting its own head to relieve itself of the noise.

The second manticore emerged from underneath. This one had the face of an old man, contorted and twisted as two tusks rose up, one piercing where its nose was, grown straight through. Another halo of spikes, followed by wings that unfurled, tipped with points that dug into the surface of the wood. Muscular shoulders were followed by a curving tail. Growling, it pounced to bite down on Astra. The tiefling escaped barely out of range as the human face closed down inches from his.

Leaning back, it swiped with claws instead. Both of them hit, digging into his flesh with another roar, leaving the bard stumbling with pain and surprise from the strength of the blows.

He stared back at the creature, using his power to push his voice into its head. “Please, leave me alone. I don’t want to have any part of this!” he begged.

Boblem watched the manticore attack Astra with wide eyes, and threw his arms in the air to release a moonbeam between Astra and the being. The silver light burned and sizzled on the back of its head.

Renard shot off from the huge crossbow. It was difficult to maneuver from the wreckage, but it sent a resounding crack into the air as a meter long bolt hit the flying creature. It shrieked, trying to keep balance in the air, and Renard ran to make an attack on the other one. Hacking and slashing with his sword, he managed to take a chunk out of its wings.

The first creature shot from its tail again. One, two, three spikes slammed into Boblem’s back like rapid fire punches, thrusting him forward as his breath was knocked from him. He dropped to his knees for a moment, hurrying back up as fast as possible, reaching a hand back to feel the spikes.

Sariel waved her hands, swirling them as the condensation in the air formed a crystalline knife in front of her, flinging it towards the weaker one. The creature skillfully dodged, and the knife flew past. Elyse stepped around Cassian, who watched with intrigue as she aimed another orb of energy. She held her focus beside her as she drew the electricity from it. Once more, her magic behaved strangely. Reacting to the ship and bending off of the discarded and warped cage on the deck, lighting arched off of the environment as she pulled her hands back and launched it forward. This time, the manticore was blasted out of the sky. With a howl and a splash, it disappeared from view around the other side as she retreated to a safe distance.

The wizard smiled approvingly at Elyse, firing off a bolt of his own at the one who had been ripping into Astra. It managed to dodge the attack, though still sizzling under the moonbeam, and Cassian backed away. Angry, it turned its attention back to Astra, who was still bleeding heavily from the earlier damage.

It slashed with its claws, both making contact once again. The first swipe knocked him out, and he fell limp to the ground as he bled. Unrelenting, the manticore swiped again, batting about the paling body of the bard. It reared its head for the killing blow as the others watched. Careening forward, it sunk its mighty jaws into the side of the unconscious tiefling.

Astra had only a few seconds of breath left. Racing towards him, Boblem caught the body of the group’s pacifist. In moments, he managed to grab the freshly brewed potion from his bag, uncork the bottle, and pour the liquid down his throat.

There was a beat, and then a strangled gasp for air as the bard regained consciousness. He was stable, for now, but another blow would end him. Renard, just on Boblem’s heels, pulled off his gloves and held the bard’s face. Astra felt a familiar glimpse of divine energy flowing into him, but in his woozy state and the chaos of battle, there was no time for questions, and no way to be sure.

Astra’s eyes opened to see the manticore still snarling above him, as Boblem’s terrified eyes stared down while the boy cradled him. The druid was bleeding quite a bit as well, looking just on the brink of falling himself.

Renard turned from Astra and hacked into the creature. A second moonbeam opened, courtesy of Sariel. Seeing Astra go down, Elyse was shaken. She tried her best to aim another orb of energy, but it went wide and splintered off the wreckage.

Cassian, watching as his allies fall and break before him, steeled himself to let loose a curse towards the manticore. Concentrating on the darkness, and as Boblem had described, the anger inside of him, he whipped his wand around to let a huge crackle down its horrible throat. As it brought its face forward to deal the final blow over Astra and Boblem, its face split wider than it should have as arcane energy seared down its throat. Cassian’s spell blasted a hole in the other side of its neck as the creature crumbled to the ground.

As it collapsed, he ran beside Boblem as Sariel followed. Boblem was hugging the bard tightly. “Please don’t scare me like that again!” he begged.

Elyse stared from across the wreckage as Renard dug in his bag for his last healing potion. He brought it to Astra’s lips, urging him to drink as Cassian set about removing the huge barbs from Boblem’s back.

“Thank you… mighty kind of you,” Boblem smiled weakly, blood still pouring out of the gashes, each at least an inch thick. He was too pale, seemingly on the verge of unconsciousness.

“Afraid I can’t do anything about the wounds,” he apologized. But Sariel was already on the case, sending healing magic to the both of them.

Once Astra had consumed all of the potion, Renard stood and walked away, putting his hands in the air. “I can’t do this, I can’t do this anymore,” he declared.

Elyse was still standing across the bank, her arcane focus in hand, crackling with electricity but slowly winding down. She watched as Boblem and Astra were healed, despondent, but eyes still fully white as the excess energy passed through her.

When Boblem was sufficiently healed, Cassian made his way to her. “Hey Thunderstorm,” he started, slowly. “Doing alright?”

There was no reaction, other than heavy breathing. He put a hand on her shoulder, only slightly fazed by the jolt of static electricity under his hand. “Come on, stay with us now.” She turned towards him, looking at his face with no pupils, and small blue veins in her eyes. “Would you be so kind as to tell us what’s going on now?” he prompted.

She took a breath. “If I knew, I would.” Then, she pushed away from him. “I have work to do.”

She turned to make her way back into the wreckage, and Cassian grabbed her wrist. She tensed, ready to fight the restraint, but the grip slackened as she realized he was merely following her. The grip on her wrist wasn’t quite friendly, but it was, at least, supportive.

Astra was crying quietly as Boblem tried his best to comfort him. “It's okay, you’re okay,” he chanted.

Cassian and Elyse stepped back on the ship, and it creaked under their weight. She approached the brass cage, which was completely inside out and torn apart. Investigating, it appeared covered in burn marks and scorch marks. It was very familiar to her.

Cassian saw evidence of a struggle. Marks of blood, and an abandoned bag that contained water, rations, a map of somewhere, research notes, and a bit of rope. Basic adventuring supplies. Scratched out towards the plow, a nameplate that read “VER”, with the rest undecipherable.

Elyse looked to the nameplate herself. She knew exactly what she was about to find.


	8. Aftershocks, Episode Six

Cassian pointed to the nameplate of the ship. “VER? Elyse, does this mean something to you? Please be honest.”

“I can't say right now, sorry I, I need to, there's some things I need to do like, right now.”

“What aren’t you telling us?”

“I'm not trying to be sinister, I just- ”

“I don't think you're deceiving us, I just think that maybe a little bit more information would be key here.”

“Cassian,” she turned to face him. “I want to be alone right now, and I want to get my work done, and then I'll be happy to tell you what I know if I can.”

He looked back to the bag. After further study, the map seemed to depict Arakhis. The notes detailed timings and movements of guards. Not-so-politely, he pushed the bag over to Elyse. “Maybe this will help.”

“Thank you.”

He shrugged. “I guess I’ll go see what the others are up to after all that.”

But Elyse’s head was already buried in the notes. Cassian sat on the outskirts of the wreckage while she climbed deeper. She could see in the splintered wood where the manticores had made their nest. Soft material and sail was stuffed down, and there was a bit of slightly rotted meat in the corner. From the size, it didn’t seem human.

There was nothing useful left in the hull.

She turned her attention to the water. There, she found the severed remnants of someone’s right hand. It was dark skinned, wearing two gold rings, but nothing she recognized. Around the side were gouges in the mud, as if someone had climbed out frantically. In the muddy terrain, she could make out footprints making a beeline for the trees.

Satisfied with the observations for now, she sat, filling her journal. Cassian had pulled out his own book, flicking through as he watched the rest of the group huddle around Astra, who had a hand down his bag again.

Renard, who had stormed away to calm down from the battle, just close enough to keep a watchful eye on the others, sank to his knees. He clasped his hands, and began to pray to Bahamut for guidance.  _ Is this the right track that I’m on? Am I doing the right things here? _

He lifted the mask from his face and wiped a hand across his features before covering himself again. There was no response, but he did feel a brief moment of calm from communing with his deity. A small weight was lifted off his shoulders, the solace of a comfortable place away from home in his connection to Bahamut. He pulled himself together, rising to his feet and crossing back to the group.

He offered a hand down to Astra. “Here. Get up.”

Astra shut his bag, and taking the hand, stood to his full height. Renard looked up at him, considering.

“You… It’s become obvious to me at this point, you don't fight.”

Astra turned his head. “It's what I’ve been trying to do.”

“If you're staying with us, you're gonna find yourself in increasingly dangerous situations. Do you understand that?”

“I do.”

Renard took a deep breath. “I know each of us has our own reason for being here, and I'm sure none of them are going to lead down a particularly safe road. Especially not what I'm trying to do. If you're staying, I'm not asking you to raise a weapon, but…”

He bent to unbutton his leather coat, shrugging it off and handing it to the bard. “This is going to provide you better protection than what you are wearing. Just, until we can reach a place where we can find something more durable.”

Astra took it, grateful, but still concerned. “What about you?”

“I’m fine,” he brushed off. He lifted his shirt to reveal chainmail, and another slip underneath that. “I will be fine, please just... we need to stick together. And we don't want to lose anyone. Right?”

Astra gave him a meaningful smile as he pulled on the coat. “Thank you.”

It wasn’t a perfect fit, a bit like a crop top on the larger tiefling, but it would do. Without the coat, Renard was left in an undershirt that laced up the front and sleeves. The shirt was rather nice looking, but was now considerably worse for wear from the blood and sweat of the journey so far. As he moved, the chainmail underneath became more obvious. He kept the leather braces on as well.

“I told you we shouldn’t have interrupted somebody’s home,” Astra continued, still mourning the loss of the manticores.

“Elyse… said it wasn’t their home,” he countered.

“How did she know?” Boblem piped up, starting to feel well enough to join their conversation.

“It’s obvious she knows something about this. She said she was heading this way anyway when she joined us.”

Cassian, sitting just off the wreckage, was at the perfect vantage to keep an eye on Elyse as well as the rest of the party. Flicking through his book, he didn’t pay either much attention, but did call out, “Just give her some time,” as he heard their conversation return to the sorceress.

Renard gave him a fleeting glance before returning his attention to the others. “I think it's best that we do give her some time, and then find out if there's anything we can do to help her. And then, if not, we can try and hot foot it to Sanskra. Because this area is a little… too much, for the group of us, I think.”

“How are you feeling?” Boblem worried. “You seemed quite upset earlier... you just said that you weren't doing this anymore, and that you wouldn't do it this again…”

He returned with a tight smile. “I’m fine.”

“You sure? Because it kind of seemed like you were about to leave, and I don't think we would want that. I wouldn't want that.”

Renard relented, a bit. “I had some… guidance. Just don't worry about it. Is everyone else okay? Are you feeling better?”

Boblem didn’t look entirely convinced, but he was sufficiently distracted by the reminder of his own pain. Sitting stiffly, the wounds had covered over, but the flesh was still very raw and pink. “Still very sore. I could do with some rest.”

“We can rest.”

“But I don’t know how fast you guys want to reach the location... I don’t want to slow you down.”

“Give Elyse some time. We can rest while she investigates this area,” Cassian’s voice echoed once more.

“Fine,” Renard agreed.

“Thank you,” Boblem sighed in relief.

Renard checked around the area in case they would need to make camp there. There was a good bit of cover, and it was probably the best place to rest if they wanted to stop before the treeline, which was probably another three or four hours away. At a steady pace, they could make it there by nightfall.

He reported back to the others. “I think this might be our last safe spot before we enter the mangroves. And, well, we’ve been worried about those.”

Boblem nodded, “Yeah, I don't want to enter that area like we are right now.”

“No. Alright, everyone sit tight, I'm glad to see what I can add to our map, and we can wait for Elyse.”

“Would you like a hand with that?” Astra offered.

He accepted, but before the two could get started, Cassian called over once more. “Renard, Elyse has another map that I gave her, maybe talk to her about it afterwards.”

He gave a short nod. “Sure. I suppose I’ve become the map guy,” he joked to the bard. Sitting at the highest vantage point they could, the two began adding as many details as they could, trying to make up for the missed session the previous night. With Astra’s memory of the terrain, it worked pretty well. The map looked rather solid, and would definitely score them a couple hundred gold already.

Renard raised his eyebrows at the final product. “This is… a decent amount of gold. If we want to get somewhere we can hand this back over, we can be done with this. We don't have to finish it.”

Astra considered. They could hand the map in at any cartographer guild, they didn’t have to travel all the way back to where they had started. “How would you want to do that? I doubt there’s somebody in Sanskra…”

“No, I doubt there’s anyone in Sanskra, considering this place is uncharted, but the next town or city over, in any direction.”

“If that’s what you want to do it for, the gold, we can do that.”

Renard chuckled a bit. “Not after the gold, but I do need to keep moving that way anyhow.”

“Why are you doing it then?”

He swallowed. “I’ll tell you another time.”

“What, is it like a hobby?”

He tilted his head. “I… let’s roll with that,” he replied, packing up.

Astra smiled. “No, because that means you’re just going along with it for the sake of ending the conversation.”

There was an awkward pause as Astra realized he wasn’t going to respond.

Sariel had been inspecting the corpses of the manticores. They were terrifying to look at. The spikes around their heads looked like second manes pushing out from under the fur. At the tails, clusters of barbs were loosely attached. She bent to grab one, and felt it pull off easily. She considered, and then set about collecting them. They were light, probably hollow. She found eighteen on one, and twenty four on the other. She gave a glance to the paws as well, which were as large as her head. Pushing back the fur, long onyx claws curved out, crusted with blood.

“Maybe we could sell them for potion ingredients,” she suggested to Boblem, settling next to him as she showed off her harvest.

“Could make a weapon out of them,” Boblem brainstormed. “Or incorporate it into armour, if we ever make some.”

Eventually, Elyse closed her book, wiped her face, and stood. She climbed back over to the remains of the cage. Four or five struts were splayed outwards, and the sight suggested it was once hanging from above.

Where it was attached to the mast itself, she jimmied her knife back and forth, pulling off a copper strip of the metal that she added to her backpack. Hopping back down, she began to carve into the wreckage with her knife. After a minute, she switched to using the copper piece instead, which had a better shape for her task. When she finished, she examined her work. The shape of a hand, with a diamond in the middle, and what seemed to be a sun on the middle finger.

Renard and Astra made their way back to the rest of the group. The masked man approached Elyse. “So, there was never any star, was there?”

“No, of course not.”

“And you were expecting this?”

“Not exactly like this, but yeah, I guess.”

“So this fell out of the sky?”

“Yep.”

Renard paused for a moment, and when she did not elaborate, he continued. “Okay. Forgive me for not knowing that much about ships, but I tend to sail on water? And not air?”

“Have you never heard of an airship?”

He eyed her carefully. “In children’s stories.”

She smiled. “This is one. Or, it was one.”

“And you knew them? Or, knew of them?”

She shrugged. “I told you I was looking for an artifact. These are the last people to have been known to have that artifact. I was hoping- ”

“It would be here.”

“It would be here,” she echoed. “But it’s not, and neither are they. But they went in that direction,” she pointed towards the footprints. “Which is relatively near to Sanskra. I don’t expect all of you to come with me. But I am going.”

“Oh, no, we are,” he reassured her. “Just tell us what we can do to help. Where are we looking next, Sanskra?”

“I mean, they may have curved around, but it didn’t seem as though they headed directly towards Sanskra. But it’s in the same general direction,” she gestured forward before pointing it out on Renard’s map.

“Well, I was just saying to Astra, we've done enough of this map now to make it worthwhile.”

“Really? Wow…”

“Maybe, 800, 900 gold pieces.”

“Yeah?”

“So, let’s go after them. See what we can find for you.”

She looked at him in surprise. “Are you sure?”

“Is everyone in agreement?” he turned. “We’re willing to help Elyse?”

“Of course,” Cassian nodded, as Boblem offered his own agreement.

“So long as she tells us what’s going on,” Sariel decided.

“When we camp tonight,” Renard nodded.

Elyse crossed her arms. “I pretty much just told you everything I know.”

“Well I mean, could you tell us anything about this artifact you’re looking for?” he offered.

“Not really, not that many people know much about it.”

Saril wasn’t done yet. “And rather than just running into a situation without telling us anything…”

“It might have been beneficial to know this might be here beforehand,” Renard finished.

Elyse looked like she wanted to argue, but she surrendered. “Yeah, you’re probably right. But, I never expected to be coming here with other people.”

“Good thing you did,” Cassian and Boblem overlapped, one voice a bit more haughty than the other.

“Yeah. But right now I just, I still need to just focus, sorry,” she returned to her work.

Renard, sensing the conversation was over, turned back to address the group. “Right, I say we camp here. I don't think we're gonna find a better spot than this for tonight if we head towards the water.”

Sariel checked the horizon, looking over the hills, mostly flat at this distance.

There were patches of woodland where bushes came out of the water, forming half solitary trees that grew like curled, gnarled hands coming out the surface of the water. Their camping spot provided more cover than anywhere else, but it certainly stood out.

“We can hold it down,” Cassian assured the smaller elf, seeing her concern.

“We could settle, and then leave at first light, this time,” Renard began, as Elyse set about carving further runes into the wreckage. “So, camp. Can someone make a fire, far enough away from the airship that we aren’t setting that on fire? Do you want to tear a tree down?” he asked, glancing at Elyse.

She was about to agree, but Astra volunteered to collect loose boards from the wreckage instead. He used his magic to dry them off, sparing a thought to clean his new coat as well. Elyse and Renard considered following the footsteps, knowing it would take hours to follow all the way to the treeline, and decided to simply stroll along them for a short while to search the ground nearby. Observing the shape of the bootprints, they were average in size, and therefore likely humanoid. The tracks came in and out of muddy patches, and through bits of trees. The steps filled with water, clearly only a few days old. Walking for about an hour and a half, passing through outcroppings of trees with low hanging canopies, they looked over the widespread root systems of trees that sheltered the wildlife. Small creatures stared up at them, a couple of lizards, and some birds that took flight when they approached. The tracks became harder to follow, the gaps between them growing where the marsh deepened. The direction, however, was fairly constant. The tracks would weave past trees or curve around the bases of hills, but the direction was certainly north, rather than the northwest direction of Sanskra.

Eventually, Elyse stopped. “I think this is as far as we're gonna get without walking into a marsh, so, maybe we should agree to cut our losses here.”

“I agree. I don’t know much about tracking but, can you tell how old these are?”

“I think, two, three days, something like that. Could they have made it all the way to Sanskra or something?”

“I'm just wondering, the ranger in the village said that the star fell more than just a few days ago, right? So whoever this was, was perhaps camping out at the ship.”

“And then those creatures attacked…” Elyse started, understanding.

“And then they fled,” he finished. “Right, it’s something. We can head that way tomorrow. Let’s head back, we don’t want to leave them to get in trouble.”

“Yeah. Thank you.”

“Hey,” he stopped her. “It’s fine.” There was genuine care in his veiled eyes. “If this is something you have to pursue, then, we pursue it.”

She looked back at him, studying the masked face. “Okay.”

Without another word, he turned on his heel and began to walk back to camp. Elyse allowed herself to lag slightly behind.

While they walked, Cassian busied himself with his book. Once again, he found himself unable to concentrate. This was a place devoid of the energy his powers fed from. He flipped it closed.

Astra pulled his lyre from his bag, and began plucking at it. Cassian’s head perked up, feeling a stronger presence than before. As the music began, he felt a slight resistance in the leatherbound pages, as if they were pushing his hands back open. Surprised, and quite pleased, he placed it in his lap and angled himself towards Astra, closing his eyes. The Sylvan song floated through the air, and thanks to the bard’s help, Cassian now had a better understanding of the lyrics. They were love songs, but lost love songs. They spoke of trees, and forests, and loves that couldn’t be. He hummed along as he meditated with the book.

In the humidity, a bead of sweat dripped off his brow and ran down the page, darkening with ink as it reached the crease of the book and sunk into the pages. He opened his eyes, smiling down at the pages. “I can’t wait to read into you.”

“What’s that?” Sariel turned.

“It’s just my book.”

“What’s it about?” Boblem turned, joining the conversation.

“It’s just… where I keep my spells and all of that.”

Boblem craned his neck to get a better look. The book seemed, somehow, sopping wet. “Did you write that yourself?”

“Mmm, I suppose you could say that, somewhat. It’s an interesting read.”

“I didn’t know you were a writer!” Boblem smiled, but Cassian wasn’t paying attention anymore.

The sky began to change color, the blue shifting to purples and shades of orange as they saw the figure of Renard, followed shortly by Elyse, at top of the hill. As Renard went down to the camp, Elyse steadied herself on a tree and stared at the wreckage, lost in thought. From below, Astra stared up at her and began to cast a bit of healing magic towards her, keeping his promise to keep the habit every night. She reacted slightly as the magic coursed through her, and nodded in appreciation to the bard.

Boblem had cast a spell of his own, shifting the water out of the way to make their camp as dry as possible. The mud cracked and dried, crumbling as he removed the moisture from the site. Sariel thanked him, and he tipped his hat in response.

Elyse made her way down. “So this is where we’re sleeping?”

“I think so,” Renard replied.

“Cool, I wanna try something.” She took out the battered old research notebook and began to flick through. It was still quite plainly covered in both scorch marks and water spots. Pages have been ripped out and stuffed in, crammed with drawings and notes from many languages. As she searched, she came upon the ritual for an alarm spell. Reflecting on how she had seen it in action before, she made an attempt to create one herself. After ten minutes of concentration, reading, and marking in the dust, a dim wall of light sprang into place. It hung around them, covering the area and sinking into the hill. The group was able to move through it, but as they did, she felt something go off in her mind. If she concentrated, she could recognize them as individuals.

When she was done, she turned back to the group. “Any of us can move through this, but if anyone else does, I’ll hear it and wake up.”

“Thank you!” Boblem smiled.

Renard looked around at the magic, approving. “Good work.”

“I've never done that before,” she grinned.

“Impressive!” Boblem encouraged.

“But I still have something else to do.”

“Sure,” Renard stopped her. “Before you do that, I just want to say that… When we were fighting today, I think if any one of us hadn't been there, it would have gone horribly differently. So I think we're starting to make a good team.”

“I agree,” nodded Boblem.

“In the future, if there’s anywhere we're approaching, and any of us know anything about it in particular, perhaps, we talk about it beforehand? We can go into situations better prepared?”

Elyse tensed a bit. “I mean, I didn't know that this was exactly what I was going to find, I didn't even know that it was going to be this, I was just hoping.”

“It's okay, but even a suggestion. Something could go horribly wrong otherwise,” he warned. “I’m going to sleep. Let's leave first thing, first light tomorrow.”

The group agreed, Cassian and Elyse taking first watch while Astra finished up with the contents of his bag once more. The sky was full of oranges and reds and purples, a beautiful sight as it reflected off the water and the campfire under the low chitchat of their allies. Looking out over the landscape at how far they had come, they could no longer see where they started. Now dark, the treeline ahead of them was much closer. It was unknown and scary, but thrilling. They were all shaken by the events of the past twenty four hours, but considering how much they had accomplished, as the sun dipped below the horizon, they felt ready for the next step of their journey.

Looking ahead, they saw nothing but the darkened treeline of the mangrove swamps. But from behind, a splash was heard. Staring out, there was nothing visible but the closest tree. There was a log floating in the stream... no, a reptile. It was moving not quite towards them, but parallel. Elyse stood to take a closer look. It was far enough away, but she would guess crocodile.

“Something bothering you?” Cassian called after.

She watched it take a few slow steps out of the water, plodding further away. “There’s a crocodile out there, but, it doesn't seem to give much of a shit about us.”

“Don't think it could take us in a fight. They’re not fast.” He paused for a moment. “You doing alright?”

She sighed, sitting down again. “Yep, it’s just, there’s more I have to do now. But at least this thing was here.”

“Mmm. Not completely destroyed yet.”

She nodded, shifting down so she could lean against the metal cage. She took her journal out once more, sketching the scene. When she was satisfied, she brought out her arcane focus once more, and it glowed. An idea forming, she reached out and closed her eyes, searching for the place where her power lived. She poured it out, her veins bulging as her hand glowed blue. Sending the energy into the focus, her face lit in the light, and she felt as if she was holding two magnets. Her hand pulled near the cage. She was able to resist and move away, but curious, she tied the chain of the focus around her wrist and allowed it to float up and over. She continued writing in the journal for a bit.

She wanted to try a spell. Expelling more energy, electricity crackled, and it shot off at a point behind her. The mast blackened in the same way the rest of the ship was burnt.

Sariel snapped awake as Renard bolted upright, grabbing his sword as he stood. He stepped through the alarm boundary, looking for the source of the noise. His eyes locked on Elyse, still glowing and staring up at the power around her. He sighed, still a bit tense. “That was loud.”

“Isn’t it time you went to bed?” Sariel added.

There was no response. The sorceress was utterly transfixed.

“Is she okay?” Boblem asked, shaken awake as well.

“I think she’s… practicing something?” Renard guessed.

Cassian, who was almost entirely unbothered by the whole affair, offered his own response. “Just let her experiment with her own magics. It’s no big deal.”

Renard glanced over to him. “It is when we can’t sleep.”

Cassian only stared back.

The other man shook his shoulders, relieving the tension. “Your watch is almost up, anyway.”

The spell began to fade, the focus floating back to Elyse’s hand. After a few minutes, all the electricity was gone. She took a deep breath.

“Enjoying yourself?” Renard called.

She blinked in surprise, realizing everyone was staring at her, save for Astra still busy with his bag.

“I… wasn’t expecting that to make any noise. Sorry,” she apologized. She got up and made her way down to camp.

“Go to sleep, I’ll take second watch,” he offered. Sariel joined the second shift. Renard, who wouldn’t take off his mask even to sleep, had awful bedhead. He looked rather annoyed to be awake. The rest of the group slept, save for Cassian, who opted to meditate instead.

“So,” Renard began, turning to his companion. “I think I possibly know you the least, Sariel. Can you tell me anything about yourself? Do you want to?”

“Not particularly.”

“You hiding any secrets like the airship?”

“Doesn’t everyone have secrets?”

“Well- ”

“Isn’t everyone entitled?”

Renard reversed course, trying his best to appear non-threatening. “I’m not attacking you. I’m just… tired.” He tried a new tactic. “Where do you come from?”

“A long way away.”

“Right.” He thought for a moment, looking for the right angle. “And, after we help Elyse, is there anything we can help you with?”

“I don’t think so. Is there anything we can help you with? You said you were looking for a missing person.”

“Well, I’m looking for a company of mercenaries. Not my own, obviously. I’m looking for the- well, you were there, when Captain Kolz talked about it.”

“The Weeping Eye.”

He grimaced. “I don’t think we’re going to find them in Sanskra, but it's worth asking everyone.”

“Is it someone they've taken, that you’re looking for?”

“It's just a job.”

“Now who's being evasive,” she countered.

He sighed. “Well, I guess two can play at that game.” After another moment, he gave up. “Fine.”

He walked to the other end of the camp. They both respectfully watched the black of night shift to deep blues, to lighter, to a very faint glimmer of orange before the sun broke the first few rays of the day. Shortly after, light flooded the entire vista. The group roused.

“It’s first light, we should get moving,” Renard called over to them.

Elyse, upon waking, climbed back to the cage. She stood, staring at it.

Renard glanced over to her. “Are you good?”

“I think so.”

Boblem woke, stretching his long limbs. “Astra? If you don’t mind, I saw earlier how you could fix Cassian’s clothing? Can you help me fix mine?” He tried his best to point at his own back.

“Oh, I can make them clean, but it’s Cassian who fixes them.”

“Ah, sorry, still don’t have a hold of all this magic goin’ around.”

“He’s a famous tailor, you know,” Astra continued, with a smile over to the wizard.

“I also have a spell that can just do it for me,” Cassian shrugged.

Boblem turned, trying to point out the holes on the back of his shirt. “Do you think... would you mind?”

“Oh sure, just…” his hand moved through the air as Boblem’s dungarees stitched themselves back together.

“Is that how you put things together in your shop?” Sariel asked.

“No, we do it by hand.”

“Thank you very much!” Boblem smiled. His wounds felt much better in the morning, though it still hurt to fully extend his arm.

“You’re welcome.”

Astra turned back to Renard. “Right, so, what’s the plan?”

“There’s a strong chance we’ll reach the mangroves in a couple of hours, we need some way to cross them.”

“They said to make a raft, right?” the wizard recalled.

“Shall we?” echoed Boblem.

Renard contemplated this. “We could make one out of the wood here.”

“Remember, Ezra said to go straight though, rather than near the edges,” Astra warned.

“Yes, so why not salvage the wood on this and make a boat of some description?” Cassian repeated.

“I know nothing about making rafts, but it sounds like a good idea,” Renard agreed. “If anyone else has, I don’t know, magic, or something?”

“I mean, I helped fix the roof on the farm, and a couple of other things… that’s not really a boat, but it’s something I guess,” Boblem offered.

“I think it’s more a case of ropes,” the wizard returned.

Elyse looked across the ship. “Salvage from the wreckage.”

“And just drag it along to the swamps.”

“I’m sure between the six of us, we can probably carry it,” Renard considered.

“Exactly.”

“Are you specifically wanting to follow the prints you went after yesterday?” Sariel pressed.

“Yes… if you all don’t mind,” Elyse began. “I don’t expect you all to come with me, I’m not gonna say you have to come with me. If nobody wants to go, I’ll go on my own- ”

“But we don’t want to leave anyone here,” Renard interrupted, giving her a pointed look. “And that way heads to the mangroves anyway.”

“Are these people that you’re after... dangerous?” Boblem worried.

“Not to me,” she answered. “And therefore not to you.”

“I just want to make sure. I certainly wouldn’t want you going on your own with something dangerous.”

She thought. “Assuming they are the people that I think they are, they’re not dangerous to me.”

“To us?” Renard prompted.

“If you’re my allies, then, they’re your allies too.”

He shrugged. “Fine.”

“How many are we looking for?” Sariel continued.

“I reckon about five. Five or six people,” she thought. “There were probably more, but I don’t know how many of them were here.”

Astra clapped his hands. “Right, well, no use hanging around here, looking glum.”

“Materials,” Renard agreed.

The group set about gathering things as Boblem and Elyse led in assembling the raft. The process took about three or four hours. They collected the rope, linen, and wood from the wreckage. They lashed together a raft, about three by four meters. It was not ideal, and not comfortable, but the posts on the corners allowed them to lash belongings there. They finished it off by crafting two punting sticks..

“I could technically use my whip as well, to pull us through,” Cassian thought.

Elyse turned to Boblem. “That thing you did with the water the other day, could you do that to propel us?”

“Yeah, I think I could. Might not be very fast though.”

The group finished up, observing the finished craft. “Right, so we just need to carry this that way,” Astra nodded. “Is this where you want to go?”

Elyse looked out to the trees. “Yes.”

“Should we get one last check for the map?” Renard suggested.

“Sure, yeah.”

After a few minutes of scribbling, the group was ready to begin. Everyone grabbed a side, except for Sariel, who was too short to reach. Renard, noticing this, spoke to her over his shoulder. “Sariel, perhaps you could just keep watch as well? Make sure nothing’s coming while we carry this?”

She agreed, a bit embarrassed. Elyse, realizing the raft was a bit imbalanced with five people holding it, allowed the others to each take a side while she marched ahead, knowing where the tracks were. She made sure to take a final look at the wreckage as it passed out of sight.

Going down the hill, it was hard to keep grasp on the raft. It nearly slipped, but they kept hold. They walked for another three hours, and gradually the puddles and streams became larger ponds and bodies of water, marshy and swampy. Still relatively clear, patches of long grasses and weeds poked through. They saw the occasional water snake winding through, not paying them any mind. One of them pointed out a crocodile about ten meters away, drifting lazily through the swamp before stepping out, looking over to them, and leaving. 

They passed solitary trees, then pairs, then small groups. Soon, there were patches that wound into heavy, dense trees with wide reaching and low canopies, thick leaves of greens and browns and blues, and wide reaching roots that were home to a variety of small creatures. They navigated through to where the firm ground ended, only patches of tracks still visible before they were lost to sight completely.

Realizing they were about to wade through the water, they set down the raft. It bobbed a bit before steadying. Astra glanced at the others. “Who wants to be the first to try it?”

“Fine,” Renard shrugged.

His begrudging response was overlapped by Elyse. “I’ll do it.”

He looked over to her, and then spread his arm towards the raft. “Be my guest.”

She made her way on, and it wobbled a bit, but kept steady.

“Renard?” Astra prompted.

“Fine,” he agreed, climbing on himself. He tried his best to evenly disperse the weight. Cassian took a seat behind Elyse, and Sariel took a spot by Renard’s side. Boblem sat by the back with Astra. Renard and Elyse, both at the front, each took a punting stick. Jamming them into the water, they pushed themselves off. It creaked, and there was a moment of panic before it mercifully steadied.

They pushed off, floating around the patches of dry land, now few and far between, as the mangroves crept up on them. They moved into the jaws of the swamp. Compared to the coniferous forests of Riven and Marlborough, these trees were rather low, hanging only about three or four meters above them. The was certainly a presence, a warmth, but also a stillness. The forest was alive with the buzzing and chirping of insects, the calling of birds, and the spitting and scratching of reptiles looking about, and never far from the raft. They didn’t spot anything too unusual, save for a fair few snakes hanging from branches and spiders the size of their heads crawling slowly down from the trees. One spider, black and yellow, landed on the surface of the water before skating across, cutting past their raft as they moved slowly through. Astra seemed very pleased to be surrounded by nature again.

The canopy knitted together above them. Sunlight now only pierced through in beams, crisscrossing through the dim light that was speckled by insects. The air felt warmer and thicker. Where it was moist on the hills, it was tangible everywhere now. Covering their arms and clothes was a sheen of moisture. When they spoke, it felt a bit deadened and dull, as if the air was embracing them.

Renard was on high alert, and Cassian kept watch for snake symbols. Elyse noticed a shape in the trees by the left bank. It seemed to be watching, and upon noticing it, the shape retreated back into the darkness.

She gestured over. “Keep an eye on that.”

“What do you think it was?” Sariel pressed.

“Didn’t see what it was, but it was something.”

“Shall we keep a straight course? This is going slightly off course from Sanskra now,” Renard warned. “And there’s no way of looking for the tracks anymore. But it’s down to you.”

“Would it not have made the most sense for them to have gone to Sanskra?” Cassian asked.

“That’s what I’m assuming,” Elyse nodded.

“They just ran to the nearest trees and then, cut across.”

“Yeah, I just wanted to see if there was anything along the route of the prints, but, I would assume they would know to try and make it to Sanskra.”

Renard flipped open his compass. They made their way through the open wetlands. They passed big patches that separated out into a series of little islands and islets where the trees joined together. There was no turf or land, but where so many branches and leaves conglomerated over the decades or centuries around the bases of these thick root systems was a spongy, mossy covered ground. Probably not dirt or rocky ground, but surface. These islands and islets ranged from just a couple of meters to wide spanning chunks of land, some up to a hundred meters long. At this point, they were fully, deep inside. They had been banking along one wide island for a while. Thick and green and lush, the wind rustled over the tops of canopies, and splashes were heard as lizards jumped into the water. A bird darted in and pulled something out. Shapes in the water moved near the raft. A long, long, long and winding snake passed by for a good twenty seconds.

“We need to head more west at some point,” Renard advised.

A splashing sound was heard again from the left bank. The two at the front peered over, and they could make out a figure with a face and shoulders observing them from a high point in the trees. The face gasped as they made eye contact, quickly retreating.

Renard looked back to Elyse in concern. “That was…”

“Something.”

“Humanoid.”

“Y’all see something?” Boblem piped from the back.

“Someone, maybe.”

“At the end of the day, this is their home,” Astra warned.

Elyse looked back to the trees. “That could’ve been- ”

“That could’ve been somebody living their life, and I think we should just continue,” Astra repeated.

“I was thinking, it could have been one of the people from the wreckage.”

“Then fine,” he conceded. “But don't just attack anybody, okay?”

“Okay,” Renard reassured the bard. He turned back to Elyse. “Do you want to look?”

“I wasn’t planning to, unless it was necessary... But yes, if we could slowly, punt over?”

With a team effort, they slightly turned the raft. Pulling a branch, they scooted the raft onto a bank. They couldn’t see anything, but they heard the sounds of twigs snapping.

“If you call out by name, maybe they would recognize you,” Astra suggested.

Elyse called out in a guttural language. There was no verbal response, but the face reappeared in the darkness, towering at about seven feet.

With strong cheekbones and a vaugely androgynous face, the figure had black eyebrows, brown eyes, and brown skin dappled with grey. They looked young, and they moved further into view with a curious but nervous expression. The chest followed, a light coat of fur across and up their neck, a pattern of golden fuzz leading down their collar. The coat itself was a greyish black, except for the golden splash around their neck. Their arms were toned and muscular, and the rest of the body stepped into view. The reason for their height became clear, as the bottom half of the body formed the front hindquarters of a horse. Two legs tentatively appeared as the stranger fidgeted with a satchel around their hips.

Elyse put her hands up, signalling that they meant no harm. The centaur took two fingers and passed them through the air, watching.

“We didn’t mean to alarm you,” Astra began, smiling.

“Do you think they understood what you said?” Renard whispered to the sorcerer.

The creature responded for themselves. “Hi, I understand what you’ve said.” The group watched with surprise as the centaur responded. Boblem lifted his hat, and the face of the creature broke into a beaming smile. “Who are you?” the melodic voice continued.

“Travelers,” Elyse assured them. “We don’t want to hurt you.”

Renard was quick to nod, “We're just passing through.”

“Sorry if we disturbed you,” Sariel offered.

“Sorry if we scared you,” echoed Elyse.

“You haven't disturbed me! Welcome,” they smiled. “What brings you through?”

Cassian regarded the creature. “Looking for Sanskra.”

The centaur pulled back in surprise. “Well, you're on the right track. Though I’ve never seen people bring a boat through, never so many either.”

“Take it you don't get many visitors through here.”

“No,” they smiled. ”My herd isn't from here.”

Astra was completely enthralled by the creature, watching with excitement as they spoke.

“What’s your name?” Elyse wondered.

“Demandras. Demandras Dustborne.

“I’m Verdant Astra,” the tiefling responded. “Oh, it’s lovely to meet you.”

Names were exchanged all around.

“You say you’re not from here?” Renard pressed.

“Not from right here, but from the woods.”

“What brings you out here now?”

Demandras reached to open their bag, revealing that it was stuffed with flowers. As they tilted their head down, the group noticed a flower crown on the top of their head.

“Those are beautiful!” Boblem complimented.

“Thank you! Would you like one?” He reached into his bag, pulling out a few more crowns.

Astra, Boblem, and Sariel were quick to accept. They threw them the short distance to the raft, providing one for Renard and Elyse as well. Cassian passed on the offer.

The flowers were ivy and vine-like, full of blues and greens. Packed into each one of the petals opened were lumps of blue moss that had a slight glow. Bits fell into their hands, causing their fingers to glow slightly.

“I’ve only ever seen flowers like that in one other place,” Sariel smiled. “it’s nice to see them again.”

“Where was that?” Demandras asked.

“A long way from here.”

“Oh, I sure would like to visit there someday.”

Astra donned his crown, threading it over his horns.

Boblem looked back to the centaur. “Can we give you something in exchange for this? I feel kinda bad just taking stuff from you.”

“It doesn’t work like that. If you want to give me anything I won’t say no, but you don’t have to.”

Sariel plucked one of the black feathers out of her braids. “I can add this to your crown,” she offered.

They smiled. “I’d like that.”

They reached over, taking it, and slowly added it to their pouch.

Cassian silently offered a token of his own, a golden conch shell. The centaur gasped. “My, you must have travelled far,” he grinned.

“You could say that.”

They added it to their pouch, gazing happily at the group.

“Have you happened to see any other people pass through here recently, Demandras?” Elyse pressed.

They paused for a moment, considering. “No, not that I can think. The forest has seen people, but I haven’t.”

“The forest sees everything,” Astra agreed.

“You’re right,” they smiled back.

“Can you tell us anything about these lands?” Boblem asked. “We’re trying to make a safe passage.”

“You’re probably doing a very good job,” they responded. “As you’re on a boat, and you’re all breathing.”

Cassian raised a meaningful eyebrow at that last bit, but remained quiet.

“It’s a tricky place,” Demandras continued. “Just keep your eyes open, and don’t feed the snakes. Learned that myself. They bite.”

Renard nodded. “Don't feed the snakes, advice taken.” Not quite willing to don his own flowers, he placed them aside.

“We’ve been here for a long time, centaurs,” he continued.

“Centaurs?” Astra repeated.

“That’s what I am.”

“I’ve never met one before,” Astra beamed.

“Me neither, lovely to meet you,” Boblem echoed.

“Well, I’m a Demandras,” the creature corrected with a grin, “But, I’m a centaur.”

“I’m a tiefling!” the bard replied.

“It’s wonderful to meet you.”

“Apparently I’m an elf?” offered Boblem, still not entirely confident in what he was saying.

“It’s wonderful to meet an elf.”

“Half-elf,” Cassian flatly corrected.

“Wonderful to meet a half-elf,” Demandras revised.

“Apparently,” Boblem mumbled to himself. “But wonderful to meet you too.”

“Are there more of your folk around?” Elyse wondered.

“Not in here.”

“What brings you out here then?”

They gestured around. “All the flowers.”

Elyse smiled back. “Of course.”

“Will you be safe out here on your own?” Boblem worried.

“Of course, of course. I’ll be alright. My herd aren’t too far from here.”

Renard leaned over to Elyse. “Sorry to bring this up, but could you check the pocket watch to see what time it is?”

She showed him. About midday. He nodded. “We just don’t want to be stuck in the water at night.”

“What would you recommend we do at night if we can't get off the water?” Sariel asked.

He gestured to the bit of makeshift land he was on, a conglomeration of mulch and roots. There was enough space to sit, though soft and damp, and there was enough space to rest, however uncomfortably.

“So it’s safe to camp here? We’re not going to sink?”

“No, no, I shouldn’t think so. As long as you stay out of the water, you won't sink. That's how it works. I don't like to swim, so.”

“And if we don't bother any creatures, is there anything else we can expect to come after us?” Renard pressed.

“Not that I know of.”

“That's good to hear.”

“I don't know why anything would do that, in a place like this.”

“This place has a beautiful atmosphere,” Astra agreed.

“It does, doesn’t it.” They reached into their pouch, pulling some of the bioluminescent moss from the pouch and snacking on it. A bit hung on their lip for a moment. They shook their head,, and a spray of water flew off. “So… why are you going to Sanskra? Forgive me for asking, but, I’d love to know.”

“We’ve got a number of reasons,” Renard began. “We’ve been charting this area…”

“Oh, you must be smart,” they smiled.

Elyse nodded, sitting a bit straighter.

“And… we’re looking for the aforementioned person who could’ve gone that way,” Renard finished.

“Oh, I hope you find them. Who are they?”

“Our friend’s friends,” Astra explained, looking to Elyse.

“Someone I’m… working with,” she elaborated.

“If I see them around, I’ll tell them to go to Sanskra. What’s your name? Who do I tell them to look for?”

“Elyse,” she offered.

“Elyse,” they smiled. “With the blue hair. I’ll remember that. Like the moss!” He held up a bit, squeezing it.

“Yes, if you see anyone wearing clothes a similar color to this, I guess.”

“They’d stand out, I'm sure. I've only seen the dryads in the past few days.”

“Dryads?”

“There’s dryads?” Sariel repeated.

Astra looked between them all, confused. “What’s a dryad?”

Demandras shrugged. “The tree people of the trees, of the swamp.”

“People of the trees?”

“They sound lovely,” Boblem smiled.

“What are they like?” Elyse pressed.

Renard was wary. “Are they gentle?”

“Fey creatures, aren’t they?” Sariel added.

The centaur nodded. “They’re tricky. Don’t get on their bad side.”

“Would they attack on sight if they saw us?” the sorcerer continued.

“Not fey creatures,” Astra informed her. 

“No, you’d have to be doing something quite particular for that,” they assured.

“Keep our distance,” Elyse agreed.

“If you're starting fires in the swamps, they don’t like that.”

“Respect nature,” Astra smiled.

“Right, no fires,” Renard repeated. “This might be a stupid question, but I have to ask, is there anything we can do to appease them if we do upset them?”

Demandras reflected. “They like trinkets, treats, offerings. I mean, who doesn't,” he smiled.

“You’re right,” Astra beamed, hanging onto every word.

“I am. I’m often right,” they considered. “I must be going.”

Renard nodded. “Us too.”

“It was lovely meeting you!” Boblem repeated.

“It was a pleasure.”

“Good luck with your foraging,” Sariel replied.

“Good luck with your travels.”

Boblem gave the creature a final once over. “Stay safe.”

Bending their front legs, the centaur bowed. Most of the group bowed in response, slightly tilting the raft.

“I’ll take my leave.” Walking slowly back, he disappeared into the forest, leaving them with the glow of their flower crowns.

“Never in my life did I think I’d meet a centaur,” Renard admitted, looking over to the group in disbelief.

“Never seen one before,” Boblem agreed.

Elyse laughed in excitement. “I’d read about them but, yeah, I’d never seen one before.”

“I thought they were something from children’s stories,” Renard continued in wonder.

“Gosh, I’m glad I came adventuring,” Boblem grinned.

Cassian turned forward. “Strange sights.”

Astra was still staring into the trees. “It was beautiful.”

“Weren’t they?” Sariel smiled.

With a sigh, Renard turned his head towards the swamps. “We should keep moving.”

“Please,” the wizard agreed.

“No fires,” Sariel reminded them as the two at the front picked up their sticks once more. Renard moved his crown slightly to the side to ensure it wouldn’t fall off the raft. Elyse noticed.

“Wear your flower crown, Ren,” she joked.

“I’m not gonna wear my flower crown- ”

“Respect nature. Astra said so,” she pressed.

He rolled his eyes, grinning. “I’m not gonna wear the flower crown.”

“We’re all wearing it,” Boblem encouraged, which was true, save for the wizard.

“It might appease the Fey folk,” Astra thought.

Renard pushed off from the bank with the stick.

“Is it an affront to your masculinity?” the sorcerer teased.

“No!” he sputtered.

Cassian’s bored voice echoed from the back of the raft. “It’s fine Renard, I’m not wearing one either.”

Elyse shot him a dirty look. Boblem mumbled a comment about the interesting similarities between the two men, but Renard interrupted with a better idea.

“That’s a good point,” he swiped up the crown, stuffing it onto his head with a look back at the wizard. Cassian pursued his lips, but didn’t respond. The rest of the group had a good laugh.

They pushed through, the raft leading them again through the canopy of thick leaves and darkness. They delved deeper into the mangrove swamps.


	9. The Weeping Tree, Episode Seven

After the gentle experience with the centaur, Astra seemed once more fully at ease. Pulling out his lyre and plucking at the strings, he began to play a quiet tune. The melody rang out, dispersing through the air. As he played, he could have sworn he heard a counter melody returning, eerie and haunting but strangely beautiful. He smiled, playing along with it. The rest of the group began to take notice, the countermelody disguising itself as the snapping of branches and splashing of water.

Paddling on through, the silent raft parted the waters. Once more, the shape of a crocodile appeared. About a meter to their side, it coasted by, uninterested in the raft. Its yellow, slitted eyes gave them only a glance as they continued past. Boblem tried his best to use his magic to push the water around them, propelling them forward as Elyse and Renard kept on in front with the punting sticks. The swordsman had been a bit distracted and distant since the encounter.

After a while, Elyse handed her stick back to Cassian. “You take over for a bit, I need to try something.”

Cassian reluctantly took the stick, and attempted to pass it off to Boblem.

“I’m busy,” the boy apologized. He was focused on pushing the raft from behind, and was also impishly excited to watch Cassian do the job himself.

Elyse rolled her eyes. “Do some fucking manual labor,” she chided. She turned, and Cassian gave a sour face to the back of her head before resigning himself to the task.

The sorcerer took out her journal once more, confident from the previous success of the alarm spell, and flicked around to look for any information on the necklace she had swiped from the shapeshifting bandit. She landed on a page that appeared written by two different hands, taking off the jewelry to study it. She traced a symbol around it, and the item began to glow with arcane energy. Sections of the symbol locked into place as her mind opened. In a trance-like state, she sat for about ten minutes as the information was passed to her. Finally, the symbol dissipated into blue mist.

She opened her eyes, looking over the necklace. An amulet of lycanthropy. For each carving, she could pull one off, crush, and activate, gaining the effects of that animal. She looked over the options. A wereboar, a weretiger, werebear, or werewolf. Each one could be used only once, but she could remain in the new form for a maximum of eight hours if nothing forced her out of it. The magic would only work at night, but it was still a pretty cool item.

The sorceress also realized that, in those forms, she would be able to transmit lycanthropy. Reflecting back on the battle with the wererat, she felt relief knowing they had all been able to fend off the bites. It could have been a very different story.

Turning back to the group in awe, she explained what she had learned. “Guys, this is so cool!”

“What’s it do?” Sariel responded as Boblem perked up his head.

“I can turn into each of these animals- well, anyone who uses it can turn into each of these animals, once, like a boar, or a tiger…”

“Tiger, you say,” Cassian raised an eyebrow approvingly. “I like that.”

“This is going to be really useful,” she smiled, flipping through the journal to add her own notes and sketch the piece.

“Save it for a rainy day.”

“I’m happy to concede use of it, since I can do that sort of thing already,” Sariel offered.

“Yeah, same,” Boblem agreed.

Elyse nodded. “I’ll keep hold of it for now, but yeah, this could be really useful.”

Renard hadn’t reacted. “Renard, how you feeling up there?” Boblem asked from the back. The fighters shook his head, returning his thoughts to the conversation.

“Hm? I’m fine.”

Boblem pressed. “You don’t seem to be a fan of water, and I notice we’re kind of surrounded by it…”

“Again,” Sariel added.

Boblem nodded. “Again.”

“Always,” Elyse rolled her eyes, also getting a bit wistful for dry land.

“This keeps happening… nevermind,” Renard pushed.

“Well, maybe next time you’ll be able to go on more water, without being afraid of it!” the half-elf smiled, trying to find an optimistic stance.

“They say the best way is to face your fears,” Cassian added, still plodding away with the punting stick.

“Yeah, this is exposure therapy!” Elyse grinned.

Boblem looked over at the wizard to express his surprise that Cassian was actually completing his assigned task, but Sariel interrupted. “I’m not sure I’d agree with that,” she thought.

“Facing your fears recently, Sariel?” Cassian pressed. She gave him a stoic look, and then turned away. “Alright then, keep your secrets,” he relented.

They had been travelling for about an hour since they had stopped for the flower crowns. Navigating through the myriad of streams and turns, they followed along bearing northwest. Boblem, still in the back, noticed something following them. Two or three times larger than one they had seen before, it emerged, eyes lifting as the tail shifted. Still about thirty feet behind them, the creature was stalking them.

The boy pat Astra’s shoulder with urgency. “Ahhhh, that’s a big gator…” he warned. “That’s a big boy…”

It wound slowly in the water. Elyse looked over. “Can you talk to it, tell it we’re friendly?”

“Yeah, I’ll try,” he agreed. He cleared his throat, speaking in a language unrecognizable to the others. “Hello Mr. Gator! Can’t help but see you are coming towards us…”

It lifted a snout from the water, it’ massive size becoming apparent. If it turned horizontal, it could span the entire width of the river.

“...Anything we can help you with?”

A low voice rumbled in response. “Hungerrrrrrrr…..”

“Oh, we are not food!”

“Yesssssss… yes you are...”

“What does he want?” Astra prompted the boy.

“He wants food…”

“Give him the meat?”

“Give it the boar,” Cassian agreed.

The group nodded, watching the crocodile carefully. “We’re happy to sacrifice this, right?” Renard surveyed, pulling out the pack.

“How about I feed you?” Boblem suggested. “I can throw you some boar, would you like that?”

“Hunger….” it rumbled.

“Boblem, just do it,” the wizard urged. Renard passed it over, and Boblem threw it into the water.

The animal disappeared under the water as the meat sank, and a smashing sound was heard through the swamp as it feasted.

“We need to go faster, I think. I don’t know how hungry he is…” Boblem warned.

The jaws were finished with the meal in seconds. Its head turned back. “Moreee…. A morsel….”

“We have no more,” Boblem apologized.

Renard began to look for land. There were marshy banks on either side of the raft, both shores about ten feet away. “We land,” he ordered.

“Can it not go on land?” Astra worried.

“We can get in the trees.” He jammed the punting stick down hard, urging the raft to turn as the crocodile approached. Boblem remained at the back, holding out his hands to freeze the nearby water in an attempt to slow the creature down. Crystals of ice formed in jagged shapes and spines poking outward, borrowing the group enough time to hop off the raft. On the spongy turf, their feet sunk in a few inches, shoes filling with water as they observed the trees.

Sariel, Renard, Elyse, and Astra began climbing. Cassian chose to rise with a bit more style, pulling out his whip to curl it around a tree branch before gracefully lifting himself into the air. When Boblem turned from his own spell, he tried his best to follow, but his lanky form made it difficult. As the others left the raft, the boat tilted, causing him to fall and slip on the ice. Elyse was still relatively low on the tree, and she quickly offered a hand out to him as the crocodile approached. Their hands just barely brushed, and Boblem fell back, splashing into the water.

“Cassian, the whip!” Elyse called.

“It’ll hurt him,” he warned.

“But it will get him up into the tree!”

With a shrug, Cassian sent the whip down, cutting into the skin of the half-elf as he was pulled up and into the tree. After a second, a mighty set of jaws closed shut with an eruption of water, just where Boblem had been floundering. The crocodile let out a mighty growl as the waters frothed and churned, ice shards flying everywhere.

With Boblem safe, Elyse began to climb higher. Astra pulled a fleece from his bag. As he concentrated, feeling the fabric with his hands, the image of a doe leaning down for a drink appeared on the opposite bank.

The crocodile turned to look, but it wasn’t interested enough in the illusion to change course. It reared its head back to the trees. Two colossal legs with enormous shoulders pulled forward. It took an age to drag itself out of the water from sheer bulk. Stepping onto the land, it circled the base of the tree.

Boblem heard its voice call to him. “Come downnnn……”

“No thank you!” he replied, doing his best to be polite.

“Feed…….”

“There’s other things in the swamp! Why’s it gotta be us?”

The group watched as Boblem growled to speak with it, not understanding the words, but interested by the sight.

“What’s happening?” Astra pressed.

“He really wants to feed…” Boblem worried, “And I’m saying, why us?”

“Tell him we taste disgusting,” Elyse offered.

The tree began to shake and splinter as its colossal tail slammed against Boblem’s tree. Cassian, stuck in the same one, tried to aim a spell down at it. The creature smacked against the bark a second time, throwing off his aim, and the magic fizzled away as their tree splintered.

“Okay, this thing needs to die,” Elyse announced. She shot an orb of poisonous energy at the animal. A spray of liquid hit as it reacted. “No!” it growled, shaking.

“Leave us now or you might die!” Boblem warned. It backed up, considering. It smacked a different tree in anger. Slowly, it retreated into the water, growling and watching.

They waited for a moment. “I really mean it, you can get seriously injured, Mr. Gator,” Boblem pushed. Elyse allowed her energy to crackle around her, shooting the animal a challenging glare.

It growled once more. “You’ll come down…. Eventually…..”

It turned, cutting through the mud and water as it dove away, carving a deep path. It’s colossal tail followed as it retreated down the river.

“Umm… I think it’s going to keep an eye on us,” Boblem informed the others. Suddenly, his tree began to crack. “We need to get down,” the boy turned to Cassian. They quickly shimmied to the ground, and with the crocodile gone, the rest of the group followed onto the spongy ground. 

“We can wait until it’s gone?” Astra suggested.

“I think it was going to wait for  _ us." _

“And for all we know, it’ll just come back when we put the raft back down,” Sariel added.

“Gators are known to stalk their prey. They can wait.”

“And we can attack,” Cassian countered.

“It must be its territory, we need to get out of here,” Renard decided.

Sariel raised a hand. “I have something that… maybe we could sneak past him. If we could all get on the raft, I could cast the spell.”

Astra nodded. “So we should probably try and leave before our friend returns.”

“Thank you for the help,” Boblem smiled over to the wizard.

“It’s alright.”

“Are you alright?” the bard asked.

Boblem looked over to the tiefling with a grin. “Yeah, I’m alright. Just a very rude gator! Not all animals are like that.”

Gathered on the rooty landmass, they were able to tip their raft back into the water. It didn’t seem broken, but there was still a bit of ice surrounding it. They tried their best to break most of it before settling back onto the boat.

Astra reached out for the punting stick. “If you keep ready, I can take over what you were doing.”

“Sure,” Renard agreed, handing over the stick before settling himself at the back, crossbow in hand.

Sariel passed her hands over the raft, and the feeling of a warm mist washed over them. Nothing felt too different. Looking to each other, however, they noticed that those they weren’t focusing on were blurry, the people at the edges of their vision merely vague shapes. Only when looking directly at each other could they fully see their companions, and even then, it was as if seeing only shadows and reflections.

As they pressed through, they realized that even as they shifted their weight on the raft, there was no noise. Where it would creak, it was silent. Before, they had to brush vines out of their way, but now, it was as if a breeze pushed them instead. Watching from behind, there was no trail mark in the water as the raft moved, the water completely still. With shallow breaths, insects chittered and moved in the trees. They did spot the occasional other crocodile in the distance, resting or sleeping. But none of those others paid them any mind.

Renard kept watch, but didn’t see the hostile one. After an hour passed, they felt a breath of cold air as the spell faded. The creaking of the raft returned, as did their usual vision. The water began to reflect the path of their raft.

Elyse watched the magic fade. “Do you think we’re far enough, or can you cast it again today?”

“I… could, if it was desperate,” Sariel considered. “I wouldn’t want to do it if we didn’t have any need for it.”

“I don’t think there’s any need for it just yet,” Astra considered. “That was incredibly helpful Sariel, thank you.”

Thanks echoed all around as she smiled in response. “I’ve not done that before, I’m glad it was useful.”

“You did marvelous.”

They continued punting on, the air growing slightly cooler, but still thick with moisture. The ambient sounds of the swamp surrounded them as they moved through, the steady dripping of water rolling off the leaves to hit the mulch and loam. They listened to the shrieks and calls of birds and creatures, and the ever-present buzzing of insects. As they travelled further, they found themselves slapping their skin to ward off the bugs when they landed. Astra was content to let them rest, but for the rest of the group, it was quite irritating.

Pressing on, the light began to change. Where before, there were beams of sunlight breaking through the canopy, there was now a golden light that dappled and splayed through to reflect off of everything. Evening was approaching. There was the very occasional patch of ground, but it was a rare sight.

“Are we still going in the right direction?” Astra worried. “Does anybody know?”

Renard flipped out the compass. “Seem to be. I have no idea how- hang on.” He stopped, reaching for the map. Looking at the lines drawn across it by the lizardfolk hunters and the Jennick’s rangers, he did his best to measure the distance they had travelled.

“If our map is correct, if our distance calculation is correct, we’re halfway there. Maybe one more day of travel. We should find a place to rest safely.”

Something caught Cassian’s eye. There was a fork in the stream in front of them, and to the east side, there was a shape that broke up the natural lines of the trees and swamps. It appeared to be a wall, a rigid straight line.

The wizard pointed over to it. “Potentially over there is one of the temples they mentioned, but- ”

“Didn’t they tell us to stay away?” Boblem cautioned.

“They told us to avoid, yes,” Astra warned.

“That’s what I mean,” Cassie continued. “We don’t go that way.”

“We stay on our path, and we avoid structures,” Renard agreed.

“So, where are we going to stay tonight?” the bard asked.

“Does anyone have a spell that could create something we can sit on in a tree?” Elyse suggested. “That seems like the safest option… some kind of web?”

Those magically inclined shook their heads. Boblem scratched his chin. “I think, if you guys could wait a half an hour, I could try and create something to stand on. A little bit above water, to spend the night?”

“Go for it.”

“That sounds good,” Renard agreed.

“That’d be amazing,” Astra followed.

Boblem raised his hands to begin the spell. “Hang on,” Renard interrupted. “If you could see those structures nearby, should we do another half hour through the water? I don’t want to be anywhere near those things.”

The group agreed, and Boblem settled back onto the raft as they continued along. Moving forward, they found something else. A tube of stone, a toppled pillar, poked out of the surface of the water. The light grey stone was about two or three meters wide, just cresting out by the opposite bank. The water lapped against it as they moved past.

“Shall I push us that way? Slightly?” Renard suggested.

“Would you want to see it?” Astra responded.

“I just want to know whether we should keep going for another couple of hours, or if we can stop soon.”

Astra steered them over to the pillar. It was overgrown with vines and branches. Renard took out his dagger, doing his best to pull away the growth and check for any snake symbols.

“I can’t make out anything, but…”

“We can just keep going. It’s not a problem,” Astra reassured them.

Elyse agreed. “I think so.”

“I spent most of this trip at the back playing music, I’ve got a lot of strength,” the bard continued.

Renard nodded appreciatively. “I say we do another half hour, and if it looks more dangerous we come back here. Does that sound good?”

There was agreement from all around. “Sounds reasonable,” the wizard decided.

They pressed on, finding a fork in the water with an islet between. The ground was spongey, but soft enough to stop on. Turning the raft onto the land and lashing it to a low hanging root, they stepped off. Renard busied himself patrolling the area, but found nothing more than some large spiders. They glared at him with red eyes, but he left the webs alone. Reaching the end of the path, he sat to give thanks to Melora. He found an instant connection, as if the colors and sounds in the air responded to him. This was a place very connected to her, in the heart of nature.

“Melora, if you’re listening, thank you for keeping us safe so far. I ask you, please, just take us safely to Sanskra.”

He felt a warm wind pass over him as a petal drifted into his face. He sat for a few more minutes, feeling at peace.

Elyse flipped out her journal, flipping to the alarm page, and set about casting the spell once more.

As this was happening, Boblem began his own spell, closing his eyes and lifting his hands. A five foot gob of mud rose from the Earth, the water rippling to slowly evening out. He moved it over to the side of the bank, dropping it down. He spent a while pulling buckets of water out of the first glob of mud, then another, and another. He spent about ten minutes taking out mud and drying it. One he had a large enough cake, he lifted it up, rising it into the branches of the trees where it hardened. A meter up the tree, there was now a wide dish of caked on mud, roots intertwining the structure. It was a rough but dry and solid surface, about ten feet in diameter. With the canopy dangling down, there would be no room to stand, but they could all sit comfortably. Branches poked through the system, forming a makeshift fence. They broke a few off to create an entrance, and the group crawled into the den.

Elyse kept her book out, this time searching for information on Arcane Foci, and if there had been anything recorded about the physical effects of using one. According to the text, repeated exposure could leave scarring, especially when channeling destructive magic. Scarring along the hands, eyes, and voice box was possible, though it depended on the spell. She studied the diagrams of long practicing sorcerers covered in vein-like scarring. She recalled similar scarring on the captain of the boat she had been on, before crossing from Mirrortail. The mental fatigue of channeling magic for a lifetime could also have an impact, but the physical effects were better studied and documented. The explanation was also almost exclusively about humans.

Astra was occupied with his own bag and journal. After a while, he sang a bit in Sylvan, doing his best to continue the long process of healing Elyse’s scar.

As the song ended, Elyse moved to sit by him. “I just realized, I haven’t spoken to you since… the manticore.”

Astra looked over to her, silent.

“I’m so glad you’re still with us,” she finished, feeling a bit awkward.

“Me too.”

“And, I’m sorry that it happened to you.”

“I know.”

Elyse wasn’t sure what to do, so she held tightly to her book.

“Elyse, I trust you,” he continued. “But at the end of the day you have to trust me as well. And the rest of us.”

“I do trust you.”

“Don’t just run off,” he smiled.

Elyse, not wanting to answer, turned back to her book. At this point, Renard returned, looking quite at peace.

“That’s very impressive,” Sariel complimented, looking around at the hideout.

“Ah, thank you, I’m mighty tired,” Boblem replied, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his arm. “But you were very impressive yourself!”

“Well, not like this,” she countered, looking around.

“Maybe I could teach you?”

She smiled. “That would be nice. Maybe you should take the first rest, then.”

“If you all don’t mind,” he agreed, looking to the rest of the group for approval.

“You have been working hard,” Renard concurred.

“Go for it, you’ve worked so hard,” Astra nodded.

“Aw, thank you,” the boy blushed, growing a bit pink at the approval.

Darkness fell, and Elyse and Astra took first watch. The swamps became stiller and quieter, pierced by the occasional shriek of an animal. Faintly, but recognizably, the bard heard the sounds of Sylvan in the distance, singing. It was a sad melody, but the lyrics were hard to make out, barely more than a whisper. The song broke through the trees, interrupted by the noises of various creatures.

“I’m gonna have a walk around the perimeter, see if everything’s okay,” he whispered.

“Would you like me to come with you?” Elyse offered.

“If you like, but maybe they need someone to keep a watch while I do that.”

“Yeah, I’ll stay here.”

Astra headed out, following the sound of the singing. It became clearer, as he heard the words of loss and despair and sorrow. He made out the word “sapling” as well. Getting closer, following it for about ten minutes, he arrived in a patch where the trees opened. The singing was now clear, and though it was dark, the sound was all around him. He couldn’t see anyone, but the song continued. It was haunting, and it sounded as if someone was crying as they sang.

Tentatively, Astra did his best to join in the melody. Once he started, the original song faded off. Astra kept up the song, and heard the splintering of wood. Looking to either side, he saw nothing. But then, a tree nearby peeled away from itself, and a figure, the texture of bark, stepped out. Wide eyed with wooden skin, its hair made of vines and leaves trailing down it’s face, an arm poked out, then a shoulder. It stepped out, softly illuminated in the moonlight. It was a humanoid figure, eyes glowing with a dim yellow light. They spoke to him in Sylvan.

“Who are you? How sing you my song?”

“I’m a traveller,” he responded, gently. “My name is Verdant Astra.”

“Who brought you here?”

“I’m travelling with friends.”

“What do you seek?”

“I don’t know… we seek a destination, but, I don’t know where the destination is.”

“Why are you singing my song?”

“Because it was beautiful, and sad, and it... touched me, in my heart.”

At the word “beautiful,” the figure leaned back a bit. “That was a song of grief and loss, and my own to sing.”

“I apologize.”

“Are you here to help?”

“Do you require help? I can certainly try,” the tiefling offered.

“My saplings… taken from me.”

“By who?”

“Men. Hunters. Explorers. Treasure seekers.”

“When was this?”

The figure looked up to the sky, considering. “A century. Two. I don’t know.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” he responded, genuine care on his face.

“Are you here to help?”

“I can try.”

It looked to the distance. “I hear them singing still. Through the wind, and the rain, and the trees, and the water. They call for me. I can’t find them. Are you here to help me?”

“I can certainly try.”

“They trapped them. They can’t get out. I can’t get them out.”

“Where?”

“A shrine. To the West. Thrown below ground and stolen.” The figure creaked as it merged back into the tree for a moment, and then returned. The wood smelled like rot. Astra guessed that the figure likely hadn’t moved in a long time.

It looked him over, with an expression of sorrow, disdain, anger, and despondence. “Not all mortals dare help. Many pass through here. Many don’t listen to the song. Let alone come to see.”

“I hope one day your song can be happy again.”

“Can you help?”

“I’ll certainly try,” he repeated, urging it to believe him. “To the west.”

The figure nodded. “To the west. Where the river splits to three, stay straight. Be careful.”

With another great creak, the tree weaved back around as it turned its back. The vines drifted again as the bark returned to the surface of the tree. Astra remained for a quiet moment, and then turned back to the camp.

Elyse had an uneventful watch, save for a boa constrictor that had set off the alarm spell in her head. She had watched it move around the tree, readying her dagger just in case, but it moved away. Putting away the dagger, she sat at the entrance, drawing her knees to her chest. As she looked out into the night, she finally allowed herself to feel some things about her journey.

After a long while, Astra returned. Elyse rubbed her face, and helped him up. “Did you find anything?”

“I did, actually.”

“What?”

“One of the trees spoke to me.”

“Are these the dryads that Demandras told us about?”

“Potentially,” Astra reflected.

“What did they say?”

“That a man had stolen it’s saplings, and its family. But it could still hear their song in the distance. I said I would try and help.”

“Did they say where?”

“To the west, underground. No one deserves to be taken away from family.”

“No, they really don’t. I guess we’ll talk about it with the others in the morning. Did they give you any more information than that?”

“Not particularly.”

“Did they describe what kind of place underground is? Because my first thought is those structures we were told to stay away from.”

“Deep,” was all he could offer. “You should get some rest.”

“Oh, I’m fine,” she responded. “I’m good.”

“Probably, but you should also get some rest.”

“Whenever Cassian and Ren are ready,” she assured him, grinning a bit to herself at the combination. Astra nodded, and gently leaned against her shoulder for the remainder of their shift. Elyse was comforted by the touch, but was still filled with guilt.

After a few more minutes, they woke the second shift, and lowered themselves to rest. It was still warm and humid, the swamps very much alive.

Cassian whipped himself onto a low hanging branch, setting himself at a higher vantage point. He allowed his legs to dangle down from the branches, bemusedly gazing over the swamp. On one side, a few feet away, was the surface of the water. It appeared almost black in the night. To the other side, in shades of grey, was a landmass of roots, trees, and leaves, disappearing into obscurity. In the middle of it all was Renard.

They looked around silently, but didn’t see much, except the occasional shape darting down the river. Cassian pulled out the amulet he had swiped, examining it. Circular and brass, a few inches wide, it was engraved with a symbol of a dragon eating its tail. He let it dangle.

“What’s that?” Renard asked, tilting his head upwards to see.

“Pulled it off the magic dwarf, back at the bandit camp.”

“Hm. Is it… magical?”

“It’s religious. Pelor?”

“Yes,” Renard confirmed, instantly.

Cassian shrugged and tossed it over to the man, who caught it with ease. He looked it over himself, recognizing the symbols.

“Admittedly I don’t know much about many of the Gods,” Cassian explained. “Didn’t really care to learn.”

Renard nodded, realizing he had a much stronger sense of religion than the wizard. “Pelor isn’t one of mine, but, I know he has something to do with the weather.”

“Well, good for him,” Cassian deadpanned, shifting in the tree to signify the end of the conversation.

Renard let out a single dry laugh. “I see you’ve got no interest in the Gods.”

“Well, what do they do for me? Why should I care?”

“More than you could possibly know.” Cassian shrugged, still trying his best to end the discussion. Renard blinked in surprise. “Wow, how incredibly close minded of you.”

The wizard looked back down, presenting the other with an unimpressed expression. “People are privy to their beliefs, I can respect that.”

“Not just their beliefs, we feel their influence,” he countered.

“And good for you…?” Cassian returned, now making no effort to hide the sarcasm. Quietly, Astra turned over where he was resting. “But let me reiterate, why should I care?” he smiled, challenging.

Renard looked him over for a moment, and then relaxed back into his seat. “I suppose, why should you care?” he repeated, softly. The wizard began to reapply his henna, which had faded a bit in the moisture of the swamp.

“So,” Renard began, looking to change the subject.

“Oh, so you’re going to insist on conversation now, are you?” the voice in the tree responded.

Renard rolled his eyes. “Would you rather be sat in silence for hours?”

“I don’t particularly care. What do you want to say?”

“Ugh, nevermind.”

“No, if you have something to say, spit it out.” Cassian cocked a brow in mock interest.

Renard took a breath. “I thought, seeing as we are travelling together, we could converse.”

“Converse away,” the wizard invited, turning his attention completely to his henna.

He sighed. “You know what, at this point, I don’t even want to.”

No reaction. Renard sat for a moment, wrestling with the logic of surrender and the urge to fight back. Fighting won.

“No, actually, at what point in your life did you become so stuck up?” he shot over, leaning forward in his own faux interest.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Cassian smiled, keeping his eyes on the makeup, taunting him.

“And I asked you before, and you didn’t really give a straight answer, why are you travelling with us?” He sent a glare into the branches. “We’d be fine without you.” That got his attention. Renard pressed on. “If there’s anyone here I thought was not particularly worth having along with us, it would be you.”

“Oh, would you think you’re fine without me?” he grinned, tilting his head. “After I killed, oh, um,” he leaned back, pretending to consider, “The rat man, the dwarf, the manticore that was about to kill Astra and Boblem?” He put his chin in his palms, eyes glinting as he waited for the response.

“Yeah, like you’re the only person who’s killed anything around here.”

“No I know I’m not, but I’m just saying- ”

“I’m sure you’re capable.” Renard interrupted, fixing him with a strong look as the wizard gazed down from the tree.

Cassian paused for a moment, lowering his voice to lean in and respond. “More than you could ever know, my friend.”

Renard glared at the shit-eating grin on his face. “Okay. Don’t call me friend.”

“Oh, you know I don’t mean it.”

With that, the tension in the air reached its peak. Renard set his jaw, considering the wizard’s power. He would make a dangerous enemy.

The elf turned their conversation back around, seemingly unbothered by the silent challenge of their shared glances. “I mean, why does anyone really have to have a reason to do anything? Some people just go places and see what happens to them.”

“Right.”

Cassian stared down at him. “I mean, you don’t seem as invested in this as you may have said from the start, necessarily. If the money’s not what you’re after.”

“I’m not interested in money,” he conceded.

“No, this is just a fun little expedition on the way to something bigger for the great Renard,” he rolled his eyes.

Renard leaned back a bit, surprised by that. “Okay, make whatever assumptions you want.”

“I intend to.”

“Some of us aren’t afraid of hard work.”

“Some of us aren’t afraid of a lot of things,” the smile returned.

Renard was sick of looking at it, and lowered his voice for a final warning. “Watch who the fuck you think you’re speaking to.”

Without waiting for an answer, he climbed down out of the hideout and began to walk down the strip of land again. He was undisturbed. He spent a few minutes allowing the anger to wash out of him, looking to reconnect with the sense of peace and calm once more. He looked around, but nothing was approached.

“Whatever,” he grumbled, and set about walking as far from the camp as he could. After a hundred meters, the ground began to bank around. Curious, he kept walking around. It seemed that the path might lead him back to the camp. He continued to walk, keeping an eye out on the darkness for anything. He walked for a long while… he should have been back by now. He came upon another bend recognizing it as the same one from before. But he hadn’t passed the camp.

He took a deep breath. Removing a glove, he put his palm on a tree. The tree lit up, illuminating the area. There was a wave of sound as birds and insects skittered away from the light. Looking out across the swamp, he found a beam of moonlight shining down to his right, about ten meters in the distance. Two trees were cobbled together, almost forming an arch. He decided to walk around the bank one more time, but as he did, something nagged at the back of his mind, urging him to move towards the wooden archway instead.

He made his way to the arched trees, drawn to it, gazing at it. He could swear he heard movement behind it. Steps, singing, bells… He stepped forward again, but caught himself, his hand on the tree. Looking down, he realized he had unbuckled his sword, about to drop it. Gathering his wits, he looked back at himself, his sword, and the arch. But there was no arch. The patch of moonlight was gone, the trees separate from each other. The call of a bird behind him caught his attention, and looking behind, the outline of the mud hideout caught his eye.

A faint whisper spoke into his ear, and the hair of his neck stood up. Renard got the feeling he very nearly went somewhere he shouldn’t have. Turning quickly, he made his way back to the camp.

Cassian heard branches break, the form of Renard appearing back into view. “Very stealthy of you,” the wizard mocked.

Renard ignored the voice, climbing into the shelter.

“Ah, the old silent treatment,” Cassian baited. “Someone’s having a very bad night.”

He kept quiet. Renard put his glove back on, and somewhere far in the distance, the tree he lit flickered out. They spent the rest of the shift in silence, and light began to slowly filter through the tree branches before softly illuminating the entire swamp.

  
  


As morning broke, they roused awake. “We should keep moving,” Renard stated.

“What a beautiful morning,” Elyse smiled.

“Boy do I feel rested!” Boblem stretched. “How about y’all?”

“Oh after all that hard work you did yesterday Boblem, you deserved the rest,” Cassian responded.

“Oh thank you! Are you all rested?”

“Oh that was an excellent night, I must say.” He carefully ignored the stare from Renard.

“You’re in a good mood,” Boblem observed.

“Look at my arms! I did some more designs, isn’t it lovely?” the wizard responded, showing off the henna. Boblem and Sariel looked in interest, complimenting the work.

“Does it mean anything, or do you just freehand?” Sariel asked.

“Oh, it’s just something that my father taught me,” he explained.

Renard scoffed. “I don’t think anything he does has any meaning behind it.”

“Well, wouldn’t you like to know,” Cassian grinned back.

“Are you two arguing again?” Sariel interrupted.

Cassian put a hand on his heart, feigning surprise. “No! Perish the thought Sariel.”

The group prepared some rations as breakfast. “Shame we had to throw that meat away,” Sariel lamented.

“Bit of a waste, wasn’t it?” Elyse sighed.

“Rude gator,” Boblem frowned.

“I hope that he enjoyed all that salt,” Sariel continued, causing the group to laugh.

“I can get food from the land, we don’t need to eat meat,” Astra suggested. “And, I've got a bit of a request of everybody. Uh, I met somebody last night, who needs our help.”

“You met somebody last night?” Renard turned, concerned.

“Yes, one of the dryads.”

“You met a dryad?” Sariel echoed in surprise.

“Well you said it might have been,” Astra revised, looking to Elyse.

“It sounded like what Demandras described,” Elyse expanded.

Cassian looked unconvinced. “The thing Demandras told us was tricky?”

“What did you encounter?” Renard pressed.

Astra hesitated, thinking. “There was a sad song on the wind that I heard, so I followed it, and it spoke about... the words, spoke about this poor creature’s saplings being taken away, many years ago, by a man. But that, it could still hear the song of at least one of its people, in the west, underground.”

Renard steeled himself for the argument to come. “I don’t think we should trust anything around here.”

“Absolutely not,” Cassian agreed. “We were literally told they were tricky and not to be trusted.”

“Is that what Demandras said?” Boblem asked as Astra’s face fell. “I thought he mainly said not to set things on fire…”

“Yes, because they’re tricky.”

“But if you respect them- ” Astra started, but Cassian was speaking over him.

“The lizardfolk warned us about fae creatures that lurk in the trees.”

The tiefling tried again. “But if you respect them, they don’t- ”

“Any level of respect doesn’t counter the fact that someone might be lying to you.”

“Did it feel like they were lying to you? Could you feel that?” Boblem asked.

Renard interrupted before he could respond. “I’m sorry Astra, I don’t think it’s safe.”

“Agreed,” Cassian nodded. Renard shot him a look, but the wizard only grinned back.

The bard looked around, desperate. “No… it wasn’t lying to me, I know it wasn’t.”

Renard sighed. “What do they want us to do?”

“It wanted us to find its saplings,” Elyse offered. “In… some kind of place underground?” she looked over to Astra to gauge if she had recalled properly.

“To the west,” Astra nodded.

“Which I immediately thought… could be one of those places,” she finished.

“Ah, that we were also told not to go,” Cassian nodded, still smiling.

“We’re a day out of Sanskra,” Renard tried, pleading for Astra to let it go. “Do we want to spend any more time in these mangroves than we have to?”

“Maybe, maybe, we could go to Sanskra, and, I don’t know, get some help or equipment or something that could tackle this kind of thing more efficiently,” Elyse compromised.

“As long as we try,” Astra begged. “I’d rather do that than not at all. Wherever the river splits into three we need to take the center.”

“It’s kind of in the direction we’re going,” Sariel considered.

“It’s off our course,” Renard countered. “And I’m somewhat concerned that if we detour off the route that we know we should be going in- ”

“We won’t be able to find our way back again,” Cassian finished.

“Exactly.” Taking a glance at Astra’s face, he gave in a bit. “We’ll look,  _ briefly." _

Elyse nodded. “I think if we’re going in sort of that direction, we can see if there’s anything like what the dryad described to you. If we make it to Sanskra, then maybe we can enlist some help there, or buy some equipment that will help us.”

Astra sighed. “I won’t be able to sleep well knowing we’ve ignored this creature’s cry for help. So I’d prefer that, as long as we try. I’m happy to go to Sanskra first.”

“Just, please bear in mind that you can’t trust everything that’s said in this area,” Renard warned.

“Please bear in mind that I do know how to trust people and how not to,” he responded. “And give me some respect in that.”

Renard gave in. “Fine! We’re heading somewhat in that direction, if we see something…”

“I’ll be happy to help,” Boblem chimed in. “I don’t like the thought of people being taken away from their family.”

“No,” Sariel agreed.

“Let’s get on the raft and see what we see,” Renard finished.

They climbed down, gathering their supplies and untying the raft. They pushed off into the brighter, crisper morning. The canopy here was a bit thinner, letting more light through. They pushed off, heading northwest. As they made their way down, Astra kept a strong lookout.

“Among all the things we’ve found, is there anything that might have been arcane? I could try to see what they are.” Elyse offered.

Renard took out the sigil of Pelor and handed it to her. She examined it, but didn’t sense any magic. “Nothing,” she reported, handing it back. “What is that anyway?”

“I don’t know, Cassian pulled it off the dwarf at the bandit camp.”

“Some religion?”

“Yes, it’s the symbol of Pelor.”

Elyse nodded with recognition. The God of sun, light, and agriculture. Pelor was heavily worshipped in the East.

As they talked, Boblem leaned over to Astra. “If they won’t help you find the saplings, I will,” he whispered. “Nobody deserves to be taken away from their family.”

“Exactly. Thank you, Boblem,” he smiled back. “I’m not going to leave it like that.”

They headed northwest for a few hours, rather uneventfully. After a while, Cassian was able to make out a Sylvan song between the rushing of water and the whistling of the wind. Astra’s head perked up. It sounded similar to the other night, but it wasn’t exactly the same. This one felt sadder, and scared. Astra turned, looking to the west. “I think I can hear it.”

“What was that?” Elyse looked up.

“I think I can hear the other dryad,” he repeated, listening.

“The sapling?” Boblem asked.

“That way,” Astra turned, trying his best to concentrate. They continued punting along, and the river came to a divide. It was not the three pronged choice the bard had described, but it was a clear choice between Sanskra and the song.

“I can hear the song that way,” Astra pointed.

Renard sighed and pulled out the compass, doing his best to memorize their surroundings before pushing them down the western path.

The raft turned as they moved, and Astra smiled back gratefully. By now, the rest of the group could hear the song, almost like a cry. In another kilometer, the river split into three prongs.

“Straight,” Astra urged. “Keep going straight.”

“Fine,” Renard relented.

“We're really doing this after what we agreed upon,” Cassian shook his head.

“We agreed we’d help,” Boblem countered.

“I said we’d  _ look," _ Renard corrected.

“ _ After _ we went to Sanskra,” Cassian argued back.

“You can hear how sad it is,” Astra defended. “I know you understand Sylvan.”

Elyse glanced at Cassian. “Can you hear it?”

“No,” the wizard lied.

“God, it’s breaking my heart,” Astra lamented.

Elyse observed the bard. “This is really affecting you, isn’t it?” He nodded. She turned back to Renard. “Should we at least take a look? We don’t have to go inside whatever it is. Scout it out.”

“After everything Astra’s been through, we’re doing this,” Renard agreed. “We’re just looking.”

Most of the group agreed, and Astra gave his thanks.

“You’ve done so much for us,” Elyse smiled.

They coasted down through the center stream, further and further. A soft bank appeared. The song was now louder. Astra stepped off onto the land, noticing how the song came in bursts rather than a solid melody. He followed it silently, concentrating very hard to focus, distraught. Elyse followed closely, keeping lookout. They moved forward, Renard lashing the raft properly, and they began pushing through the undergrowth and trees. Walking about five minutes, Sariel remained at the back to allow little white flowers to sprout up behind them, marking their path.

Pushing through, they made their way to a curtain of vines. Pushing it aside, there was a small clearing, with a toppled stone pillar that prevented any growth from roots or trees. Beyond it, there was a structure with walls and stairs disappearing into the ground. The voice cried quietly from that direction.

Astra stared at it. “They’re down there. It’s exactly like she said, underground.”

Sariel and Boblem noticed carvings, enchantments that bound the stone to the ground. The site must have been extremely old for the enchantments to have worn off and allowed the pillars to fall.

“It’s written in druidic,” Sariel informed the others.

“Can you read it?” Elyse wondered.

“Yeah, it’s an enchantment that bound the pillars to the ground here. Like an entranceway, or a gate or something.”

Renard eyed the structure suspiciously. “It is dangerous?”

“It’s not enchanted anymore, if it was.”

“So it’s like a temple?”

“Not necessarily…”

Boblem thought. “A gateway?”

“A cell?” Cassian suggested, distrustful.

Renard flicked his eyes to him. “Bleak.”

“No mention of snakes, though,” Boblem shrugged.

Looking beyond the stone slab, they could see a path leading downwards to a heavy stone door. Astra went down, putting his hands on the stone and looking around. It was covered in moss and algae, almost completely grown over.

“Is there anything here?” he called up the stairs to Sariel and Boblem. “Anything in druidic? Anything that would open the door?”

Sariel stepped back. “I don’t like this…” she warned.

“I’ll go,” Boblem volunteered, climbing down. He didn’t find any more writing, but Elyse followed to examine the door.

“I’m with you,” Cassian agreed with the smaller elf from the top of the stairs. “This is foolish. Dangerous, perhaps.”

Astra concentrated, and sensed some kind of lock connected to the other side of the door, but whatever it once was, it had now rotted away. Long dead wood had barricaded it. In fact, turning around, he noticed there were the remnants of a barricade on his side of the door as well. As he did so, Elyse began to sketch the place in her journal, copying down the druidic symbols.

“So what are we looking at?” Renard started down the stairs.

“They were keeping something in…” Boblem suggested.

“There's a barricade on the other side as well,” Astra explained.

Elyse was starting to get antsy. “I don’t know if this is wise.”

“You said you could hear it?” Renard pressed. “Can you communicate with it from out here?”

“I can try,” Astra thought.

“I just… I’m wary that whatever they were keeping in could be dangerous. Or, it could be populated with something, like the wreckage was, and- ”

“I can hear its voice,” the bard pleaded.

“Can you try and communicate?” Elyse urged.

Renard nodded. “Call out to it.”

The sorceress shifted her weight. “I just don’t want us to walk into another situation where- ”

“A trap?” Renard finished.

“Yeah.”

In gentle Sylvan, the tiefling began to sing. He mimicked the song of the mother, about caring, and about siblings. The other voice silenced, and then, repeated the new song back to him.

“There are people here who want to help you,” Astra informed the door. A gentle cry called back. “Is there any way for you to get close to the door?” After a minute of silence, he tried again. “I want to try to help you get back to your family.”

“Astra, what is it saying?” Renard interjected.

Up above, Cassian stalked around the entrance. From the top of the stairs, his eyes burned into the back of Astra’s head as he sent his voice into the bard’s mind. “ _ You should leave. This isn’t a safe place for you," _ he insisted, doing his best to mimic the haunting Sylvan of the singing creatures.

Astra tilted his head in surprise as the spell landed. “ _ How are you doing that?" _ he thought back.

“ _ This is dangerous. You need to go," _ the voice responded.

Astra was completely unaware of the wizard’s stare behind him. “ _ I’m here to help you. I’m here to help you get back to your family." _

Nothing in response, but another soft cry from beyond the door.

“What’s going on Astra? Keep us in the loop,” Renard probed.

“Are they still talking?” Elyse prompted.

Astra frowned. “It’s strange, it’s talking in my head, but also I can hear it crying, still, down there.”

“Is that something the dryad did before?”

“No.”

“Can dryads do that?” Boblem frowned.

“I don’t know. I guess?”

“What’s it saying?” Elyse pushed.

“It’s telling me that it’s dangerous here and we should leave, but… it’s so sad!”

Renard, deciding he had seen enough, turned and walked back up the steps.

“What’s going on?” Cassian asked as Renard came up the stairs, Boblem trailing behind.

“Astra is communicating with it. Getting mixed signals.”

Sariel looked over to him. “What’s it saying?”

“I don't know, it's not repeating everything, but… something about it telling us to leave, but also to go inside because it's sad. I don't understand but the door is-  _ was _ barricaded. The barricade’s rotted away.”

“So how is it still in there?”

“I don’t know.”

Down by the door, Elyse put a hand on Astra’s back.

“You said you understand the Druidic?” Renard looked to Sariel.

“Yes.”

“Would you walk around it with me, see if there’s anymore outside?”

“Outside, yes.”

The two circled the structure. It seemed like normal earth, the trees growing around it. “Nothing else written here,” she observed.

Renard sighed, thinking. “It seems like all we can do is walk away, or try and get inside.” 

Sariel reached out, her senses feeling the space around her. She couldn’t sense much more than the stone and empty air in the chamber below her.

“I can't tell much more about this place, other than how far it stretches.”

“How big is it?”

“Hundred and fifty meters or so? It’s narrow, but then it widens. Sorry it’s vague.”

“So, a passage with a chamber at the end,” Renard hypothesized.

“Yes? You could see it like that, I suppose?”

“If we keep walking, could you see if there’s more?”

“I can try.”

On her hands and knees, she reached out to the energy of the earth. “It’s an enclosed area… it’s not tunnels or anything.”

Renard considered the facts. “So it’s either, potentially a place of worship, and there’s, I don't know, an altar down there… or, it's keeping something inside. Those are the only two reasons I could think of for a structure like this.”

“Could be a tomb.”

Renard tilted his head, considering. “It could be a tomb,” he echoed. “But why would you barricade a tomb?”

She shrugged.

“You don’t want to go down the steps,” he observed.

“I don’t want to go underground.”

“Is it just because it’s underground? You haven’t experienced anything like this structure before? I mean, druidic?”

“Not druidic… besides, Boblem can read it.”

“Okay, I understand that, I just wondered if there was a reason why you’re worried about this in particular, but… I don’t know. I am at a complete loss,” he sighed, exasperated.

“Sorry I can’t be more specific.”

“You’ve been plenty of help,” he assured her. They walked back.

  
  


“Elyse, I don’t know what to do,” Astra turned, the sadness clear in his eyes.

“I think,” she began, slowly, “I think we should stick with our original idea, get to Sanskra, maybe we can find some information about this there. I, I know that you're desperate to help these things but, this place is somewhere that we don't really understand, and there seems to be a lot of strange creatures here. We don't know if we can trust what you're hearing. It could be a trap of some kind.”

Astra smiled softly. “Well, we’re all sort of strange creatures.”

“I know,” she laughed back, softly.

Astra gave a longing look to the door. “You can't hear how sad it is.” 

They shared another quiet moment before Renard returned, calling down to them as he made his way back down the stairs. “What are you thinking?”

Elyse sighed. “I don’t know, did you find anything?”

“Sariel could detect that it’s just a long corridor in there, with some sort of a large chamber at the end. Nothing else. A tomb, or a temple, or a cell.”

“A prison.”

“And why would you barricade a tomb or a temple from the outside?” he finished, nodding at her suggestion.

Elyse turned back to Astra. “I may not have experience with these specific types of creatures but, something tells me we need to be cautious and not just go barreling into this. I think we should go to Sanskra and try to find information before we do this. I’m not saying we’re not going to come back,” she assured him. “Someone in Sanskra may know something about these creatures, or this place.”

Astra let out a long breath. “Okay.”

Renard nodded. “I think I agree with Elyse. We may be able to do something, but we may not be in the best position right now. And it’s like with the drake, we had to take time away, find out more,” he reminded the bard. “We armed ourselves against the situation, and then we succeeded. If you hadn’t known how to speak to that thing, then, it would have gone completely awry. Let’s treat this the same.”

Astra gave Renard a trusting look. “Okay, I suppose.”

As they made their way back up the stairs, Astra reached out for Elyse’s hand. She looked back at him. “I’m sorry. I’m not saying we’re not going to come back.”

“I know.”

“I just think we need more information. You shouldn’t run into these kinds of situations without trying to find out everything you can, you know?”

Astra nodded. He looked on the verge of tears.

Renard watched them leave, stopped by an idea. Before he could talk himself out of it, he spun back around and knocked on the door.

_ Knock knock knock. _ Then, he placed his hand on the door. He noticed there wasn’t much resistance. Moving his hand to the crack, he felt a light breeze.

Halfway up the stairs, Elyse turned back to Renard. “Whatcha doin...?” she warned.

“I don’t know, there’s a breeze coming from the inside.”

“There’s a breeze?” Astra repeated, immediately intrigued.

At the top, Cassian threw his hands up in silent frustration. They had been  _ so close _ to leaving.

“Yes, let’s get out of here,” Renard shook his head.

Elyse grimaced slightly, already regretting what she was going to say. “I mean, I could…”

“You could what?”

“I could turn invisible and go inside, but that didn’t go well last time.”

“No, because then you'd have to open the door,” Renard countered. “We get out of here, the plan is solid.”

“Okay….”

“But you just said there’s a breeze, you can get it open?” Astra begged.

“There’s a breeze and no entrance anywhere else. That doesn’t sound trustworthy to me,” he explained.

“It could be a trap left for travellers,” Elyse added.

“Exactly,  _ all of it _ could be a trap left for travellers.”

Astra shook his head. “I trust the person I spoke to. She was being sincere.”

“I don’t trust the mangroves.”

Boblem, Sariel, and Cassian watched the argument from the top of the stairs. Deciding to be more proactive, Boblem sent out a spell to detect the presence of any traps. He found one immediately behind the door, but by now, it was only long shattered remains. An axe, now crumpled and broken and rusted, lay just beyond the door on the ground, as it had been for a thousand years.

Satisfied, he called down to report this, interrupting the bickering. “I just cast a little spell to see if I could detect any traps, and I couldn’t detect any, but there were some remains of one on the other side.”

“Does that cover arcane traps, Boblem?” Cassian rolled his eyes.

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

Elyse nodded, thinking. “So if the door can be opened, and there are traps in there that have disarmed, or so old that they don’t work anymore, if there was something being held in there it could have come out on it’s own.”

“Yeah, that's what I'm thinking,” Boblem agreed. “There’s nothing keeping it in there, then.”

“I don’t trust this,” she repeated.

“You trust this less now?” Renard questioned.

“Yeah! If it could get out!”

“If it could easily get out, it wants you to come in,” Cassian added with a poisonous smile at Renard.

“Exactly,” Elyse nodded.

“If there are no traps, then it would have come out,” Boblem repeated.

“I think we should go to Sanskra and try to find information on this, if we can.” Elyse repeated. “I don’t trust it. I think there’s some kind of Fae magic or something here that tries to keep creatures here.”

Astra moved back to the door, pressing a hand against it. “I promise you I will be back,” he whispered in Sylvan. Soft sobbing echoed.

Cassian was glaring at the bard’s head again. “ _ Don’t come back," _ he urged.

There was another low sob, but this time, it came from behind.


	10. Fractures, Episode Eight

Their ears perked as they listened, sobs echoing from many different places around them. They weren’t multiple voices, but the cry seemed to bounce around the trees.

“We need to leave,” Elyse warned, a bit more worried now.

“I don’t like this at all,” Renard agreed.

Astra slowly pushed on the door. It began to open, but Elyse grabbed his arm. “We need to leave.”

“Can we just- one, please, one quick look…”

“This is dangerous, you realize that right?” Renard pressed.

Elyse nodded. “I think these creatures are playing with your mind- ”

Astra pushed open the door.

A counter breeze pushed back. The door moved under its own weight, seemingly on hinges. With a rumble of stone and a flurry of dust, they could see down the first few meters clearly. A tunnel went down, extending about 30 or 40 feet into the structure. There were four stationary figures to the sides of the walls before the hall dropped off downwards.

The figures were statues, originally gold, but covered in thousands of years of dust. There were doors to either side of the entrance, with stairs that led downwards at the far end of the hall. The floor and walls were made of a grey-green stone, the air musty, clearly undisturbed for thousands of years. Boblem looked to the floor, observing the remnants of the trap, shattered in half by something either forcing the doors open, or simply falling apart over the years. A groove in the ceiling signified where the two axes would have swung down. Heading back down the stairs, he pointed it out to the group. “This is where the trap would have been. This trap was either already activated by something, or it’s real old.”

“You said you felt nothing else?” Renard confirmed.

“Yeah, I don’t think I felt anything else…” but now, deeper into the structure, something else nagged at him. “Actually, there is something further down. Something arcane.”

“Oh good,” he rolled his eyes.

“We should leave, we should get more information,” Elyse repeated.

“Well what now, Astra?” Renard turned.

“I just said, I just wanted to have a look.”

“Is this enough of a look?” Elyse asked, but Astra was moving forward. Renard followed, trying to stop him. Stepping into the corridor, the air felt untouched, having sat stagnant for a thousand years.

Astra moved up to the statues, caked in a layer of dust an inch thick. They seemed humanoid. Renard took out his sword, tapping it against one slightly. Dust flew off, revealing a helmeted head with a beautiful, serene face. Pointed ears and curving antlers protruded through. The sculpting was masterwork, tiny filigree engraved into every inch of the work, each surface exquisitely detailed.

Renard let out a breath in awe. “Wow…”

Intrigued, he moved to the next one. The silhouette was another helmeted figure, though no antlers this time. One hand was down by i’s waist, and another held a bow.

“Not to be presumptuous,” he began, turning to Boblem, “But as a druid, do you recognize these figures at all?”

Boblem slowly entered to get a look. With a wave of her hand, Elyse sent a gust of wind towards the two statues on the other side, uncovering the dust. Astra coughed as it swirled about. A few more details were revealed. One had their hands behind their back, with the other holding a bow and spear. They were all clad in the same ornate, intensity intricate armor, scaled and layered. They were all made of bronze, so it was impossible to tell the intended material of the uniforms, but the clothing appeared like layered leaves. They seemed elven.

“Don’t seem like much to me,” Boblem apologized. “Just pretty statues.”

Astra considered the two doors, listening for the noise. There was no sound.

“Sariel said there were no other tunnels,” Renard shared, confused.

The bard listened closely for the crying. “Maybe she couldn’t feel it properly.”

Boblem looked uncomfortable. “Like I said, there is some kind of arcane trap, further. At the bottom of the stairs, so, watch out.”

Elyse moved forward, peering down the staircase.

It looked like a mass of vegetation and vines. Beyond that, a bit of a walkway, and then darkness. Even with her ability to see without much light, she couldn’t make out the end.

“Cassian, we could use one of your floating lights,” Renard called. There was silence. “Nevermind,” he rolled his eyes.

The wizard’s voice echoed down the hall. “That requires that I come down,” he explained, faux polite smile audible in his tone.

“You can just come to right outside the door and light it up, can’t you?”

“Can you send it in?” Boblem followed.

More silence. “I guess not,” Renard bit, failing to hold back his annoyance.

“Guess not,” Elyse sighed. “I don’t think we should be doing this. Considering how little we know. Trust me, you don’t come into these kinds of places without any knowledge.”

“You’re probably right.”

“Yeah,” Boblem nodded. The sobs were coming from further down.

“I have a feeling that you can hear as well now,” Astra tried.

Elyse crossed her arms. “I think it’s a trick.”

“It’s not a trick.”

Boblem shifted his feet. “But why would we be able to hear it now? It’s almost like it wants us to hear it as well- ”

“Because it wants help,” Astra pleaded.

The four crowded by the top of the second stairway. Renard sheathed his sword, trading it for the crossbow. He removed a glove to take out an arrow, and with a touch, it lit up like a lantern. He fired it into the darkness, beyond a mass of plants. It lit the hallway, flying over a bit more corridor before it disappeared into darkness, swallowed into a hole.

“You said the trap is at the bottom?” he asked.

“Think it’s between the vines and the hole,” Boblem clarified.

“Should we try these doors?” Astra wondered. “Or are the poor creatures further down?”

“You can try the doors,” Renard agreed, taking a few cautious steps down the stairs. Noticing this, Astra decided to follow him instead, and Renard put out an arm to ensure he stayed a bit behind.

Boblem threw a stone down the hole. It bounced for a bit, and something else moved. “Y’all hear that?”

“Mhm,” Elyse nodded. She let loose a bit of magic, and a ghostly hand moved over to touch the mountain of greenery. The entire mass of it contracted and began to react.

“Whatever that thing is, it’s moving,” Renard cautioned. “It could be like Sariel and Boblem’s vine thing…”

“It’s trying to eat my mage hand,” Elyse added.

“Should we jump it?” Astra suggested.

Boblem shook his head. “I don’t know if you can jump it. What if it grabs you?”

Renard aimed his weapon again. “Do you want me to fire an arrow into it?”

Elyse bit her lip. “I don’t know…”

  
  


At the top of the stairs, Cassian looked over to Sariel. “Well, how long do you think it’s worth waiting before we either follow them in, or leave them alone?”

“I can’t go down there.”

“You can’t?”

“No.”

Cassian nodded, but didn’t press. “Interesting. I don’t particularly want to.”

  
  


Below, Renard fired the arrow. At the same time, Boblem used a spell to pull off a large clump of mud and stone from the ground, flinging it towards the mass of plants. They both hit, and the mass shuffled back, making a strange growl. Astra flinched. Vines reached out of the mass, pulling it forward as it began to move up the stairs.

Like hands, it grasped the walls, dragging itself up the stairs. Astra looked around anxiously. “Oh, that’s not good, okay, ahhh…” He sent his voice into the mind of the creature.  _ "Please don’t. You probably shouldn’t do this," _ he warned.

The creature relaxed, pulling back as the vines retracted.

  
  


Cassian and Sariel still had no idea what was happening down there.

“Really this is just a stupid decision all around, isn’t it?” the wizard quipped as he examined his cuticles.

“Mhm.”

Cassian, noticing the rather sad demeanor of the other elf, tentatively reached out a hand to pat her shoulder.

She shifted out of the way. “Please don’t.”

He nodded, feeling supremely awkward as he returned his hand to his side.

  
  


Underground, Boblem traced a spell in the air, preparing an attack in case the creature moved forward again.

Renard eyed the mass carefully. “That’s the trap, right? That’s got to be the trap.”

“There’s also a hole behind it,” Elyse reminded him.

Renard steeled himself, and then ran towards the creature. He slung the crossbow back on his shoulder and retrieved his sword. The smell of rot and death hit as he approached. He sliced at it, cutting apart a few vines. “It stinks!” he yelled back over his shoulder. Turning back to it, he saw the vines knit back together. Quickly disengaging, he backed away. “C’mon,” he beckoned.

Elyse backed up a bit, throwing a fireball at it. The fire sparked, but where it hit the creature, the fire extinguished immediately. The creature must have been very wet. It began to shamble back up, the arms reforming. Both of them slammed into Renard with incredible force. He screamed in pain and surprise. The vines crept around his neck, waist, legs and arms as he tried to get away. Struggling, he found he couldn’t move.

The scream alerted the two elves at the top of the stairway. Sariel looked very reluctant, but she forced herself to move to the first doorway. Looking in, she cast a moonbeam. The familiar light opened up, burning the creature.

Astra looked on in terror, hesitating as he wrestled with the decision to attack the creature or not. Desperate, he ran up towards it and pulled out his knife, cutting at the vines around his ally. Hacking and slashing at it, every vine that he cut away was replaced by three more. He tried to pull them away, but the vines seemed to wrap further and tighter. “Let him go!” he screamed at it, holding Renard back by the scruff of his neck.

Cassian reluctantly made his way to the first doorway. Standing by Sariel, he assessed the situation. The creature towered over Renard, easily twice his size. The wizard sent out a spell, and a thunderous clattering rumbled from above it. A cacophonous boom shook loose stone from the ceiling as projectiles slammed into the creature. It was now absolutely covered in dirt. “Time for my entrance, it seems,” Cassian announced.

Boblem took the opportunity to start his own moonbeam. Renard struggled, pulling himself away. A vine that was weakened by Astra snapped free, and he stumbled out of its reach. “Elyse!” he choked out, urging her to make another attack.

She sent a burst of acid spraying over the creature. It sizzled and burned, withering. Successful, she flew up and onto one of the statues, sending a second shot of acid at it. The twin moonbeams intensified the burn, but the creature was still attacking.

Focused back on Renard, it sent two colossal arms out, shaking the walls and the very foundation of the tunnel. But the creature was slow and cumbersome, and he had learned. The first arm swung down at him, and this time, he skillfully ducked underneath it. As the second arm swang, he stepped safely back, a few vines just passing over his face.

He tossed his rapier to his other hand, hacking back and forth through the vines as fast as he could. Moving through the arm, he pulled his sword through the center of it. It slumped to the floor, and a wave of brown deluge washed out around their feet. It stank of rot and decay. Turning away, he retched.

Astra felt awful. The creature was finished, but it had seriously done a number on Renard. He walked over to him, silently pressing his own healing potion towards him.

“I don’t need it. Save it.”

“You were hurt- ”

“I’m fine.” Flexing his fingers, the slightest bit of color returned to his skin.

At the entrance, Sariel was hyperventilating as the memory of the vines around Renard’s throat replayed in her mind. She backed up the stairs, falling over and onto them.

“Are you okay?” Boblem turned.

“She told us not to be here, and I think she was right,” Cassian reprimanded.

“Yup,” Elyse called back.

Renard marched forward past the creature. As he passed the body, a circle lit up, and a bright flash blinded him. An explosion illuminated the entire place in a white, golden light. Elyse tensed up on the statue as blood trickled from Renard’s nose. Everyone’s ears rang as the smoldering lines of the arcane trap glowed with detailed runes and markings.

“Move away, move back!” Elyse shouted.

Renard wiped blood from the small space between the mask and the scarf where skin was visible. Continuing with his task, he pulled out his crossbow, and shot another arrow into the tunnel. A bottomless pit of darkness, about fifty feet long, revealed itself. On the other side was a platform, and just in the distance, a circular door of metallic material.

He laughed bitterly. Turning, he marched straight back to the door. “Yeah. Fuck this.”

Elyse was still curious. She sent another mage hand out in front of her. It could only reach a little over halfway across the pit, but nothing happened. She sent a gust of wind, and there was no reaction. She sent a firebolt, and it splashed against the door, illuminating runes she couldn’t make out at that distance.

“We can’t do this right now,” she repeated.

Renard stormed all the way out of the structure.

Cassian glared over at him. “We done here?”

He let out a breath. “We’re done here.”

“Good.”

Renard kept walking.

Watching Sariel, Cassian offered another hand, not expecting her to take it. He was right, she was inconsolable.

Sheepishly, Astra made to follow the others out of the corridor.

Elyse jumped down off the statue. As she did, she felt it rotate slightly in place. She looked back to it in curiosity. “Hang on, I want to try something.”

She turned the statue as far as she was able. It made a grinding sound as she turned it 180 degrees. Looking around, nothing else had changed. Astra, noticing this, checked the other statues. It seemed all of them could turn on some system where they rotated at the base.

He turned another, pushing it 90 degrees. No difference. He turned another one. Nothing still. Elyse pushed one more, and heard a faint ticking sound on the other side of one of the two doors by the entrance. The door opened, revealing a cross-shaped room. It was fairly unadorned, but there was a disc of bronze with runes carved around it. There were also three holes in a pyramid formation, each about eight inches wide and two inches deep. There were a few vases and jugs as well, and two low stone structures.

Elyse called towards the entrance, sharing her discovery. “Guys? We opened one of the doors.”

“Sariel is having a panic attack!” Cassian called back.

“What?”

“Sariel is having a panic attack!” he shouted a bit louder, frustration evident in his voice.

Hearing that, Astra quickly left the room, casting his magic to send calm emotions towards the small elf.

A wave of refreshing energy hit Sariel, stilling her mind and slowing her breathing. As it washed over her, she looked around, terrified. “Is it gone?” she whispered.

“It’s gone,” Astra assured her. “You were incredibly brave.”

She shook her head rapidly, “No.”

“You are, you came here when you didn’t have to. You can head back up the stairs.”

“You wanna go out for some air?” Boblem offered. “I’ll go with you.”

“I wanna leave,” the quiet voice begged.

“I’ll go with you.”

The two made their way up the stairs as Cassian stared daggers into Astra. The tiefling was doing his best to avoid eyes with everyone, feeling extremely guilty.

Elyse was still exploring. Another mage hand flitted out, checking the smaller room. The jugs only rolled and rattled, and nothing reacted to the hand. She sighed.  _ Well, I’m not going to do this on my own, so I guess I’ll go out and talk to the others first, _ she thought. Reluctantly, she left.

“So,” she began, looking to Cassian and Astra. “Turning the statues opens the two doors on the side, there’s some kind of circular thing that looks like the door on the other end of the tunnel. I’m guessing, if we do something with those, maybe a bridge or something will appear, or unlock the door.”

Astra nodded, quietly. “Let’s check the room out.”

“But only if- ” Elyse sighed, putting a hand to her head, “I was the one who was saying we shouldn't be doing this without information, I know, but… maybe we should regroup first, before we do anything else. But I think we should check in on the others, especially Sariel.”

Astra nodded, and Elyse turned to meet with the others. Cassian, left alone, turned into the corridor himself. Standing at the edge of the pit, he sent down a small orb of blue light. It moved for one hundred and twenty feet, as far as his magic could reach, before it was swallowed by the darkness. “Hm.”

He left, heading for the raft.

“I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt,” Astra promised the others.

Boblem looked over to the distance where the swordsman had marched off. “Renard!”

No response. He was heading towards the raft.

“I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt, I just wanted…” Astra trailed off, eyes pleading.

Elyse sighed. “I know you didn’t, but- ”

“We  _ heard _ the cry.”

“I know, and we don’t know if there might be something in there, but there's clearly something strange about this one. Something that maybe we don't understand, and we need to be more cautious. But you were trying to do the right thing, I get that.”

“It warned me it was dangerous…”

“Yes I know but, I don’t really want to talk right now considering... my great failures recently, so. I'm sure they won’t hold it against you for too long.”  _ Maybe Cassian, _ she added, silently. “Astra, can you still hear those cries?”

He shook his head. “It’s gone silent.”

“So maybe it was that vine creature. But we can’t be sure.”

“We can’t be sure.”

With Astra and Elyse trailing at the back behind the three elves, Renard led the way towards the raft. Fuming with anger and exhausted from the huge blows he had been dealt, he marched forward without paying much mind to his surroundings.

He made his way through the mulch and moss, and just barely noticed a hand on his shoulder. He turned, and came to face the form of a beautiful woman. Her hair was made of bark and leaves, her face serene. She stared down at him, almost part of the tree. She reached her hand out, just under his chin.

She breathed out, looking into his eyes, and he felt his whole body relax. He’d do anything for her.

“You should go back…” her voice whispered.

“I should go back…” he repeated, transfixed.

“There’s something in there…maybe, the answers you’re looking for.”

She disappeared back into the tree.

“I should go back…” he repeated, nodding to himself.

At the back of the line, Astra and Elyse made their way forward. As she looked through the trees, the sorceress suddenly locked onto a pair of eyes where there was nothing before. They were beguiling, and charming, something special about them… they came from the branches of the tree itself as a form pulled out, breathing and smiling. She was charmed.

Though Astra couldn’t hear the message, he noticed from the corner of his eye the same familiar figure giving a sorrowful smile to Elyse.

“You should turn around. You should do your best to help that creature out of there…” the figure whispered to her.

The sorceress touched Astra’s shoulder, and turned to look back at the door. “I think we need to go back,” she said.

Boblem was walking along with Sariel when he noticed a slender, feminine figure step out from the side of a tree. It stared and smiled, with a bit of sorrow in its face. The bark seemed to split, and just under its face was a layer of rot and fungus.

He felt something wash over his mind, passing as he shook himself out of it. The creature frowned, pulling back.

Renard felt something twist and latch on in his head. As he realized something was trying to mess with his mind, the feeling suddenly dropped off of him.

Boblem whirled around, searching, and spotted another figure leaving Astra and Elyse as the two turned back to the structure. “Guys? Y’all see the scary lady?”

Cassian whipped around, searching.

“You think we should go back in?” Astra pressed.

Elyse nodded. “I think we need to go back in.”

“You saw her when she came to you, then?”

“She said we should go back in. I think she’s right.” The beautiful woman was Elyse’s most trusted friend, her closest ally, giving her advice. “You were the one who told us to respect nature, if she tells us to go back in, we should go back in.”

“I… agree, I think we should help. We should help as much as we can. Should we get the others?”

“Yeah, we should all go back in.”

As Boblem yelled, Sariel glanced over. She spotted, to her right, the shape of a slender female creature moving oddly, limbs creaking and splintering, an artful explosion of leaves and branches for hair.

Sariel, already so incredibly shaken from the underground tunnel, instinctively called upon her primal magic. Her face dropped, arms raising as her nails grew and extended into sharp points. Her jaw opened as her teeth extended, eyes wild. She ran towards the creature, clawing at it as it retreated into the tree, failing to charm Boblem. A chunk pulled off of it as she attacked, revealing rotted wood underneath that crawled with insects and maggots, reeking with death.

Elyse moved forward, looking to convince the others to return while Astra headed back to the structure. She watched as Sariel backhanded the creature. Her most trusted companion, blatantly attacked. She burned with anger, and in a trance, she slowly drew out her arcane focus to send a shot of lightning at Sariel. It launched into her back, sizzling, forcing her arms and neck back as the blow landed.

“Elyse, what the fuck?!” Cassian shouted, watching this unfold.

“Elyse, what are you doing!” Boblem yelled, hurrying to Sariel’s side.

The sorcerer growled at them. “Don’t hurt her.”

Renard dashed back to the group. “Don’t listen to them, they’re trying to charm us!” He barrelled into Elyse, grabbing her waist and trying to drive her to the floor. Elyse’s reflexes were fast, and she jumped back with him, sending his head into the floor as they went down. She pushed herself back up, bracing her hand against Renard’s head as she pushed his face further into the dirt.

_ Well, _ Elyse thought.  _ If they’re not with me, they’re against me. _

Cassian laughed at the sight of Renard in the dirt, reaching into his bag to pull out a very crusty shell. Blowing into it, he sent a spray of poison to dryad. It didn’t seem to hit. He looked down at the shell in annoyance. “Really?”

He tried his best to give it a punch, but his fist came nowhere close. A fleeting glance confirmed Renard was still down, and thankfully, hadn’t seen that.

Boblem started up a moonbeam on the creature by Sariel, and it shrieked as pieces of bark burned up, revealing white rotted wood. “Elyse, snap out if it!” he called.

Astra, turning from the structure, was met with the sight of a feral Sariel, Elyse planting Renard into the ground as moonbeam energy burned down onto a dryad.

“Elyse, what are you doing?” he called in confusion, running back to the group.

She glowered at Renard, lightning spitting from her eyes. Astra took both hands to Elyse’s shoulders, pulling her to him, trying to send calm emotions into her mind.

A warm flow of magic pushed against the barrier in her mind. “No!” she forced Astra’s spell from her thoughts.

A familiar feeling came over Sariel as she recognized another spell was being cast, one she had used before. The dryad moved their hands, and the vines and mulch wrapped around Sariel, restraining her. The dryad grinned, and disappeared back into the tree. She shrieked, trying to free herself from the restraints.

From the tree closest to Renard, another beautiful feminine form stepped out, smiling at him where he was laid on the ground. She put a hand on Renard’s back, whispering to him.

Elyse shoved herself from Astra’s embrace and grabbed his throat, eyes white. Lightning shot at the bard, but it dissipated off the armour, bouncing from Renard’s leather coat.

Filled with incredible rage at the touch, Renard drove his rapier upwards towards the creature, screaming at its face. Swinging around, the creature was almost feral in its pose over him, an animal ready to feast. The grin of bark split its entire face as a maggot or two fell out. A wave of nausea hit him as the sword made contact. A chunk fell from the bark as he hacked off the arm touching him, cutting back and forth as he rolled to his back. Pieces of rotting wood fell, moss and decay piling onto him, suffocating him as Sariel was released from her viney prison.

Elyse blinked and shook her head as the spell faded from her mind, shaking with the realization of what she had done. She fell to the floor, crying silent tears and muttering in an unknown language. Astra had fallen to the ground as well, holding his throat.

Renard pushed himself out of the dryad’s remains, stomping over to Elyse. Grabbing her by the back of her neck, he hoisted her to her feet. “We are  _ leaving!" _ he ordered. “Right now!”

“Normally I would say this in a much more sarcastic tone, but  _ what the fuck _ did I tell you all before we got here?!” Cassian snapped. “Those things are  _ tricky _ , we were  _ told!" _

Astra got to his feet, and Renard began to drag Elyse back to the raft.

Boblem looked over to Cassian, irritated by the outburst. “You have a point, but right now may not be the best time? People are upset!”

“People are upset! But we could have not come here in the first place, and none of this would have happened.”

“Great, let’s just move on for now!” Renard yelled back.

“Thank you!” the wizard shot back, giving a poisonous glare to Renard’s retreating form. Seething, Cassian pulled out his whip, ripping the nearby trees to shreds in anger.

The group moved back to the raft, most of them storming along in silence. They found their raft docked where they had left it. “Get on. Everybody get on,” Renard ordered. He unlashed the raft, aggressively grabbing the punting sticks and shoving the boat away. Cassian snatched one of the poles from him, channelling his own aggression towards the river.

The raft took off. Elyse was quiet, save for a bit more muttering. After a few moments of tense air, Renard broke the silence. “Does anyone… need healing?”

“I’m fine,” Boblem replied, the only one in the mood for talk. “You guys fine? You need healing?”

Nobody responded. Feeling an obligation to reply as the one who initially asked, Renard answered. “I’m… fine.”

It was pretty clear that he wasn’t. There was still blood dripping down his face.

“If you want, I can heal you,” the boy offered.

“No.”

Astra passed his potion to Renard once more.

“No.”

The hand retreated. Renard sighed. “Forget it. It’s a waste.”

“I can heal you, it wouldn’t be a waste…” Boblem tried again.

_ "No," _ he replied, a bit stronger this time. The boy raised his hands in surrender.

Renard took a deep breath. “Okay. So do we try to push forward to Sanskra?”

“I need to go to Sanskra now,” Elyse answered, her first words since the attack.

Renard gave a bitter laugh. “Good for you.”

They pressed on down the river, pushing forward in complete silence. It seemed that even the swamps, the trees, and the jungle echoed their silence. There was barely a sound but the parting of the waters as they moved through. Sanskra couldn't be far off. Could it?


	11. Bridge In The Mist, Episode Nine

It was still early in the day, the swamps eerily quiet. They drifted along in a tense silence. Renard and Cassian jammed their punting sticks into the river, pushing them along through the trees.

“So…….” Boblem started, carefully watching the reactions of the group, “Are we not gonna talk about what just happened?”

“I would  _ love _ to talk about what just happened,” Cassian began.

Sensing the incoming anger, Boblem quickly interjected. “No no no, I said talk not criticize- ”

“I don’t want to criticize! I just want to talk and have an open discussion!” he gave a tight smile, fury pulsing just below the surface.

There was silence on the raft.

Boblem glanced around again. “Hmmm…”

“Why don’t you take the floor then? Tell everyone how you’re feeling, Boblem!” the wizard invited.

“...I’m just concerned. Like, a lot of us don’t seem alright… and it’s okay if you’re not, I just want to make sure, you can talk about it and feel fine? I know it doesn’t work that way, it’s not that easy, but, I think it’s good if we trust each other. And just, tell each other how we feel. We do want to make it out alive, from this, don’t we?”

He waited for another tense moment.

Renard pushed his stick into the river, and quietly, spoke. “I’m angry.”

“Agreed,” Cassian responded with a bitter grin.

Boblem nodded slowly. “Okay…”

“But not at any of you,” Renard finished. “That… could have gone differently if we’d been smarter, but… Everybody has flaws, and weaknesses. And I’m not going to hold it against anyone. Especially not when magic was involved.”

“...Good. Thank you, Renard,” the boy nodded.

Astra was sitting very quietly, sheepish, and still covered in blood from the manticores. That battle seemed a lifetime ago. His usual pristine appearance was ruined. “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for anybody to get hurt, I just, I know it warned me too, but it felt… I just wanted to help.”

Cassian turned to stare back at him. “You can’t help everyone, Astra.”

“That’s not the problem at hand,” Renard countered. “The problem was we were tricked.”

“Precisely,” he repeated. “You can’t. Help. Everyone.”

Astra lifted his head, slightly. “You should try.”

Cassian shook his head, turning back to his task. “Not everyone deserves it.”

Astra was certainly down, but this was a point he wouldn’t back away from. “It’s not up to you to decide who deserves it and who doesn’t.”

Cassian scoffed, but didn’t respond. Renard pulled out his compass, checking their course. Realizing they had made it back to the three pronged fork, he jammed the pole into the river to turn them back down their original path. He was not gentle about it, and Cassian was forced to quickly steady the raft from the other side as it rocked.

Boblem tried to keep the conversation moving. “Look, you didn’t know we were being tricked. I didn’t know. Maybe some of us had an idea- ”

Cassian let out an exasperated breath. “Maybe some of us were paying attention when we were warned!”

“No, we did, but, people make mistakes!”

“I knew, and, I let my curiosity get the better of me.” The group looked to Elyse, surprised to hear her chime in. She looked down, noticing that her focus was still wrapped around her arm. She slowly set about unfurling it.

There was another silence. Boblem took the cue. “Just… gotta be more cautious about this kind of stuff. Doesn't mean that we're bad people, you know?”

Renard shook his head. “Look, it's done now, we can't change anything that's just happened, so what are we doing next? We're getting to Sanskra?

“We’re going to Sanskra,” Elyse agreed, Boblem nodding along.

“We’re looking for your… friend?”

“Mhm.”

“I’m looking for information,” he nodded. “And if, in Sanskra, any of you don't want to continue, I’m not going to hold it against you.”

More silence. Boblem looked over to the only member of the group who hadn’t yet contributed to the discussion. “You okay with carrying on, Sariel? You seem very shaken…”

It was like she didn’t see him. She was staring off in a way none of them had seen before, drawn and gaunt. Her eyes were fixed on a far off point, as if she wasn’t aware of anything around her.

Renard sighed. “Okay. In which case the only thing we need to focus on is getting there safely then, without anything else happening to us.”

“Yeah,” the boy nodded, thankful that Renard had taken back the reins. 

“Boblem, can you move the raft faster?”

“I’ll try.” He turned to the back of the craft, the water moving under his command as he spread his hands. It wasn’t fast, but it was an improvement.

Renard turned, trying to decide who left was best suited to keep watch right now. “Astra? Can you keep an eye out on both banks?”

“Of course.”

Shapes moved in and out of the water, but nothing grabbed their attention. Sariel and Elyse were still staring off.

Cassian and Renard kept on at the front, but Cassian’s side began to move faster as the weight of Renard’s exhaustion hit. He was still terribly injured from the plant creature as well as the explosion, and his brush with the mysterious door the previous night made for a fitful sleep.

“Are we turning?” Astra looked up.

“No, sorry…” Renard’s head snapped back up, managing a few more pushes before his arm gave up once more.

“Do you want me to take over for a bit?”

“...Fine.” He handed the stick to the bard, wiping even more blood from his face.

“You need to heal, are you sure you don’t want more assistance with that?”

“I’ll be okay.”

Boblem was unsure if he should interject, but Renard really did look awful, even behind the mask. “Just because you’re going to be okay doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get help.”

Renard grimaced. “I don’t think any of you are quite getting it into your heads that I don’t want you to heal me with magic.”

“Okay… would you want us to stop somewhere, and have a rest?”

“We can’t be far off. I don’t want to get caught here in the dark again.” The rivers and streams were narrowing, the patches of land growing larger. Probably not far off at all. “We can push through. Maybe another hour, or a couple at max.”

“Okay, then sit for a bit.”

“Maybe we can find a tavern and rest in a bed.” There was a faint smile on his face at just the thought of it.

Astra, looking out as he punted forward, noticed a dark shape break away from a land mass before making its way slowly towards their boat.

“There’s something in the water.”

It was about twenty feet away, maybe six or seven feet long.

“You don’t think our friend could have got in front of us, do you?” Astra turned to Boblem.

The boy frowned. “It better not be.”

Renard pulled out the crossbow.

The silhouette grew. It didn’t seem to be the crocodile, not as large, and much wider at the front. It approached the raft, curving around in a five foot berth. It was circling them.

“What do we do?” Astra worried.

Renard circled with it, keeping the weapon locked onto the shape. “What is that? Does anyone know what that is?”

“I don’t know, just looks like a shadow to me,” Boblem apologized.

The shadow disappeared deeper, out of their sight.

“Maybe move faster,” Boblem suggested, trying his best to push them forward with his spell. They punted harder.

Renard stared down at the water. “Is everyone ready to fight again if we have to?”

“I guess so,” Astra gulped.

“Yep,” Elyse responded. Her eyes were flat as she resigned herself to it.

Boblem glanced back to Renard’s haggard form. “You sure you don’t wanna…? You can have some of the sweet tea….”

He shook his head. “It seems like a waste. Those will be important at some point, I know it.”

“If you’re feeling bad, I don’t… want you to get hurt.”

“I’ll be fine. I‘m tougher than I look, I guess.”

They stared out over the edges, searching for the shape, utterly focused. So focused, in fact, that it took them completely by surprise when something slammed into the boat from underneath, tipping it.

Cassian, Sariel, and Elyse went flying into the water. On the other side, Astra, Renard, and Boblem were thrust into the air. They scrambled for purchase, but only Renard managed to hold on, the raft smacking back down on the surface of the water as Boblem and Astra were whipped into the water. Branches and bits of wood bashed into them, leaving them disoriented and floundering as the shadow circled.

Astra lost vision in the water, flailing about in the bubbles for the second time in their journey so far. He managed to right himself, treading the warm water as he spat it from his nose and mouth. By the time he cleared his vision, the scene was chaos, and he searched desperately for his friends. “Where is everybody?” he shouted, coughing and sputtering. The bank was only a few feet away.

He noticed Renard, who was holding to the raft for dear life. “They’re under!”

“Oh, shit!”

He paddled to the bank, dragging himself over the root formation. Panicked, he stared at the river, searching.

Elyse was knocked out of her trance by survival instincts, frantically swimming after Astra. On the bank, she turned to search the water. It was a froth of bubbles and movement, heads and limbs of her allies flailing. The dark shape was by Cassian now, about to resurface.

“Look out behind you! Swim this way!” she shouted.

The wizard turned to look, and there was definitely something coming after him. He did his best to fire a bolt at it through the water, but it was nearly impossible to get a clear shot. His magic soared past.

Sariel, arguably left in the worst state of them all by their previous fight, instantly snapped back to primal savagery. Instincts took over as sharp teeth and claws re-emerged. She swam towards the shape to attack, and was greeted by the sight of another pair of claws, much larger than her own. A row of beady eyes stared over tiny mandibles. The creature was propelled by a long tail, cutting through the water, with a long and curved stinger at the end. Her attacks slid off it, but she wasn’t giving up.

Astra and Elyse watched from the bank as Sariel’s mouth lengthened, teeth adding to her mouth as scales burst across her flesh. Her eyes became yellow as she grew a long writhing tail and a muscular torso. Her form shifted completely, stretching into a bloodthirsty crocodile.

Steadying himself on the raft and turning towards the creature, Renard tracked it with the crossbow as it rose from the water. He let loose a bolt, the projectile burying into flesh where the armoured plates separated.

It reeled from the blow, and turned on Renard. The creature, about the size of the raft itself, swung towards him with a mighty claw, grabbing him. The second claw made its way to Cassian, but seeing how it had grabbed Renard, the wizard quickly dove out of the way.

The tail flicked around in the air, deciding on its next move before plummeting down to sting Renard. It stabbed into his shoulder, and as it pulled out, he watched a bluish translucent liquid leak from the wound, burning him. Reacting quickly, he pressed against his chest and pulled out the barb, but the wound still ached where the stinger had entered his body.

Boblem, inspired by Sariel, transformed into the giant snake they had seen pass by the day before. His arms shrank into his body, his neck lengthening as a blue and yellow spotted constrictor took up the length of the river. He swung up towards it, grappling its body as he wrapped around its claws. Its form began to crack.

Astra screamed in Infernal as he watched these events follow in rapid succession. He sent his voice into the mind of the creature as well, screeching at it outside and in. It tried to recoil from the voice, but Boblem had locked it in place.

Elyse debated firing at it, but she didn’t want to risk hitting any of her allies. Instead, she reached into the water for Cassian, arm shaking as she grabbed towards him, pulling him onto the bank. Cassian scrambled onto the land and whipped around. Less considerate than Elyse, he fired a bolt towards it. The blow hit the joint of its free claw, snapping the lower half of the pincer clean off. Proud of the shot, he glanced over to Astra, but the bard was too busy screaming to send him a compliment.

Sariel’s powerful jaws clamped down on the head of the creature, furiously whipping around as she pulled against it. Boblem and Renard were shaken about as the scorpion tried to force her off. Her teeth slicing in, Sariel managed to behead the creature, its body crumpling as she dealt the final blow.

Waves rocked the water, tilting the raft up and down. Sariel wasted no time reforming back into her usual presentation. The creature’s grip going loose, Renard pushed the pincer off his body, doing his best to steady the raft. The snaked form of Boblem made its way to the raft before reverting back to the farmer.

Renard noticed something at the top of his vision. Reaching up, he pulled down a flower crown, realizing he was the only member of the group to still have one. He hadn’t felt it through his hood. At first impressed by how it had managed to stick on through all of this, the sight of the blood splattered across it was enough for him to quietly discard the crown into the river.

On the bank, Astra looked out at the water, not wanting to return to the raft. Cassian removed the moisture from his outfit with a flick of magic. Elyse was still crouched in the bush with one hand on her focus, the other hand out and ready to strike if needed. As she watched the body slowly drift downriver, she stood. Sariel made her way onto the raft, refusing eye contact.

Renard was still standing on the raft, staring down at the water. Without his leather coat, the claws had pierced his sides, blood seeping through the white shirt at yet another injury. 

Boblem pulled out the healing potion once more. “Will you take it now? I do think you need it. What if we encounter something else? We don’t know how dangerous these waters are.”

Silently, Renard took it. Popping off the top, he downed it. It was delicious. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. It’s okay to ask for help you know.”

Renard sighed, and reached down for a punting pole. They were still floating in the water, though there were plenty of other long sticks to choose from. He pushed it into the water.

Boblem looked at him strangely. “Are y’all getting back in?” he called to the others on the bank.

“I’m pushing it towards the shore,” Renard assured him, doing his best to turn the craft. When the raft hit the land, he addressed the other half of the group. “Are we getting back on or are we getting off? Because if we walk and we have to get back in the water, and we don’t have this thing… I have no idea what we’re going to do.”

Elyse jumped back onto the raft. A poor decision, it wobbled a bit, and they heard a faint creaking sound. Bits were coming loose, it had been damaged in the fight.

Astra did not want to get into the water again. “I can walk for a bit, if you go along this side, I’d like to stretch my legs rather than just- ”

“We need to repair the raft,” Elyse interrupted, dragging it onto the land.

“Okay,” Astra nodded, relieved.

Elyse, very shaken, spent about two hours repairing the raft. She forced an expression of concentration as her hands shuddered. As she worked, Renard sat silently, desperately needing the rest. Cassian half expected to hear Astra’s music again, but looking at the tiefling, he was much too rattled to take out an instrument.

They gathered themselves on the bank, noticing how the rivers were growing smaller and shallower. Astra stood, taking a small walk well within view of the others to clear his head, drawing the water out from his bag to dry it once more. He thought about his forest. 

“How’s it going, Elyse?” Renard asked after a while.

“I think I’m nearly there. We should be good to go soon.”

Renard scooted himself over, helping with the final pieces. “So we need to take this down the river. We might be able to walk from here, but then we also might, I don’t know, get to a huge body of water that we need to cross.”

“Yeah, we can’t risk it, we need to stick with the raft.”

He nodded, and then addressed the group. “If anybody wants to walk, I suppose some of us can take the raft, and…”

“I’m happy to walk for now,” Astra was quick to volunteer.

“I’ll walk, gladly,” Cassian added.

Boblem shrugged. “I’m fine with either.”

Renard started to push the raft back into the river. “Let’s get back in the water.”

Elyse looked at him, questioning. “Are you sure? You’re the one who doesn’t like the water. If anyone should walk, it should be you.”

He sighed, too tired to argue. “Fine. Just want to make sure everyone’s safe.”

Renard, Cassian, and Astra strolled down the bank while Elyse and Boblem punted the raft, carrying the still quiet Sariel down the river. At some point, it broke into five streams. They weren’t too wide, just barely fitting the raft, but those who had chosen to walk would have to wade through them. Both Astra and Renard were not pleased by the idea, and they stepped back onto the raft, Cassian in tow. Renard checked his compass, directing the group towards the second of the five paths, heading northwest.

After another two hours, the raft wouldn’t fit down the river anymore. Elyse pushed it over to the bank. There was plenty of land now. “I’m going to lash it up just in case,” Renard informed them as Elyse and Boblem nodded their agreement. “And if not, somebody else might find it useful. We’ve gotta be there soon, right?”

Leaving the raft and punting sticks behind, Elyse checked the compass again. Late afternoon, it was impossible to see anything but darkness through the trees. There was no semblance of form or unity in the dense brush, and as they wound through, they had to constantly climb over roots and duck under branches. Vines hung down as various creatures crawled through.

They marched on for another two hours before a slight mist began to creep around their ankles. The silence was still a bit tense, and Boblem couldn’t help humming along as they walked to lessen some of the awkwardness.

Pressing into the mist, it grew thicker and higher around them. They could see each other still, but not any further than twenty feet ahead. Cassian flicked two blue dancing lights up ahead of them, illuminating the area just a bit, while Elyse sent a gust of wind to disperse the fog. A path was cleared, but she had to keep sending it out to keep the path clear.

“Is this the right way? Because, it seems to be getting thicker…” Astra warned.

Renard stopped, distrustful. “Does anyone have anything that can, I don’t know, test if this is dangerous?”

Elyse turned back to him, raising a brow. “The mist?”

“I can try and see if there's any traps, but that's about it,” Boblem apologized.

Astra shook his head as well. “I’ve got nothing of the sort. Mist has never been dangerous, that I’ve known. It might help us get lost, though.”

“As long as we have the compasses,” Elyse assured the bard, not concerned.

“It’s just fog,” Cassian shrugged, giving their surroundings a once over.

Renard kept the compass out, trying his best to keep them on track. They pressed on, stepping through the swamp. The tree roots became lower and more familiar as they bent into the ground, less high than before. The canopy stretched further as they walked, the sun starting to set. Patches of faint golden light just came through as leaves drifted, bugs chittering. It was reminiscent of when they had first stepped into the swamps, the air thick and pressing around them. It grew a bit colder, the mist surrounding them to the point where they could barely make out their own hands and feet. Cassian sent out two more lights, Elyse now pushing out a gust of wind every few seconds.

Astra noticed the sun setting. “Do we stay, or do we continue forward?”

“We continue forward,” Elyse answered.

Renard agreed with the sorcerer, stepping his way through the mist. “I don’t think we can even see where it would be safe to stay, we can’t even see our environment.” Their map suggested they were pretty close, anyway.

They continued, and soon, two large shapes loomed out of the mist. They stopped, but the shapes didn’t move. Renard stared at them, wary from his encounter with the mysterious archway. “Everyone’s seeing that, right?”

The group agreed. Elyse sent another gust of wind in the direction of the shapes, Cassian directing his lights further ahead. The blurred, oblong outline of the shapes sharpened, revealing two pillars. Seven or eight meters tall, and at least a meter thick, the pillars were made of stacks of huge discs. There were definitely carvings on the pillars, but they couldn’t make them out from this distance, and they extended well into the trees.

They approached one, cautiously. It was carved and sculpted in beautiful detail, each disk depicting drawings and stories and faces. At the top of each was the carved likeness of a face, eyes wide, fins spreading out from their heads.

“I think this is… the way to Sanskra,” Renard observed. “This is like a city gate.”

Cassian considered. “Markers of a path?”

“And,” Renard continued, “Everyone said it was moist, the air was full of moisture.”

“Makes sense,” Elyse agreed. “I think we’ve found it. Or nearly, anyway.”

Astra glanced over, hopeful. “How much further in?”

“We follow the pillars,” Cassian answered, shrugging.

Looking up at them, Elyse recognized some of the language. “ _ Sanskra," _ one disk proclaimed. “ _ The Drowned Emerald," _ another read. She pointed up at it. “It says Sanskra right there.”

Cautiously, Renard took a few steps through. The ground was a bit more firm than in the swamp. Cassian strolled over to the other pillar, noting that it looked nearly identical, save for the head at the top. This face was still fishlike in appearance, but more humanoid, with only one fin protruding from the statue. He looked around, checking for more. “There doesn’t seem to be a third one, yet. A doorway, not a trail.”

Elyse rolled her eyes, anxious to move forward. “It says Sanskra at the top of the pillar,” she repeated, urging the group forward.

“So we just... go through?” Renard repeated, still not entirely trusting.

“What language is that? Never seen it before,” Astra wondered.

“A very ancient language,” Elyse replied. It was all swirls and crests, gusts and droplets.

Renard looked up in wonder. “It’s beautiful.”

“Beautiful architecture,” Cassian echoed.

Elyse nodded. “I’ve never seen it written like that before, but I recognize it. And it says,  _ The Drowned Emerald." _

The stone was blue and grey, flecked with grains of sapphire or lapis lazuli that cracked and marbled through it.

Renard furrowed his brow. “It says  _ The Drowned Emerald? _ Does that ring a bell to anyone?”

Everyone shook their heads. “Maybe it's a name for the city?” Elyse suggested.

“Maybe,” he considered. “Well, I don’t see any reason we should waste anymore time here, we must be close.”

They pressed through between the pillars, Elyse keeping up her wind. In another hundred meters, two more pillars came into view. This time, instead of faces, entire bodies were carved into the stone. Humanoid at the top, a muscular male form pulled at his long hair, combing through it. A long, long tail spiraled around the entire column. The other was very similar.

The party had encountered merrow earlier in the flooded hills, but those had been more fish than human. These seemed more similar to merfolk.

“Well it seems this is the way to go,” Astra cautiously noted.

They stared at the statues in awe, Cassian stealthily dropping one of his shells at the base of a pillar as they passed through. The statues still pierced through the tree canopy in a way that suggested they had been in place long before the greenery arrived.

In another hundred meters, a third pair appeared. These were covered in frescos and pictures and stories, each disc depicting people of all species carved in intricate detail, flocking to this one place. One creature stood above them with a fishlike body that ended in a swirl of water, lifting them up and bringing them together to build something. It was the story of a city being built, and then hidden deep in the swamps.

“What was it the ranger woman said?” Cassian thought. “A Lord? The Lord lifted it up with some sort of magic?”

“The Marid, that's what they called the Lord,” Elyse corrected.

Astra marveled at the sight. “This is like a safe haven for people to stay.”

“I don’t think it would be a good idea to tell the people here that we’ve been making a map…” Renard warned.

Boblem examined the pillars. “Maybe it needs to stay hidden for a reason… Should we be making a map?”

“It's fine, we haven't mapped the last day and a half.”

“I wouldn't think it would be fair to map this area exactly, if they’re trying to stay secret,” Astra followed.

Elyse gave a nod. “Yeah, I agree.”

“Though Ezra didn't mind speaking about it…” Renard considered.

“We did save her life though. Proves we are trustworthy, I guess.”

Boblem furrowed his brow. “Did we say we were trying to map the area when we talked to them?”

“I don't believe we did, just that we were going,” Astra replied.

“Then, maybe they thought they were just being helpful. But, they didn’t know, helpful towards what.”

Elyse was drawing the pillar in her journal, doing her best to sketch the column as it stretched into the trees. At the top, it was crowned by a completely scaled body, with a fish’s head and humanoid limbs. The lower half was covered in a sash that melded into water and steam, swirling around the column as it came down. She smiled.

They continued on, waiting for the pillars to appear once more. When the shapes came into view, they were much smaller and narrower, forming a full arch. Only about ten feet high, it reached over a stone bridge made from the same blue-grey material, extending through the mist.

They stepped onto the bridge, feeling solid stone underneath them for the first time in many days. To their sides were railings of black wood that dripped with water, mist stretching out as far as they could see.

Astra gazed over. “This seems… incredible.”

“It’s beautiful,” Boblem smiled.

“It is, I had no idea something like this existed,” Renard agreed, keeping a careful eye on the mist.

Cassian put a hand on the rail, leaning over to look. “Stunning,” he remarked, the usual spite gone from his face. Faint noises moved through the mist. They heard the paddling and splashing of wood against water, and something muffled ringing out, the sound of a bell. Noises of the city. “We’re here,” he smiled, quietly.

Relief spread through the group, but at the sound of the bell, Renard grew tense. “Astra, can I have my coat?”

The bard looked over, surprised. “Of course you can,” he shrugged it off. Quickly, Renard pushed his messy ginger hair back, tucking it into the hood as he buttoned the coat up to his throat and adjusted his mask. Elyse, taking the cue, tucked back her electric blue hair into her own hood.

Seeing this, Astra looked down at his own form, realizing how dirty and bloody he still was. Embarrassed, he used a quick spell to draw all the marks out from his clothes, doing his best to tidy himself.

Renard glanced over at Astra’s frantic attempts to clean up. “Perhaps they have a bathhouse,” he suggested, “And nice lodgings.”

Cassian practically moaned. “Bathhouse…delightful.”

“And good food,” Renard continued, imagining.

Astra looked confused. “A bathhouse?”

“You’ve never been to a bathhouse?”

Cassian, the expert, did his best to explain. “An establishment where you can take a hot bath, and there’s usually oils or herbs in the water. It's very pleasant.”

Astra shook his head.

“We have to find one, you have to try one,” Renard grinned.

“Okay,” the tiefling agreed, a little nervous.

More shapes manifested in the distance. As they approached, two glowing blue-green orbs grew closer, glowing balls of light that merged as one as the mist burned away. Before them was the marvel of the city of Sanskra.

There were an array of black wood buildings, tiered and stacked on top of each other. Looking out at the ground, there was no more stone, but rather bridges and platforms and rafts overlayed and stacked on top of each other. An incredible mishmash of things thrown together and looking precarious, it was somehow somehow stable. Buildings that were stacked on top of each other went three or four stories high, not individual buildings, but three of four stories  _ of _ buildings, built on top of each other like an incredible nest. It was a marvel of architecture. They stopped and looked out, a small semicircle of open space before them, buildings crowding over into an arch. Where the tops of the buildings were, they were shrouded in mist. Looking down the alleyways, mist reformed again. They couldn’t see too far into the city because of it, but there were definitely people moving about.

Two scaled people at the end of the bridge wore blue-green armor with spiked helmets, holding round shields that bore grinning faces. Grasping spears, they looked up expectantly at them. The noises of the city rang out, and they noticed how the sides and corners of buildings were each decorated in incredible detailing, gargoyles perched on the end of every corner, water dripping and spewing from their mouths in an endless stream. Hooks and rings adorned the tips of every roof, which slanted down and curved up steeply. The ever-present sound of dripping water echoed as moisture collected on the roofs and fell down to street level. A sense of calm passed over the party, the mist thinning out enough to see.

“A floating city, that’s what they said,” Astra smiled. “There was no way for it to be the way it is, and yet...”

“Incredible,” Renard marvelled, before shaking himself back to business. “What are we telling the guards?”

“We’re travellers,” the group overlapped, all giving the same answer.

“Maybe we could name drop Ezra,” Elyse considered. “Dunno if there’s any chance they know her, but…”

Stepping closer, the stilts and poles disappeared into the water, supporting the entire city. Some of them were simply bamboo, but some of them were mighty trunks of oak and black wood dripping in moisture. Hanging from most windows were globes and orbs of blue-green light, dissipating over the entire area to give an eerie and chilling but somehow warm and comforting feel. It was utterly alien, but also welcoming.

Two humanoids stood before them in scaled armor, heavy spiked helmets, and round brass shields with fish-like faces, one grinning and one screaming. Each held a spear which seemed to be tipped not with metal, but some shard of bone or fin, jagged and pointed. Underneath scaled armor were robes of cream and black, with trimmings of turquoise. The pair of guards watched the group arrive. Underneath their helmets was turquoise skin and gills, slits inside the metal where finned and pointed ears poked out.

Astra was enthralled by their appearance. One stepped forward. It was impossible to determine gender through the non mammalian features.

“I see we have travellers to Sanskra,” they observed in greeting.

A chorus of agreement echoed from the group, Cassian bidding the creature a good day.

“Good day,” they returned. “May the blessing be upon you. What brings you here?”

“We're just passing through.” Renard answered.

The guard eyed them. “Not many people pass through Sanskra.”

“Curiosity, I suppose, brought us this way.”

The guard nodded. “How long do you intend to stay?”

Renard glanced at Elyse, who shrugged apologetically. “Not entirely sure.”

“Perhaps a few days?” Renard offered to the guard.

“Your city is amazing,” Elyse beamed.

The guard nodded politely. “Do you intend to cause trouble?”

“Absolutely not. Just looking for a bed to sleep in, somewhere to rest,” Renard assured him.

“You’ll find some. The Jumping Swallows is near, relatively open and accommodating to those who… aren’t too familiar with the city.”

“Do you get many travellers through?”

“No. On occasion. You’re not the first humans here. But don’t expect to see many.”

“Have you seen any others lately?” Elyse pressed, hopeful.

The guard nodded. “The Lady of Turquoid, come through, returned. She makes a home here. Has many human couriers, servants, staff. They keep to themselves, I wouldn't know where to find them.”

“Is there anything we should know about the city?” Renard asked.

“No open flames.”

“No open flames,” he echoed.

“There are designated spots where they are lit to cook fish and food. You’ll find them in the city. Outside of that,” he nodded back to the buildings, “It's a lot of wood.” He cracked a smile before continuing. “Don’t cause trouble, don’t start any fires. If we ask you to do something, comply with it as best you can. Try and stay out of people’s way, if they’re in a hurry. And please, enjoy yourself.”

They stepped back up against the banister, creating space to let them through. Cassian strut forward excitedly. Boblem was sure to thank the guard, and most of the group gave respectful nods as they moved past.

“You coming with, Sariel?” Astra offered to the smaller elf.

She hadn’t said a word since she had glimpsed the plant creature that attacked Renard. It was like she was sleepwalking, but she did warily eye the guards before following the others. Astra did his best to be supportive, not touching her, but walking near her side.

Stepping through, they found themselves in a semicircular plot of land with the bridge behind them, and multiple avenues ahead spiraling off into the city. They weren’t designated roads, they were just spaces where there weren’t buildings. The avenues winded and turned up and down platforms and bridges over streams of water, the entire thing like one huge honeycomb of black wood, dripping gargoyles with the faint blue-green glow everywhere. Looking up at the people nearest, they all parted, though eyeing most of them cautiously. There were many more folk with the same blue-green coloration and finned ears. There also were people who resembled Ezra, with a much deeper blue skin, long black hair going down.

They heard thudding from around the side of a building, and a huge figure appeared, seven feet tall and nearly as wide. They had a giant spiked shell on their back, muscular arms, shoulders with thick, scaly, leathery skin, and a long and curving neck that poked forward to hold a wrinkled face. They wore patchwork armor and held a sickle at their side. As they stepped through, they felt the little platform they were on shake, moisture flying from the buildings that they passed. Astra and Boblem watched the tortle in awe.

A few more people walked towards them, androgynous in appearance, with dark skin and long pointed ears tipped with blue-green. Resembling elves, though somehow different, they wore long draping robes with trains trailing behind them in seafoam white, bearing platinum strips of jewelry across their shoulders and laced into their outfits. They looked the adventurers over as they passed, whispering to each other in an unknown language.

The city was alive, and very aware of their presence. Elyse, seeing all of the strange sights there were, lowered her hood. She felt it was safe to do so here.

“I believe we appear very out of place,” Renard worried.

“The guards called me human,” Astra remembered. The group got a good laugh out of that, his teal skin and long curved horns apparently humanoid enough for the guards.

“They called us all human,” Cassian added, feeling a bit indignant on part of the elves in the group.

“I mean, I did think I was human,” Boblem reflected, “So I must pass off as human.”

Cassian looked over to him, glancing at the boy’s pointed ears. “No… you really don’t.” They all chuckled again.

“I would like a bed and a bath,” Renard declared. “I’m sure we can find both those things here.”

“The, ah, Jumping Swallows?” Elyse suggested.

“Sounds good.”

“Where do we even go to find that?” Astra wondered.

Elyse stared out into the sea of passageways. “We should have asked directions.” 

“We can ask anyone for directions,” Cassian replied, not at all concerned.

“Looking for a bath?” A voice called.

The group turned, searching.

“Down here!”

They glanced down. In a patch between bridges, a humanoid torso lay back in the water, hair splayed out in golden blonde. Completely shirtless, they could make out scales that crept just over the belly, a tail disappearing under the water as a face looked up at them.

“Hello!” Boblem greeted excitedly.

Renard leaned over the railing. “Yes, we’re looking for a bathhouse and a place to stay?”

He smiled. “I can do you two in one. Follow me, the Water Snakes.”

A confused glance was shared by the rest of the group, “It’s the name of the place, not me,” he laughed. He dove under, reemerging on the other side. He began to dip and lead along, and the group did their best to keep pace through the walkways and canals.

Astra leaned over to Renard as they walked. “Have you ever seen anything like…?”

“Never. I grew up mostly surrounded by humans, and this is quite… quite different.”

A tail flipped out of the water, driving the man through as he lazily swam past. He moved down an alley, and the group followed. The buildings above them seemed to clump up and stack, reminiscent of the canopy of trees they sailed under back in the swamps. Black wooden doors led out to the water. In every corner, a gargoyle, a crouched little creature sculpted out of the wood with its mouth open, the face of some aquin creature, sharks, fish, crocodiles, all constantly dripping moisture. There was gorgeous detail on the trim of every corner, of every building, and little blue-green lanterns hanging at every point to illuminate through the fog. It was much better lighting than before, but they still weren’t able to see where the avenues ended. Everything was tinted in the colored light.

They followed him down to a corner, and he waited expectantly as they caught up. Cresting along a walkway, they had to cross a small bridge, no more than thirty or fourty centimeters wide. It was a balancing act to cross, but then they landed on a proper street, flanked by a stream that cut in between and around them. The whole journey was only five minutes, crossing over bridges and walkways, ducking under low-hanging bits of wood, moving through the forest of structure. 

The man dipped down, and then emerged again listlessly in the water, gesturing to a hanging sign on an archway that led out to the water.  _ The Water Snakes, _ it read.

The man plopped his elbows onto the ground, lifting his head as they approached. “If I could be… compensated for my time, it would be most appreciated.”

Boblem looked around, worried. “Anybody have…?”

Elyse looked to Renard. The man crouched, dropping two gold pieces in their waiting hand. The merman bit a coin, and nodded appreciatively before ducking back under the water.

A few of them called out their thanks after him, and a webbed hand waved in response before he disappeared entirely.

“That was wonderful!” Boblem smiled.

“That was… an experience,” Renard nodded, slowly. He turned back to the Water Snakes. The place seemed… interesting. The door was a bit crooked, hanging slightly off kilter. There was ambient music and noise coming from inside, through the door cracks, but there were no visible windows.

“So what’s that plan, are we going in here?” Astra looked to Renard, who was staring up at the sign with distrust.

“I’d like to see!” Elyse nodded, enthusiastic.

“I suppose we should at least look at it,” Renard agreed.

Cassian considered the place. “It could be… colorful.”

“Cozy!” Boblem added with a smile.

“...Sure.”

“Let’s check it out Sariel,” Astra gave a soft smile to the elf by his side, still trying his best to be supportive. 

Renard, finally realizing how quiet she had been, turned around to examine her faraway expression. “Is everything alright with Sariel?”

“Oh she had a panic attack back at the runes,” Cassian informed him with a clipped smile.

Renard glanced up at him, and then back to Sariel. “It’s been quite a day, huh… Sariel, can you… hear us?” He examined her, but there was almost no recognition in her eyes. “Perhaps… a bed first,” Renard decided, tentatively.

“And we need to eat, drink something,” Boblem added. “Sleep? Would you like that Sariel?”

Still no response.

“She’s been walking along with us, so I assume that if we do that, she’ll do it too,” Astra suggested.

“Right,” Renard nodded. Turning back, they walked into the Water Snakes.

They entered a large room, with a desk in the center built out of the same black wood. The floors were polished hardwood as well. They were slick, obviously well cleaned and waxed. There were two small doors in front of them, behind the desks, and larger doors to either side. It was much nicer on the inside than the outside. A figure writing something behind the desk looked up. They seemed to be the same species or race as the guard they met out front. “Welcome, come in.”

There were two small pedestals with white stone carved statues. Behind the desk was a draping of unrecognizable plants, a tumbling of greenery and vines.

Renard stepped up to the desk, pulling down his scarf to reveal his mouth to speak. “We've been brought here seeking a bed, a bath, perhaps something to eat.”

“You’ve come to the right place,” she smiled. “For all of you?”

“All of us.”

“We don’t provide food, but a bed we can do, and a bath we are known for.”

“Do you have recommendations for food?” Cassian inquired.

She nodded. “I can write you up a list of places, do you wish to try the local cuisine? I gather you’re not from around here. Oh, I’m Jedda.”

“Renard,” the masked man introduced himself.

“Oh, I’d love to try the food. I’m Boblem!” the half-elf smiled excitedly.

“We would be happy with the local cuisine, we’ve come a long way, and it would be good to rest.”

“It would be a pleasure. I can point you to somewhere. Eating is very much a community experience around here,” she smiled. “Baths for all of you? Rooms?”

“Rooms definitely.” He turned to the others. “I’m not sure, do we want to sleep before we bathe or bathe before we sleep?”

“While you bathe, I could have the rooms prepared for you,” she offered.

“That would be good.”

“For accomodation, and you to the baths, for your entire time here, it’s two gold a head per night.”

“Are these shared rooms or private rooms?” Cassian asked.

“They can be,” she nodded.

“How many rooms do you got?” Bolem responded.

“We have enough to accomodate. If you wish to share, we can knock some gold off the asking price.”

“I, personally, would like a private room and a private bath,” Renard decided. Almost exactly in sync, Cassian repeated the same answer.

“Erm, the baths are not private,” she apologized. “They are communal.”

“Ah,” Cassian nodded, disappointed but not entirely upset. Renard stepped back, touching his mask. “Just a private room then, please,” the wizard requested.

“The baths, let me show you.” She stepped out from behind the desk. She was wearing fairly simple clothing, black silks embroidered with blue around the cuffs and collar. She pressed open the door on the left. Steam wafted out, and they saw more hardwood floors, eight heavy columns, and steps leading down as water lapped against the surface of the stairs. In the distance were the vague shapes of two people, lounging in the water.

There was another small room to one side, and a walkway around the entire bath. It was one open, long, shallow pool.

“That’s amazing,” Astra smiled.

“It’s beautiful,” Renard agreed.

Elyse was less convinced. “So everyone just gets in and…”

The woman smiled, nodding. “You relax, there’s a separate room beyond for cold water. You spend some time in here, time in the cold room, and then a room beyond for oils, salts, rubs. Perfect for relaxation.”

“Sounds delightful,” Cassian responded, his interest entirely renewed.

“Rooms,” Renard began once more, turning to the rest of the group. “I’ll be having my own, but I don’t know whether you want to share or…”

“Private room,” Sariel decided.

They all glanced over to the elf, surprised to hear her speak.

“And for the three of you?” the woman prompted.

“I don’t mind sharing, but if people wanna be alone I get that,” Boblem shrugged.

“I kind of want a private room,” Elyse admitted.

Astra glanced at Boblem. “I don’t mind, either way.”

Renard looked back to the woman. “So, four private rooms and one for the two of them.”

She nodded. “And are you staying for the one night, or…?”

“I’d say let’s take at least two.”

“That seems fair,” Cassian agreed.

“Okay, that’ll be sixteen pieces of gold,” she tallied. “Baths for all of you, and five rooms.”

Cassain pulled out a few of the gold coins he had won from the bandits. Renard covered the rest by dropping a small pouch on the desk next to the other coins.

She collected them, slipping the gold away. “Thank you,” she smiled. “Please, follow me.”

She urged them to turn into a waiting room with low, comfortable couches. There was a jug of chilled water to the side. They sat for a while before the woman returned with five wood slips, each with a number painted on. Bringing them up a winding set of stairs, she showed them to a wide corridor on the second level with a number of rooms lining the hall. Elyse, Sariel, Cassian, and Renard were shown to separate rooms on either side of the hallway, while Boblem and Astra were given a slightly larger double at the end of the corridor.

The rooms were mostly the same. There were basic amenities, a metal bowl on a stand filled with water, a jug of ice, and a few goblets. There was a comfortable bed, though not very fancy, and an open chest for storage.

Renard turned as the woman led him to his room. “Thank you, this is very pleasant.”

“I’ll be downstairs, should you need anything,” she nodded. “All of you, please, head to the baths at any time.”

Boblem tipped his hat at her in thanks as he walked towards his room.

“Thank you for your help,” Astra echoed.

She nodded back. “Pleasure.” She walked back down the stairs as the group loitered outside their rooms.

“So, what do we do to go to the baths?” Astra looked to the others.

“I mean, I’ve never been in one so I’d like to try it,” Boblem added.

“You go, you strip, you bathe,” Cassian shrugged. There were towels and loose fitting wraps left in the rooms for that purpose.

“They mentioned oils and salts, what do you do with that?” Boblem pressed, curious.

“You put them in the water,” Renard explained.

Cassian nodded. “Or you use the scrub on yourself.”

“Like you’re seasoning a chicken?” the farmer boy asked. He seemed very concerned.

Renard blinked as Elyse chuckled. “I mean… I suppose in the most basic of senses?” he considered.

Cassian rolled his eyes. “They’re scented to be relaxing…”

“And good for your skin.”

“Yes, detoxify.”

Astra and Boblem nodded slowly, still wary.

“Use a lavender oil if you want to get a good sleep,” Cassian continued, “Maybe rosewood.”

“Okay,” Astra nodded, looking to Boblem. “Sounds lovely.”

The boy grinned. “Yeah, like seasoning a chicken then!”

Elyse laughed again, Cassian grimacing.

Renard sighed, and looked at his room key. “Well there’s no reason we have to stick together for the rest of the day, we’re not going to be in any danger here by the looks of it.”

“Yeah, seems pretty safe,” Elyse nodded.

“Let’s just agree at least that we won’t wander off outside of this place?” Boblem asked.

Renard nodded. “Yes, and no open fire, and no getting into fights,” he glanced at Elyse.

“Why are you looking at me?” she defended.

He rolled his eyes, and entered his room. The rest of the group followed suit. Cassian was quick to head back down to the baths. Astra placed his backpack into the chest, locking it.

“It should be safe in here, right? I’m going to lock this and then lock our door?” Astra looked to his roommate.

“Yeah, yeah I think so!” the boy replied.

He locked the chest, and pulled at it to test it. The iron padlock was thick and sturdy. “I gather there’s something in there you keep very dear?” Boblem asked.

“Yes,” The bard answered. “Definitely.”

“I think it should be fine.”

“Okay.” He looked around. “So what do we do now, do we get undressed here and use these robes?”

Boblem put a hand on his chin. “I don’t know…”

Astra scratched his head. “Will there be a place to change down there?”

Boblem recalled a small room in the bathhouse that might have been for changing. “Maybe we take the robes and go downstairs?”

“Let’s do that,” the bard nodded.

  
  


The two made their way to the changing room. They undressed quickly, Astra letting his long hair down out of his braids. Neither of them had been raised to be very concerned about nudity, so they casually strolled out from the changing room and looked over at the bath.

Cassian was already there. He seemed to be enjoying the relaxation, but when his eyes opened to the sight of the other two, the expression changed. Astra began to walk over, and slowly dipped himself into the pool next to the wizard. The water near Cassian was already lavender scented, and a bit of pink scrub was stuck on his arms.

Boblem plopped himself on the other side of the wizard. “So whatcha do with the salts?”

Cassian sighed deeply, not exactly thrilled about the company. “I am using it to scrub my arms and legs,” he stated ,slowly and clearly.

“Why?”

“Gets rid of dead skin.”

“Oh… I didn’t know I had dead skin!”

“Your skin’s always dying,” Cassian rolled his eyes. Boblem tensed up, a bit nervous by that statement. Astra sunk a bit deeper into the water, allowing the smell of the lavender to calm him as the water spread his hair to float over its surface. Boblem did the best he could to imitate Cassian, experimentally rubbing his arms. Cassian, noticing this, slowly passed him the salt scrub.

“Ah! Thank you!” Boblem smiled, now rubbing his arms with a purpose.

Cassian slowly nodded back. “Just like a chicken,” he encouraged, resigning himself to the metaphor.

“Not for eating?”

“No. I don’t think it would taste very nice.”

“Okay. Smells nice though.”

Cassian sighed and closed his eyes, doing his best to pretend the other two weren’t there, flanking him. He kept inching away from Astra as the tiefling’s hair continued to float out towards him, but this only pushed him closer to Boblem. He peeked through one eye, looking out at the many long meters of available space separate from this crowded corner.

After about ten minutes of this, Cassian gave up. Boblem watched him go as he walked back to his room. The wizard hadn’t bothered to grab a robe. The woman at the desk, used to this, barely glanced as he strolled back up the staircase completely nude.

“Perhaps we did it wrong,” Boblem worried as he watched him go.

Astra shrugged in the water. “I’m beginning to think we can’t do anything right in here.”

  
  


Upstairs, Sariel had locked her door. Her clothes were still wet from the encounter with the scorpion. She would probably bathe later.

Elyse looked over her room for a moment, and then sat on the bed. The first time she had been alone since this journey had begun, emotions came crashing down on her. She sat, despondent and thinking, the start of tears stinging at her eyes. Shaking herself, she went to the window. She wanted to sneak out to explore, but the frame was small, and there really was no point in her stealth instinct anyway. She walked downstairs, deciding to go for a bit of a stroll.

Renard waited in his room for a few minutes before heading back downstairs. He approached Jedda with a plan. “Hi, I was wondering what time the bath closed? Or is it open all night?

“It’ll be open all night, as long as someone’s using it.”

“Okay… in which case, I was wondering how much it would be… to possibly, have it closed for an hour to have a private bath? How much it would cost?”

The woman leaned back, considering the odd request. “Well… you’d be paying for everyone who’d be using it, so… ten gold for right now. Twenty gold for tomorrow, in the morning.”

“In a couple of hours time? Ten gold?”

She nodded. “It could be done.”

He agreed.

“Okay. I’ll come find you at your room.”

“Thank you.”

“Not a problem, sir.”

He counted out another ten gold, adding an extra two for her trouble. She smiled. “It will be done.”

Renard nodded, and headed back up to his room.

  
  


Cassian, having just escaped Astra and Boblem in the bathhouse, made his way to the metal bowl of water in his room. He lifted the dish from the stand, setting it on the floor. Grabbing a few shells from his bag, he arranged them around the bowl, and lit three small dancing lights above him in a pyramid formation, illuminating the room from the evening darkness outside.

Carefully, he placed his book into the water. For about an hour, the book floated as he sat and softly sang to it. It wasn’t long before it began to sing back, echoing from the corners of the room in a beautiful, wistful, and sad operatic tone. The sound seemed to be coming from everywhere, but perhaps it was only Cassian’s ears that could hear. He placed a hand onto the open page, breathing deeply.

The page was warm, and then cold, and then very cold. He opened his eyes, and where his hand touched, crystals of ice were beginning to form. Pulling out his hand, it was covered in frost. He clenched his fist, and it cracked off with an audible snap. He smiled down at the power in the bowl. “This I can work with… talk to you again soon.”

He leaned forward to snap the book shut, and just before the pages closed, he heard a voice.

“I’m proud of you.”

Cassian went to sleep, well rested.


	12. Bathhouse Blues, Episode Ten

Around one o’clock in the morning, there was a knock at Renard’s door. Jedda was waiting outside, and she led him down to the bathhouse. It was completely empty.

“I’ll be waiting outside. I’ll ensure your privacy.”

“Thank you very much.”

She stepped aside, and Renard headed in. Piece by piece, he removed his scarf, his coat, his boots, his shirt, his chainmail, his slip, his pants, his underclothes, and finally, his mask. Laying his clothes in a pile, he fetched some of the salts and bath oils before stepping in. He bathed for a while, losing himself in the bliss of privacy and hot water and civilization. It was nice to not have to worry about anything creeping up his leg in the water. The bath was huge, surrounded by tall pillars of wood. A light steam rolled over the room. There were wooden panels with hooks for clothing, and two doors that led to either the changing area or the cold bath station.

He floated on his back, enjoying the peace of it for almost an hour. There were polished bits of metal for use as mirrors, and when he had sufficiently cleaned his hair and body, he examined himself on the reflective surface. Turning, he looked at his back, examining any injuries.

When he had finished, he donned the silk robe and carried his filthy clothes out of the bath. As he stepped out, Jedda reached over to take them. “I can take those for you, have them ready by tomorrow.”

Renard handed them to her, “That would be fantastic, thank you.”

“It’s part of the service,” she smiled.

He kept his chainmail, metal braces, and his mask, but passed the rest to her to be cleaned. Heading back upstairs, he entered his room and locked the door.

  
  


Elyse headed out on a mission to explore the city, taking in the architecture as she strolled. There was a myriad of people, and she stepped out onto a wider avenue built of crisscrossing, floating bits of wood, held together by thick rope. It was unsteady, but mostly stable. Coming towards her was a crowd of people all about four feet tall, with humanoid arms and legs and torsos, but the bodies of fish. Walking past, they spoke to each other in a bubbling language she didn't recognize. They looked at her curiously, clad in simple clothes with one or two holding a sword. They passed by as she rounded into a small square, with buildings purchased on top of each other, leaning against one another. The entire square shifted and moved with the waves. It was a bit nauseating, but not too hard to get used to after a bit.

Occasionally around the city she saw the guards, with blue-green scaled armor. Usually, they were the same species as they had met before, but there was some variation. There were one or two humans, and the occasional elf. Standing nearby were two or three who had taken their helmets off to tuck them under their arms, standing outside the corner of a building. One looked human, one was taller with slightly more pointed features. They resembled Cassian or Sariel, but their ears were slightly webbed at the tips, fading to blue and green. Under their jaws were a faint speckling of scale, also present on the backs of their hands. The group glanced over to her, taking notice of a lone human at night.

One stepped out of the cluster. “Can we be of service?”

“Yeah, I’m new in town, hi. I’m actually supposed to be meeting some friends here, I was just wondering, since you obviously patrol the town, if you might have seen anyone wearing clothes a similar color to mine?”

“You are Ospeian?” he asked.

“Huh?”

“You are Ospeian, right?”

She wasn’t sure what he meant. “...Yes?”

“I recognize the garb. I’ve not seen anyone too recently, but there’s folks from the east come in from Arakhis, looks similar enough.”

“What do they look like?”

“Dragonborn. A group of six, armed, armoured. Are those the friends you’re looking for?”

“When were they here?”

He turned to the others. “When would you say?” They mumbled for a bit, discussing, before he turned back. “Yesterday morning maybe. They were seen arriving on the bridge.”

“Are they still in town?”

“As far as I know.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

“If they’re who you’re looking for, I can ask around.”

“That won’t be necessary, I’ll find them myself,” she assured the guard.

“They stand out,” he smiled.

“Thank you very much,” she nodded back.

“Enjoy the night, stay safe.”

She walked away, finding a hidden spot out of eyesight. She pulled up her hood and cast a disguising spell, tracing the incantation in the air with her hands. Tiny sparks made their way from her head down, as her body shifted into an elf. She now had pale skin, blonde hair, freckles, and green eyes. She based the character’s style off of Cassian, but went for a lighter color scheme.

She glanced in a polished stone nearby, satisfied with the disguise. She wandered for five minutes or so, searching for a drink. Eventually, she realized that much of the city was not on floor level. By walking down the streets, she was missing out on quite a lot. She climbed up some stairs to a whole separate section, with even more bridges and platforms overhanging the water. She found a sign for “ _ The Watering Hole." _ Blue light emanated from the crack of the door, and she heard voices inside. It was late, and there weren’t too many people about. There were two gargoyles above the door, a steady stream of water dripping off them. She headed inside.

There was a very narrow and cramped corridor, and she had to push past some boxes before she made her way into the tavern. She saw a low bar with two people behind it, facing away from her. There was a rack of big heavy bottles, rums, liqueurs, and fine wines arrayed behind the bar. Hanging on the walls was what seemed to be the wheel of a ship, a figurehead, and scraps of broken timber and memorabilia from various boats. There were four or five people spread out over ten tables, two groups of two and one peculiar person sitting alone.

It was an enormous tortle, brown grey in coloration, with a mottled and heavy shell. With thick arms clasping a drink, his head looked over and smiled at her, nodding in greeting. To the other side there was one of the elven folk sitting with one of whatever unknown species most of the guards were. In the far corner were two people of the same skin coloration, water genasi. They seemed to be a couple, drunk and staring into each other's eyes. Elyse headed to the bar to order a triple shot of whisky. It had been a long day.

A female dwarf with black braided hair pulled tightly around her head and a tight cropped beard turned at the sound. Behind her was a genasi man, older, with a salt and pepper beard of his own, long black hair cascading down his shoulders.

“Triple whisky?” the dwarf repeated with a chuckle.

“Yes, please.”

“You look like you’ve had a day.”

“You could say that.”

“No problem. That’ll be a silver.”

Elyse handed her the coin, and the dwarf pulled out a copper goblet, giving it a rub with a cloth before pouring the drink. It swirled around, a vivid amber liquid. She set it down in front of her.

“Thanks.” She downed it in one go.

There was a thumping from behind. The tortle was pounding his fist into the table, laughing. “I like your style!” he called. “Come, sit down, share a seat.”

“You sure?”

“Please! There’s more than one available.” He gestured to a seat nearby, and Elyse realized he was actually sitting on two, his size far too big for one chair alone.

She checked her pocket watch. She still had plenty of time before the disguise wore off. She decided to join him.

He wore a brown loincloth and simple clothes with leather straps, a few hand axes on him. An enormous weapon was sticking out from behind his shell, thick black wrought iron wrapped in leather binding, a spiked pummel on the end.

She sat, noticing it. “Pretty awesome weapon you’ve got there.”

He laughed, pulling it out. “Pretty cool, isn’t it?” It was a huge warhammer. Half was shaped like a dragon’s snarling head, all of it made from one long twisted piece of iron.

“Where did you get that? Here?”

“No, no, I’ve had this a long time. My father gave this to me.”

“Oh. Must have sentimental value then.”

“It does. Maybe one day I’ll give it to my niece.”

“That’s sweet,” Elyse smiled.

“She’s big and strong like me,” he smiled back.

“What’s your name, stranger?”

“Pebble.”

The dwarf returned to their table, placing a bottle of whisky in front of the tortle. Pebble flicked off the top and filled his copper cup. He gestured to her in offering, and Elyse gratefully let him pour a drink for her as well.

He raised a glass at him, and she raised one back before they drank together. He didn’t seem aggressive, despite his size. There was no hostility, he was just looking for company. The drink was strong, and it hit her hard.

“What brings you to Sanskra? Why are you drinking alone at night?”

“Oh, I’m meeting some friends in the city, but I think I arrived a little bit after them, so I’ll have to look for them in the morning,” she covered.

“Do they work here? Live here?”

“No, also travelling through, we just agreed to meet here.”

“Why Sanskra? If I might ask. It’s a long way out of the way.”

“It’s an interesting place, isn’t it?” she deflected.

“It is. Your first time here?”

“It is.”

“What do you think?”

“It’s amazing.”

He chuckled. “Where have you been so far?”

“In the city? Nowhere really, I literally just got here. Just really needed a drink.”

“You should see the floating gardens.”

“What’s that?”

“It surrounds the Bamboo Bloom, the Marid palace. It’s something to see.”

“The Marid?” she pressed.

“The palace of the Marid, yes.”

“I’ve heard of him. He’s like the leader of the city, right?”

He considered. “Well, leader, founder, no one knows. Maybe he found the place, maybe he built it.”

“Is he the one in the carvings outside? On the bridge?”

“The big fish man?” he smiled. “Yes.”

“Those looked very old.”

“Yes. They’re not from this place, not from this plane of existence at least.”

“Where is he from then?”

“A plane of water, outside our understanding. Folk like us here have a natural affinity to the place, and, we see the presence and the connection to the plane of water. It’s strong here.”

She nodded. “Sure, the genasi and tortle…”

“Exactly, you know, you know. He is from there, he is part of that place. Why he stays here, I don't know. Maybe benevolence, maybe he looks after us.”

“I mean, why wouldn't you want to stay here?” she smiled. “It’s beautiful.”

“Especially if you made it. If you had a hand in making a treasure such as this you should see it see it through. But, while you're here, go see the floating gardens. You can walk into those. Not the Bamboo Bloom, his palace, but next to it. They surround it.”

He filled up his whisky, this time choosing to sip rather than shoot it back. He filled hers again, and she slowly sipped as well.

“So how long have you lived in Sanskra? Your whole life?”

“No, no,” he shook his head. “Six months? Maybe less.”

“Oh, so you were born somewhere else. Where? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Farrelstadt.”

“Oh really?”

“Not far, but I travel around.”

“I’ve been there.”

“What did you think?”

“I wasn’t there for long,” she admitted, “But yeah, it seemed pleasant enough.”

“Dirty,” he commented with a grin.

She smiled. “It did have a bit of a fishy smell. Which this place somehow manages to avoid.”

“Oh, you know it actually doesn’t,” he realized. “That surprises me. But they have dedicated spaces over the lagoon where they cook the fish. Pull them directly from the lagoon, cook them, then directly into the mouth. Almost no time for them to hang around and start smelling.”

“Yeah, seems wise.”

“So what do you do? What’s your profession?”

“Profession?” She searched for a response. “I'm a traveler at the moment, an artifact researcher. That's why I'm meeting these people here. I don't know if you've seen any dragonborn in the city…”

“I've not seen but I've heard, they’ve been causing trouble.”

“Oh really?”

“Searching for someone, searching for pirates, or thieves.”

“Do you know where someone might be able to find them?”

“Listen for where they're making the most noise,” he grumbled. “They're hanging around the gates, the entrance into the city. I'm surprised you didn't see them if you're coming in, but if you haven't been here long you might not have run into them.”

“Only the guards.”

“Lots of gold, brass horns. Pompous. Swinging their tails around, if you know what I mean.”

Elyse grimaced. “Sounds like them.”

“Oh you know them? You’ve been to Arakhis?”

“Yeah,” she took another sip.

“Well, the Arakhian guard... they are not known for politeness, if you know what I mean. But they're offering a reward for if you see in the person or people they're looking for. If you see them, it’s an easy way to earn coin, or if you know anyone looking for a hire to make coin as well.”

She nodded. “What do you do?”

He motioned back to his weapon, dropping it on the floor with a thud.

“Mercenary?” she smiled.

“You guessed right.”

“Well, you look like you’d be a valuable ally.”

“Well, if you need help or find yourself in a scrap, I’m usually around here or upstairs in my lodging. You’ll find me.”

“I’ll bear that in mind,” Elyse smiled. She reached out to shake his hand, his mitt dwarfing hers.

She noticed he was missing a few claws, and he saw her looking. “Dragon. Long time ago,” he explained.

“Must have been a mighty battle. You came out of it alive, though.”

“I did, two fingers less. But you should have seen her,” he winked. “Much worse condition.”

“What type of dragon?”

He pulled out a necklace with a tooth on the end of it. “Blue.”

She nodded. Probably a water dragon. They lived in seas, rock pools, and lagoons. And they could breathe lightning.

He knocked back the rest of his whiskey. “If you need anything in the city, come find me. I’ll be around here, or causing trouble somewhere,” he winked.

“I will. My name’s Cordelia, by the way,” she added, realizing she had not yet offered an alias.

“Cordelia. Pleasure to meet you,” he shook her hand again. “Pebble. I’ll be taking my leave. Here, finish this, it’s covered.”

He pushed over the rest of the bottle, a thick green and round bottomed flask with a long narrow neck. The cork protected a few more inches of leftover drink, and the paper label was written in a language she didn’t recognize. “Oh, thank you!”

The alcohol was kicking in. Her eyes swam a bit, but she was alright. Pebble pushed himself up as the chairs creaked. His head nearly hit the top of the ceiling as he stood, placing the huge dragon head warhammer back into the harness on his back. He nodded, giving her a wink before turning to a separate and much larger door. He disappeared, footsteps thudding heavily as he walked up the stairs.

She finished her drink, taking the whisky bottle back with her. She still had an hour with the disguise, so she kept wandering around, heading in the general direction of the inn.

She didn’t notice anything too out of sorts. There were a few more people moving about, and some guards at their posts. No dragonborn. It was nearly two in the morning. By the time she returned to the inn, she was definitely drunk. She smiled as mischievous thoughts entered her mind.  _ I could fuck with Renard… I could fuck with Cassian… _ She shook her head.  _ No, no, I should go to bed. _

She stepped inside the inn. Jedda looked up from her desk. “Ah! Welcome. It’s late, but we have one room remaining if you wish.”

Elyse blinked slowly. Looking down, she realized that she was still in the appearance of the blonde elf. Whoops.

She took out her key.

“Where did you get that?” the woman’s eyes narrowed.

“My friends came in earlier,” she responded. “I’m staying with one of my friends upstairs.”

“Which friend?”

“The blue hair?” she tried.

Jedda sighed, looking her up and down. “Keep it down, there are other guests.” She let her pass. Elyse wasn’t quite sure how to feel about what the woman had insinuated, but she was glad to be let up to her room. There were eyes on the back of her head the entire way up.

She made her way to her room, and sat for a few minutes before heading back to the baths as her usual self. As she headed down, Jedda glowered at her, eyes following her to the door.

“Darling? Your shift is up.” a voice called. As Elyse headed into the bath, Jedda left, replaced by someone else.

There was nobody else in the bath. She stripped, wiping the reflective surface of metal to check out her back. Two lights were still on from when Renard had secretly bathed earlier. It was very dim, the pulsing of the lights casting strange shadows across the still surface of the water.

The scar on her face was healing, the scab gone, fresh pink skin underneath. She checked to see if Astra’s healing had any impact on her back. There was still quite a bit of scab and damaged flesh, but it was certainly improving.

She drunkenly slid into the bath, trying her best to rest. She still had the whiskey. Elyse took another sip. It was good whiskey. She wasn’t really washing herself, just letting the water relax her tense muscles. She undid the horribly messy braid, dipping her head under the water. After a few minutes, she began to actively wash herself. It was comforting.

Suddenly she felt a few of the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. It was almost like someone was behind her, just whispering into her ear in a register she couldn’t quite hear, in a language she couldn’t quite understand. She half opened her eyes, and it was as if the shadows around the pillars were just snaking around, peeking out.

She snapped open her eyes, focusing, and the shadows disappeared. There was something at the edge of her vision, or the edge of her mind, or the edge of her memory. She couldn’t quite place it, and focusing caused it to vanish. It was familiar. She looked back to her pile of clothes, digging out her arcane focus. She placed a hand on it. It was warm to the touch. She began to channel her magic into it. Drunk as she was, she didn't consider the negative effects of water and lightning, but thankfully she was unharmed.

Closing her eyes, she concentrated hard. She pictured a dark, blue and purple shape, with light cascading down its body. Glancing over to the bronze disc on the other side, though it was clouded over with condensation, it appeared that the shape of something was standing behind her. Not threatening, but just there. She turned to look. Nothing.

Steam rolled over her shoulder. She didn’t feel in danger. It was weirdly safe, and comforting. A feeling like a memory she couldn’t place, almost deja vu. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

She whispered in a guttural language. “Are you ever going to tell me who you are?”

The focus pulsed and glowed with brilliant energy, illuminating the water underneath it before fading. She was weirdly both comforted and freaked out. She sank under the water for a moment before reemerging, leaning against the side to take another swig of whiskey.

  
  


Upstairs, Sariel awoke, screaming.

Renard was jolted awake, and he hurried to Sariel’s room as Boblem and Astra did the same. The bard arrived first, and began to frantically knock on her door. “Sariel? Sariel!”

“Sariel, you alright?” Boblem called.

Steps came from the stairs. Jedda, hair down, burst onto the second floor. “What’s going on?”

“Our friend is screaming, we can’t get in the room!” Astra pleaded.

Jedda pushed forward, grabbing a thin dagger from inside her robe. She ran it down the crack in the door, and in a brief flash of blue light, the door opened.

Sariel stared at them, looking as if she was just about to open the door herself. She was wearing a bathhouse robe. She pushed through everyone, refusing eye contact, heading to the stairs.

Renard reached out to grab her arm, just barely stopping her. From downstairs, Elyse looked to the ceiling, hearing the commotion above.

“Sariel, what’s wrong?” Renard demanded. She tried to pull her arm away, but he wouldn’t let her go. She turned on him, venom in her eyes and canines sharpening. In a tone they had never heard before, she growled.  _ "Get. Off. Me!" _

Surprised, Renard pushed away from her, hands up in surrender.

“Take it easy everybody, take it easy,” Boblem tried to calm them. A few doors began to open further down the hall.

“We’re your friends, Sariel,” Astra begged.

Sariel turned on her heel. “Don't follow me.”

They watched her go in shock for a moment. “What are we supposed to do?” Renard asked.

“Are you alright?” Boblem called after her. She disappeared down the stairs.

In his own room, Cassian put both his pillows over his head.

  
  


Elyse scrambled out of the bath in a drunken haze, wrapping the robe around herself, waiting to hear anything else. The door to the bathhouse slammed open. Silhouetted against the dim blue-green light, Sariel stood. She shut the door behind her.

Elyse stumbled forward. “Was that… you? Making that noise?”

“So what if it was?” she whispered.

“I just meant… is everything okay? Do I need to go help?”

“No. No.”

The sorceress stood, looking very uncomfortable. Naked and dripping under the robe, she swayed a little bit as she stood, clutching the bottle.

Sariel noticed another very old scar across Elyse’s chest, likely from a long ago weapon attack. There were scratches on her legs, too. “You gonna have a bath then?” she asked.

Sariel made her way over to a bench, dropping her robe onto it before coming down into the water. She was absolutely covered in scars. Her elbows, her knees, her ankles, around her neck… it was like she was a jigsaw puzzle, something razor sharp had been dragged repeatedly over the same places. They were angry and raw, but Sariel barely seemed to register Elyse.

The sorceress did her best to not look shocked at the sight, but drunk as she was, she couldn’t help staring as the druid stepped into the bath.

Elyse held up the bottle. “You wanna drink? Feel like you need to calm down.”

Sariel moved over, accepting the bottle, but quickly retreated. She took a drink. It was good, a bit spicy.

Elyse shifted her weight. “Do you… want some privacy? I wasn’t done yet, but I’m happy to leave if you want to be alone,” she slurred. “I know you probably don’t want to be around  _ me _ right now.”

“What makes you say that?”

“What happened at the… tomb, or whatever it was.”

“I’m not sure what you mean,” the elf replied.

“I mean when I... shot lightning at you because the creepy tree monster told me too.”

Sariel looked genuinely confused. “You did what?”

Elyse gazed back at her. “Nevermind.” She sank back in the water, towel still around her.

“I don't think I noticed.”

“Okay, well, I’m sorry anyway.”

They sat in silence for a bit as Sariel drank, sat on either side of the long bath.

  
  


Upstairs, Jedda was pissed. “If any of the other residents demand a refund, it’s coming from you. I expect no more of this,” she hissed at them. “And you’ll be out.”

“I’m sorry, I think maybe she just maybe had a nightmare? We can't help our dreams,” Boblem reasoned.

She sighed heavily. “Very well.” She turned and stalked downstairs. On the other side of the wall, Cassian eavesdropped, considering the idea of a refund.

Renard ran his hands over his face, pushing his hair back. Astra and Boblem finally had the chance to fully realize that he was maskless, running to the scene directly from bed. He had handsome, strong features, and his face was covered in freckles. “I don’t know what to do. I feel bad already because… Sariel was quiet all day and nobody said anything.”

Boblem frowned. “I mean, I tried talking to her, but I don’t think she wanted to talk?”

“Should we move this conversation out of the corridor?” Astra suggested.

“Yes, come,” Renard agreed, beckoning them into his room.

Boblem followed, Astra ducking back into his own room to retrieve his bag first.

The three of them sat in the room. The redhead sighed. “Should we talk about what happened earlier then?”

“Which part?” Boblem asked.

“Where do we want to start?” Renard smiled, briefly, before the expression returned to a frown. “Cassian said Sariel had a panic attack and no one noticed, so I feel pretty terrible about it. Though, we were somewhat distracted.”

“Yeah, me too,” the boy agreed. “But we were in danger. It’s not like we were willfully ignoring her.”

“And I don’t think Elyse is coping well after being charmed.”

In the room across the hall, Cassian could hear muffled voices, but this time he didn’t care enough to eavesdrop.

Astra put a hand on his own shoulder. “I’m sorry it’s my fault. I heard it telling me it was dangerous in there and I still pushed, because…”

“Because you wanted to help,” Renard finished.

“Yeah, you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself,” Boblem agreed. “You have a helping nature. Which is a beautiful thing.”

“And a rare one. You should be… proud of yourself for being like that. We just have to be more cautious because... a lot of things are out to kill us.”

“Unfortunately,” Boblem agreed. “We didn’t know it was gonna turn out like this, you can’t blame yourself for all of this. I mean, I can’t speak for the others, but I don’t think they blame- at least, I don’t blame you for it. I would have done the same thing.”

“And besides, you said it was a dryad that told you to go there in the first place. It tricked all of us. Including you.”

Astra reflected on the experience. When he saw the dryad alone, it was serene and beautiful. It was only when he was with the rest of the group that he noticed the rot behind its face. But it was unmistakably the same creature.

“I think we can put that behind us,” Renard decided. “If everyone’s made the apologies they wanted to make, I’m letting it go.”

“Are you… also fine Renard?” Boblem worried, tentative. “Cuz you kinda ran away, and then you just said you were angry.”

Renard looked at his hands. “I… tend to get angry. But I’m fine.”

“At who?”

“I was angry at everything. I was angry at the situation, I was angry that we had been tricked, and that we weren't strong enough to overcome that. And I was angry at being in the middle of a swamp,” he finished. ”I'm much happier now we're in a town.”

“City boy I take it?” the farmer smiled.

Renard tilted his head. “You could say that.”

Astra smiled. “See, I’m the opposite way.”

“You were happy in the swamp, I could tell.”

“Happy in the forest and the trees, but this is the first time I felt like the nature… acted in a way I didn't expect it to.”

“Well, when they told us it was uncharted land I think... we should have thought better to expect there to be a reason, for it to be uncharted for such a long time. And that's probably because it’s far too dangerous for most people to pass through. But we made it, and we’re still here.”

“I'm sorry for getting you in trouble,” Astra repeated.

“And I’m sorry for what happened to you.”

Astra looked like he might cry. Renard reached out, giving him an awkward pat on the shoulder. With much more grace, Boblem comfortingly rubbed the bard’s back.

The three of them made an odd picture, Renard in his silk sleep shirt, Astra in his joggers, and Boblem in his oversized nightshirt.

“I’ve never had… any sort of situations like this before, before I met you,” the bard admitted.

“Me neither man,” Boblem nodded. “I do worry though that we might have… forced Sariel into a situation that really upset her, without meaning to.”

“I need to apologize to her.”

“Well that’s the thing, none of us meant to,” Renard countered. “We all agreed to do this together.”

“I mean, she’s really strong,” Boblem thought. “We’ve seen that. But I still don't want any of us to be...”

Renard crossed his arms. “There is the question of what we want to do in the coming days. I’m willing to stay and help Elyse look for the person she’s seeking. And there won’t be a cartographers’ guild here to collect the gold for the map, but I think it’s only fair that we travel together until we can at least collect that and spit it up.”

Astra smiled. “Be a bit of a slap in the face if we get to the uncharted place and the guild were already here, ready to collect.”

They laughed.

Renard brought back the conversation. “It could be over a hundred gold each. And then if people want to part ways, I wouldn't blame them. Where I'm going and what I'm looking for is only going to get more dangerous.”

Astra shrugged. “I don’t really care about the money, doing this. I’m just happy to stick along with you.”

The redhead stared back, questioning. “To what end?”

“I don’t know.”

Renard looked at the two. “I don’t know anything about… either of you.”

Boblem shrugged. “We don’t know anything about you either, really.”

“Well, I told you I’m a mercenary, I told you I’m looking for someone. I don’t know what either of you are looking for at all. Or where you came from. Or who you are.”

“I’m Boblem!” the farmer smiled. He went to tip his hat, but remembering he wasn’t wearing it, he pat his head awkwardly.

Renard grinned at him. “I’ve gathered that much. And, where is a Boblem from?”

“Uhhh, well, I’m from my farm.”

“And where would we find your farm?”

He shrugged. “I dunno, pretty much anywhere. Just kinda goes, comes and goes.”

Renard blinked, and tried again. “What if you wanted to go home? Where would you find it?”

“That’s the tricky bit. I mean, I’m hoping I’ll find it sometime again. But my grandparents didn't really give me many instructions when they were like... Off you go, go have adventures! They didn't really say when to come back?”

“So that's what you're doing?”

“Yeah! Having adventures. And I'm happy to stick around and help you with your adventures. I’ve never really had friends before. I mean, I had my mom’s friends. So it’s nice to have some of my own friends!”

Renard looked quite startled at the concept that Boblem considered him a friend.

“I’m sorry,” the farmer backtracked. “Do you not wanna be called… my friend?”

“No it’s fine,” he said, quickly. “It’s fine. I just, haven’t, had friends like this before.”

“That’s nice,” Boblem smiled back. “How about you Astra?”

“I’ve had a lot of family, and friends, but, I’m happy to call you friends as well,” Astra smiled.

“That’s nice!” Boblem repeated. “Thank you.”

“So, whatever happens, the three of us stick together?” Renard offered.

“Yeah,” the boy agreed. “I like that.”

“Then, you have to promise me, that if I’m going to do something that's going to be too dangerous, and I say so, that you don't follow me.”

His expression was serious, but Boblem wasn’t quite understanding the energy. “Uhm, I like to say, that I like to keep my friends safe.”

Renard shifted, hiding his face a bit as he processed.

“How about you Astra?” the farmer asked. “You’re from, umm…”

“Riven,” he answered.

“Riven, yeah. How come you left home?”

He shrugged. “I suppose, similar reason to yourself.”

He gave a knowing nod. “Grandma told you to get out?”

Astra chuckled.

“Riven,” Renard started, “You said you liked living in the forest the most. Did you not like living in the city?”

The tiefling considered. “I guess… I’m not actually from the city, but that’s the closest thing I can… I’m from the forest surrounding it.”

“Yeah, the forest, right. I haven’t been through, but I’ve been there maybe once. I have some distant family there. In the city bit, not the forest bit.”

Astra smiled. “I’d be surprised if they were in the forest.”

“It’s a nice city.”

“It’s a bit big.”

“Yes.”

“When did you go there?”

Renard thought. “Maybe once, when I was a child.”

“Did you wear the mask then?” Boblem asked.

He smiled, suddenly very aware that he wasn’t wearing it now. But it seemed safe enough. “No, but they do have festivals there where they wear masks.”

“They do!” Astra chimed in. “I was there when they had one, it was beautiful.”

“Wow…” Boblem imagined. “I’d like to see it.”

“It’s good to see you without your mask again,” Astra smiled. “It’s been awhile.”

“Yeah,” Boblem followed.

“Yes, well, it’s nice to have it off for a bit,” Renard admitted.

There was a bit of silence before Astra continued. “So who are you looking for? We need to help you as well.”

“We won't find them here, but, it's a conversation I'm perhaps willing to have... when we reach a larger city, where we could start looking. It's just a job, but I'd appreciate the help.”

Boblem tilted his head. “Just a job, not somebody you care for?”

Quietly, Renard let out a single, dry laugh. “No.”

“Is that what mercenaries do?” the bard asked.

“Well… the nature of being a mercenary is taking the work required of you.”

“I can’t say I’ve ever met a mercenary before I’ve met you,” Astra shrugged.

“Yeah, same,” Boblem agreed.

“It's typically work that is… dangerous. Or requires a certain set of skills,” he elaborated.

“Well I have a feeling I should probably stick with you two,” Astra decided. “So I’m happy to carry on. Besides, where else am I going to go right now?” he smiled.

“Understandably, we all should at least stick together until the next safe city,” Renard continued. “Where people can get passage elsewhere. But that depends on the others, I don’t know whether Sariel’s going to want to spend more time with us. And I don’t know  _ what _ to make of Cassian.”

“I don’t know if he even likes… spending time with us,” Boblem admitted.

“I don’t think so. He certainly doesn’t like me, I overheard him saying it.”

“Oh…” Boblem gasped, saddened. “He carries a lot of anger it seems, but I don’t think, specifically, directly towards you. If that helps. But then again, I don’t know him.”

“I’m not particularly interested in making him like me,” Renard huffed.

“That’s fair.”

Renard ran a hand through his hair again. “Alright, well, if we’re not going to follow Sariel… I feel bad for it, but she didn’t seem to want us too.”

“I think it best she get some space and time,” Astra agreed.

“And I think she’s safe within the city, at least.”

Boblem looked at his palms. “I think if she wants to tell us something, the only thing we can do is be there for her. We can't force her to tell us anything she doesn't want to tell us, and that's okay.”

“Well, I’d love to get some rest if that's all right.”

Boblem and Astra stood, the bard swinging his bag onto his back. They made for the door.

“Sleep well,” Renard called after them.

A duet of thanks and goodnights called back to him as the two left. Renard bolted the door after them. Back in their shared room, Astra slipped his bag into the locked chest before locking their own door. Satisfied, the bard tucked into one of the beds to rest, and Boblem did the same.

  
  


In the bathhouse, Sariel and Elyse had been sitting in a long silence. After Sariel had downed most of the bottle, Elyse began to approach her with caution. She put her hands out as she waded near. “I just want the whiskey… can I have the…?”

The elf corked the bottle, pushing it over to her. It floated for a bit, and Elyse grabbed it. She leaned on the wall, taking another slow sip. “So do you really not… remember what happened, outside the tomb?”

“I had quite a lot more on my mind,” Sariel whispered, throat scratchy.

“I heard Cassian say that you were panicking, but I didn’t see. I was inside. What happened?”

“It brought me back to some very dark times. Things I’d thought I’d gotten over but, apparently not.”

“Well, I’m sorry we took you there.” She took another drink. There was only an inch left. She passed it back to Sariel. The elf began to bathe, absently dipping her hair back to wash the grime from it.

Elyse cleared her throat. “I'm not gonna press you to tell me, whatever it was, that happened to you. I understand you can't make someone tell you those kinds of things, but I hope you're feeling better, now that we're away from that place.”

“I don't know. I’m not quite sure how I'm feeling. When you've known absolute cruelty, it never quite leaves you.”

The bath was quiet again. After a moment, Sariel spoke again. “What is it you’re looking for?”

Elyse rubbed her head. “Artifact.”

“What kind of artifact?”

“I don’t know. But it's magical. And I want it.”

“Quite the treasure hunter.”

“You could say that, I guess.”

Elyse leaned back, resting her head on the side of the pool for a moment. She realized that she had been wearing the towel under the water for quite awhile now. Feeling comfortable, she dropped it onto the edge of the pool with a wet plop.

They weren’t hammered, but they were both comfortably drunk. Sariel took a final swig, and then left the bottle on the side of the bath. The glass container was covered in condensation, and bathwater was slowly growing colder.

“Do you think you’re going to keep travelling with these people?” Elyse wondered.

“I don't really know anything at the moment.”

“Whatever happened in that tomb, was… not great.”

“No. I’d be grateful if we don’t go back there anytime soon.”

“Oh, I don’t plan to,” Elyse put her hands up. “I’m not going back in that direction. I don’t think I can.”

“All I want to be doing is moving away from where I came from.”

“And where’s that?”

Sariel didn’t answer for a moment. “It’s a long way from here.”

Elyse nodded, splashing her face with water to try and liven up. “I’m going to give you your privacy. You can finish that,” she pointed to the bottle.

She stood from the pool, quickly grabbing a robe, but not fast enough that Sariel couldn’t spot the deep purple of the magical scar on her back, small veins snaking off it to her neck and back. She gathered her things, and stumbled back to her room.

Sariel spent a bit longer in the bath, washing her hair. As she rubbed off the dirt and grime, the weariness and aching seemed to fade. She made her way out of the bath, wrapped the robe around herself up to her neck, and returned to her room to sleep.

  
  


Elyse sat on the middle of the floor, door locked and window opened. She took out her arcane focus, doing her best to picture the strange experience she had downstairs. As she poured her energy into it, she couldn’t feel the same connection. Maybe she wasn’t in the right state of mind, or the window had passed. She threw the focus across the room. It clattered.

She stared at it for a moment. Embarrassed, she went to pick it up. A vague plan forming, she cast an identification spell on her own focus. She learned that essentially, it was a small gateway to the plane of storm. A very small pocket between the plane of air and water, it was a place where tempestuous magic, thunder, and lightning collided. The result was an ever shifting, ever forming cataclysm of movement, energy, and sorcery. Wild magic derived from this place, manifesting on the mortal plane in many ways, such as thunderstorms, innate magic, and the divine power of Kord, the God of sea and storm. The focus was not only made from this place, but a gateway. Channelling it was essentially allowing its power flow through her, manifesting in the mortal plane.

It was an extension of her, but she was also an extension of it. It made her wonder, was she somehow tied to this plane? What made her able to use and control this power? Why wouldn’t the energy surge out uncontrollably as soon as the gate opened? She tried to scrawl some notes, though she would discover them to be almost illegible in the morning.

She stopped the flow of her magic, choosing instead to stare into the swirling mass. It was a blue black ball of energy, crackling with power. She could have sworn there were shapes moving inside, but it could have been the haze of her mind. Structures, ships, faces, shadows of all kinds swirled in the glass.

A few hours later, she awoke face down on the floor. Her hair was plastered to her face, still in the wet bathrobe. Seeing her reflection, one eye drifting a bit, she wiped the drool of her face. A page of her journal was stuck on her cheek as well.

She tried, but it was difficult to remember the previous night. She remembered the tavern, and the tortle, and something strange happening in the bath before Sariel arrived, but she could have sworn something important had happened regarding her magic. She consulted her notes, but they were impossible to read.

Worrying over what she might have said to Sariel, she made her way to the bed, passing out once more.

  
  


Cassian was usually an early riser. At about seven, he went to knock on Renard’s door. Renard had been up as well, sitting on his bed, thinking. Hearing the knock, he put his mask back on and cracked open the door.

Seeing who it was, he braced his arm against the back of the door. “What do  _ you _ want?”

“I’d like to have a word with you.” Cassian pushed through the door. Renard was a bit stunned, but he didn’t resist. He felt a bit awkward, standing in only his long underwear and his silver silk nightshirt. The wizard was fully dressed.

When Cassian had settled himself inside the room, Renard gestured at him impatiently. “Yes, talk?”

“Right,” he sighed, adjusting the neckline of his top. “Despite our… differences, you strike me as a man of reason.”

“...Go on.”

“A lot of what happened yesterday, I would say, was unreasonable.”

“Yes,” Renard admitted, still waiting for the point.

“And, as…  _ frustrated _ as I am, I am also able to admit that no one in particular is to blame for such things. But, that perhaps, you and I can strike some sort of agreement. That if we end up running foolhardy into a situation like that again, we maybe try and tug reins a little bit harder, the other way,” he finished, pantomiming a sharp pull with his hands to emphasize the point. “Or we at least plan, and prepare. What we did with those bandits, was artistry!” he smiled, still proud of his performance in that fight. “If I may say so.”

“It was,” Renard agreed. He was glad he had grabbed the mask, but he still felt uncomfortable without the full getup. Without the scarf, the lower half of his face was completely exposed, and there was no hiding his long red hair without the hood.

“We planned, and it was good. That,” Cassian’s face fell, “Was idiocy.”

“I… reluctantly, agree with you,” Renard nodded. “I spoke at length with Astra and Boblem last night- ”

“I heard muffles.”

“Well, we all agreed on the same thing, that no one was to blame. But perhaps we should… view future situations with more caution.”

The wizard raised a brow at him. “Perhaps, if we get direct warnings, maybe pay attention to those.” He tilted his head, considering his next words. “Astra… good hearted fool that he is, is still a fool.”

Renard didn’t mind Cassian berating him for the previous afternoon, but he didn’t like what the wizard was insinuating now. “I think that’s a little unfair, considering we were being tricked by fae.”

“Which I would say, is quite foolish. I don’t mean it as an insult, I just mean it as an observation. Naivety can be… a hindrance, in this world.”

“Yes, it can. But I think you need to make some allowance for outside forces,” Renard countered. “And, whilst I understand exactly what you’re saying, I think it’s unfair to hold that against the others.”

Cassian took a deep breath. “I’m not necessarily holding anything against anyone, I’m just frustrated that a combination of things were not taken into account in that situation.”

“Fine, well, we’re in agreement as it is. I don’t want to get into… arguing over the small stuff. There is the matter of what you want to do now. I asked the others, they wish to continue travelling with myself, and helping Elyse.”

Cassian looked confused. “Yes, that’s what we’re here for, right? To help Elyse find her people, then you have someone you’re looking for?”

“I’m not sure how Sariel is going to feel on the matter as well. I suppose, you may have heard her screaming last night.”

“I may have.”

“Well she fled her room, and asked us not to follow her. But we’ll see.” Cassian made a small sound of agreement. Renard pressed on. “If you’re going to continue to travel with us, I’d like to know that we can trust you.”

The wizard was silent for a moment. “Why wouldn’t you be able to trust me?”

“...Just a feeling.”

“I have no ill intention,” he shrugged.

Renard examined the elf’s glamorous outfit. “I don’t think it’s an ill intention so much as… perhaps, placing yourself above everyone else.”

Cassian’s trademark faux smile was back. “I know who to regard in what sense in my life. I've lived long enough.”

Renard nodded to the door. “Right, well, if that was everything…” he dismissed.

“Essentially. Unless you have anything to bring up with me.”

Renard thought for a moment. “No.”

They stared at each other from across the room. Cassian crossed to him, and still smiling, offered a hand.

Renard didn’t take it, eyeing the man suspiciously. “I don’t think we’re there yet.”

Cassian was unbothered. He placed the hand on the redhead’s shoulder instead. In a flash, Renard grabbed the elf’s wrist and twisted his arm with force. “I’ve told you before not to touch me,” he warned in a low voice.

Cassian’s only reply was that pleasant smile. They froze, unmoving for ten full seconds. “Well, this isn’t going to be very helpful for this trust you're talking about, Renard,” he reprimanded with a pout.

“I have asked you before not to touch me. That is a very, very basic request,” Renard parried, forcing himself to keep his voice steady. “And this is what I mean by having a feeling I shouldn’t trust you.”

Renard pushed the arm away. Cassian kept smiling. “We’ll see,” he sang, softly. He exited the room, slamming the door behind him.

Renard bolted it after him with just as much force. He leaned against the door for a minute, collecting his thoughts, before returning to sit on the bed. Looking over his things for damage, he noted that his sword could do with a polish. His paper documents were bound tightly in leather, so they weren’t unsalvageable, but they were a bit water damaged. He spent the rest of the time in his room doing his best to fix the papers, rewriting what he could.

When Astra woke, he did the same, doing his best to dry out the contents of his bag without waking Boblem. Cassian made his way back to the bathhouse for some proper relaxation, without the company of the kind hearted fools who had bothered him last time.

  
  


Soon after, Renard knocked on the door to Boblem and Astra’s room.

“It’s open!” the bard called.

Renard entered, now dressed in his leather boots, suede breeches, and his sleep shirt, which was now fully laced up to his neck. He carried his chain mail, sword, and jacket. “Did you sleep well?”

“Relatively. Yourself?”

“Fine.”

“Mask again,” Astra observed with a smile.

“Yes,” he nodded, slowly. “I was hoping I could find someone in the city today who can care for my armour and my sword, perhaps fix it up slightly. It took quite a beating.”

“Want us to go with you?” Boblem offered.

“If you wanted to. I wanted to extend the offer to take a look around.”

“I’d like to look around the city,” Astra nodded.

“I figured we’d see if the others wanted too, but… great.”

Astra was dressed in a new outfit, free of rips and tears, though still the same beige color scheme. He wore a pine green cloak, his hair now very nicely braided back. He grabbed his bag, ready to go. Renard pulled on a dark blue sleeveless tunic over his shirt. Boblem looked exactly the same as always, in his usual white shirt and sunflower overalls. Today’s shirt looked just a shade darker, and the string of his sunhat circled his neck as the hat dangled behind him.

“I think we should knock on the other’s doors,” Renard repeated once they were all ready.

“You think they’ll be feeling better now?” Boblem wondered.

“We should at least speak to them. I know Cassian’s up.”

“Right,” Astra nodded. They left the room, and the bard locked the door behind them, sticking the key in his pocket. His knife was no longer on him.

Renard knocked on the first door. “Elyse?” he called. No response, the sorceress was trying her best to sleep through the entire morning. “Perhaps she’s already gone down,” he suggested.

“You don’t think she would have left without us, do you?” Boblem worried.

Renard pressed a bit against the door. “I think it’s locked.”

“Maybe she’s sleeping, or just doesn’t want to be disturbed. We should respect that,” Astra decided.

“I suppose we can leave her a note?”

Astra searched in his bag for his journal, finding a small corner that wasn’t yet filled with notes. “We’ve gone out, and we’ve gone downstairs. Looking for an armory. We hope to see you soon,” he wrote. “Anything else?”

“That’s fine. I suppose we try Sariel.”

Astra slid the note under the door, and they turned to the next room. Renard hesitated before knocking. “I feel bad about doing this…”

“Maybe we should leave a note for her as well?”

With a sigh, he knocked. “Sariel?” A minute passed, and the small elf appeared, opening the door a crack.

“Morning!” Boblem greeted.

“Good morning,” Renard followed, “We just wanted to extend the invitation to join us exploring the city.”

“Maybe not at the moment,” she responded.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m not great.”

He nodded. “We’ll still be around, coming back here tonight. If you need anything from us?”

“I think I just need to be alone for a bit,” she replied in her quiet voice.

“Is there anything you want us to bring back for you?” Boblem offered.

She left the door for a second, looking through her stuff. “See if you can sell these,” she asked, handing them the bag of manticore spines.

Renard nodded as Boblem took the bag. “We will do, and make sure you get the money from that. Enjoy your day.”

She closed the door.

“So then, Cassian?” Boblem asked, pointing to the final door.

Renard grimaced, but he gave a single soft knock on the wizard’s door. He waited for half a second before turning around with a shrug. “We tried.”

But Renard wasn’t getting out of it that easily. As he turned, he was met with the sight of Cassian returning from the bath, walking back up the stairs with a towel wrapped around his waist. Henna trailed down his bare chest, water dripping down his skin.

“Oh, there you are. I was just looking for you.”

Cassian looked at the trio, questioning them as they blocked his door. “Okay?”

“We’re going to explore the city, if you wanted to come with us,” Astra offered. “We need to find an armory.”

“Elyse and Sariel are staying here, I think,” Renard added.

The wizard shrugged. “Sure, just give me a minute to get dressed.” He brushed past them to his door, throwing down the towel as he entered. Renard noticed a flash of bare ass before the door shut, and quickly looked away. The trio loitered outside the door as they waited, and after a short minute Cassian reappeared, fully dressed and hair swept back.

“Your arms look amazing, by the way. You’ve added to them,” Astra smiled.

“Oh yes, thank you, it was quite the time,” Cassian looked to the designs reaching down to his hands. “An armory, you say? Anything else worth picking up?”

Boblem lifted the bag.

“Sariel wants us to sell the manticore spines,” Renard explained.

Cassian observed the bloody bag. “Right… delightful. Should we perhaps get you more ingredients for your Sweet Tea?” he suggested with a glance at Boblem.

The boy beamed. “Yeah, if y’all want some!”

“That would be… a good thing,” Renard cautiously agreed.

“Seems like a plan with the hits some of us take,” Cassian added, examining his cuticles.

“Did you like the Sweet Tea?” Boblem asked, looking to Renard.

“Yes, it was delicious,” he smiled back. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome! I’m glad you liked it.”

Renard looked at Boblem’s overalls. “And perhaps see if we can get any of you… something slightly hardier to wear, so you don’t take so much injury in the next fight.”

Astra looked down at himself.

“Sounds good!” Boblem agreed.

Renard led the group downstairs to the front desk. Instead of Jedda, there was a male water genasi at the table. “Good morning,” Renard greeted.

“Good morning. I hear you had quite the night.”

“Yes, I’m sorry about that. Sorry if we caused any trouble.”

“No one’s complained yet. My wife was up all night.”

“Yes, I’m very sorry about that. Um, Jedda took some laundry for me?”

“It’ll be in your room.”

“Thank you. We are looking for somewhere I can have my sword polished and my armour repaired in town. Is there any…?”

“Sword polished, I assume by that you mean… your sword polished, and not… anything else?” The man had been warned about Elyse’s blonde visitor, but Renard was quite surprised by the accusation.

Renard gestured to his sword. “Yes,” he repeated, firmly.

“What else could he mean?” Boblem pressed, interested.

“I really think he needs to get his sword polished,” Cassian smirked, winking at the receptionist.

“Yeah, that’s why we’re going to town!” Boblem nodded with enthusiasm.

Renard gave a scandalized look to the wizard. “No, absolutely not!”

The man at the desk squinted at them. “We told your companion that this isn’t that kind of establishment.”

“I need an armory,” Renard insisted.

“And potions,” Astra tacked on.

Boblem looked confused. “So you don’t want to get your sword polished?”

Renard slapped a hand to his face. “Oh, Gods…”

Mercifully, the man at the desk interrupted. “If you’re looking for traditional metalwork, probably Karvinnen's is your best bet. If you want to try something more local, and you're looking for armor replacements, try the Ten Tails. It's more classically Sanskran, but Karvinnen... he’s a bit of a codger, but works well with steel, copper, brass, bronze, you know, the usual dwarven stuff. Very stuck in his ways, but whatever. If you should be looking for an alchemist, the Rum and Monkeys.” He gave directions for each place.

“And perhaps, last of all,” Renard continued, “Is there anyway we could trade off any goods we’ve collected travelling?”

“A general supply store? Try Kaylen’s.”

Renard took note of the directions. “That is perfect, thank you.” He placed a few silver on the desk as a tip, and the man slid them into his palm.

The group turned to leave, but Boblem wasn’t ready yet. “What’s the difference between polishing your sword and polishing your sword?” he pressed.

The man stiffened. “Sir… I don’t know what to tell you. One is a… moniker for nightly companions. And one deals with refining weaponry.”

“Nightly companions…” Boblem repeated. “They… polish your sword?”

“...As it were?” the man nodded.

Renard turned to beckon Boblem away. “This is not a conversation worth trying,” he apologized to the man.

“This is not a conversation I’m paid to have,” he answered, grateful for the interruption.

“Right, we’ll be going.”

“I look forward to your return this evening.”

“Oh! And somewhere we could get breakfast?”

“Of course, the Modern Manatee.” The man provided another set of directions to a tavern around the corner. “And if you’re looking for hot food, the Braisies.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you!” Boblem echoed as they left.

They opened the door to step out onto the walkway. It felt cooler, the mist lighter. Looking up, there was no sky, just a shroud of mist. Moisture dripped and dropped, the sounds of the city ringing out. People were smithing, turning wheels, talking, and going about their business. They stepped out into Sanskra by the light of day.


	13. Changing Faces, Episode Eleven

They stepped out onto the walkway, crossing over a short bridge that was floating over a softly flowing river, into a misty and foggy day on the streets of Sanskra.

Noticing the humidity, Renard unlaced the sleeves of his shirt, rolling them up to his elbows. “Where to first?”

“We’ve got several places we wanted to go…” Astra considered.

Cassian looked to Renard. “Is it worth checking the armory? If they need time…”

“I should pass my sword over first,” Renard nodded.

“So do we want to go to the Ten Tails? That was the Sanskra style one…” Astra recalled.

“I’m quite intrigued, to be honest. We’ll check that one first.”

“And then breakfast after?” Cassian suggested. The group agreed on the plan, and set out to search for the armory. They wandered through narrow alleyways, across rivers and streams, the black stillness of the lagoon visible underneath them. Barely any light came from above, mist shrouding past the third stories of buildings, with no way to tell how high they stretched. It was confusing, with many places that looked the same in intricate woodwork and detailing, similar statues on the ends of many corners. It was easy to get lost in the beauty as they meandered through. There were no labels or road signs, and they had to circle back once or twice before they heard the familiar sounds of hammering around a corner.

They came upon an open faced building, close to the edge of the city and overlooking the water. Much of the floor was made of a metal grill over the water, a furnace glowing in the corner of the room. It was the first fire they had seen in the city, and the grill flooring was likely a precaution against the flame spreading further into the beautiful city.

“Few sign posts around here wouldn’t have gone amiss,” Renard quipped.

“I think it’s quite nice to explore around,” Astra smiled. “Get to know the place.”

“Certainly is an amazing city to explore,” Cassian agreed.

Renard entered the shop. “Good morning?”

“Good morning!” a voice called back. A broad and muscular man in a sleeveless and baggy black shirt turned. He had long, long black hair, tied back into a bun. He glistened with a sheen of sweat. A triton, they would guess. They were amphibious people that came from the sea hundreds of years ago, they could breathe in and out of water. They were guardians of the sea, traditionally standing watch over portals between the plane of water and the mortal plane, keeping Kraken and other creatures at bay.

The triton here seemed to have fully assimilated, and they had seen many others in the streets in roles as varied as anyone else. He set down his task, gesturing to another worker in the back. A halfling scurried out, taking over the task by hammering a piece of metal. The shop had all sorts of metallics and bone pieces, carved, black, and glossy. There were patches of hide and scales that ranged in size from a fingernail to a head, ridged and spiky or smooth. Shades of blues, greens, and whites peeked out, as pearlescent colors shifted in the firelight.

There were a number of weapons hung on the back wall of the shop, including an impressive sword with a glinting blue-green blade. There were a number of shields, many of them made from the thick and heavy black oak many buildings were built from, glinting with a few struts and rivets of metal. Patches of leather armor were displayed, interspersed with hide and chain and scale. Renard marvelled at the shop as the man pulled off his gloves, revealing yellow tattoos that snaked up his arms.

With webbed ears and a long, angular face, he looked over to them with completely black eyes. The man was a pile of muscle. “Can I help you? Looking to buy, or to sell?”

“To buy, and perhaps have some maintenance done on what I’m carrying,” Renard replied.

“That can be done,” he glanced at the sword and armour. “What maintenance, you need that cleaned?”

“Well, my sword needs polishing, and my chainmail sustained some damage recently,” he explained, taking the sword from its belt. “But I wanted, perhaps, to puruse for something new.”

“That could be worked on,” he nodded. “We have plenty. Here, pass that over to me.” He took the chainmail, thumbing through to look for the holes. Hesitating for a moment, Renard parted with the sword as well. “This is incredibly well made,” the man complimented, turning the sword in his hands. He placed it down, beckoning the halfling over. The young woman, a teenager, hurried over as he spoke to her in the Halfling tongue. He pointed out the problems with the pieces, and she took some notes. Only Cassian understood the conversation, but the man was simply laying out the tasks for the assignment. She collected a handful of bolts and hammers, opened a barrel full of sand, and dropped in the chainmail. She set to work shaking the barrel.

“What’s the sand do?” Astra wondered.

“She’s cleaning it,” he explained. “You don’t want to be cleaning chainmail in water, it’ll damage it. But sand will get everything out, get it nice and prepared for when we get it ready. That’ll be a job for the next day or so.”

“I was wondering…” Boblem started, taking out the bloody bag of manticore horns. “Would you be interested in buying this perhaps?”

The man considered them, a bit surprised. “I don’t think I could make much use of those… but if you could go to an alchemist nearby, potentially. You know, I’ll give you a silver for one, and I’ll do some tests… then, when you come back for your armour, I’ll see if I can take any more off your hands.”

Boblem nodded, and they traded. Renard handed a gold to the man for the price of the repair. “I was also considering some leather or hide armour for my friend here,” he nodded to Astra.

“That can be done, what type of armour are you looking for? Chain shirt, scale armour?”

“Oh, no,” Astra replied. “I think I’d only wear leather armour, or lighter.”

He nodded, pulling something down from a line of mannequins. It was finely made, with tan leather and overlapping scales that mirrored a real fish. He handed it over to him, and it was very light, though firm and rigid. It was a torso piece with straps and braces, the edge studded and detailed with dotwork, magnificent turquoise laid into it in the smallest bits.

“This is beautiful,” Astra smiled.

“Thank you.”

“How much would something like this be?” Renard asked.

“For something like this… thirteen pieces of gold?”

“I’ve got that,” Astra nodded.

“Okay, is that for all of you? Could price it cheaper if more of you wish to buy. Or we have this…” he pulled down a massive shirt of scale, and took down another leather piece as well. This one had blue and green rock embedded across the edges. As the rest of the group looked, the blacksmith helped Astra try on the armour. It took a few minutes to put it all on.

Cassian examined the leather piece while Boblem observed the shields. He pulled a round one down, an inch thick, rimmed with a copper metal. The wood itself was thick and dense, though not as heavy as it looked.

“This looks sturdy. How much would it be for this?” he asked.

“Eleven pieces of gold,” the man nodded over to him.

“Oh boy…”

“How much for this studded chestplate?” Cassian interjected.

“For that? I’d have to ask for fifty.”

“I’d like to take this one,” Astra smiled, looking down at the armour.

“It suits you,” Renard smiled. Astra counted out the gold and handed it over.

“And the shield for you, sir?” the man glanced back to Boblem.

The farm boy frowned. “I guess… it’s probably for the best.”

“If you want to help me out, fetch me some things, we can see about renegotiating the price,” the man offered.

“For how long? I’m kinda travelling with my friends…”

“Do you want it?” Renard interrupted. “Could you use it?”

“It’s fine,” Boblem shrugged, putting it back. “I don’t usually get that close to the beast anyway. Don’t worry about it.”

“If you’re sure… If it bothers you, you could pay me back.”

“It’s fine…”

“Beast?” the blacksmith looked up. “You’re in the employ of hunting beasts? I mean, I guess, with the spines on you… You got anything else you could trade?”

“I mean, we don’t really hunt them, we just happen across them,” Boblem shrugged.

“We’ve been travelling through the flooded hills,” Renard expanded.

The man blinked in surprise. “Oh! You’ve come quite a ways then.”

“Yes, taken on… a number of things, including manticores.”

“What brings you here, if I might ask?”

“A friend of ours is seeking an artifact, and some people.”

“Interesting. Tell you what, if you pay me ten gold now, and tell everyone where you bought this shield. If I have three people come in here, in the next week, come back here and I’ll give you half your gold back.”

Boblem was very flustered. “No, no, it’s fine…”

Renard dropped ten gold on the counter. “Deal is done!” the man grinned. “You have good friends,” he nodded to Boblem, handing him the shield. “Take it, it suits you.”

“Oh, thank you…”

Cassian was still looking at the expensive piece on the wall. “Out of curiosity good sir, if I were to trade you my current plate and a crystal of arcane nature, would we perhaps have a deal? Not fully, I can still put some of the gold towards it.”

The man considered the offer. “Well, let me see this crystal perhaps.”

Cassian had a crystal in his wand, but he wasn’t giving that one up. Instead, he pulled his extra one from his bag.

The man examined it. “If you don’t mind, take off the tunic, let me have a look at that?”

The wizard shrugged off the tunic and walked over, spinning to let the man examine his armour. The man considered. “It’s finely made…”

“From Mirrortail. Good craftsmanship.”

“True, true.” He looked at the crystal. “You know what… the armour, the crystal, and 25 gold.”

“Deal.”

“And a pleasure,” the triton grinned. He helped the wizard step out of his old armour, and fitted him into the new piece, trimming and tightening it to fit. It was easy to move in it, with no creaking or squeaking as it bent.

The man turned back to Renard. “The chainmail and sword will be done by tomorrow. Come back then. It’s another gold for the sword, by the way.”

“No problem,” Renard nodded, distracted by the swords on the wall. He looked like a kid in a candy shop. The pieces were beautiful. Each one was inlaid with intricate detailing and filigree of all sorts. Most of them had swirls of waves, fins, splashes, and rocks. Some had runes and carvings, many of polished and refined stone or traditional metals. Some had twisted handles or pommels made of bone and organic material, created from one large piece.

“Something catching your eye?”

“All of it catches my eye,” he marvelled. “Tell me about your finest.”

“Well,” he pulled a pair of shortswords onto the table, unrolling a piece of leather to display them. Each one looked like steel, though they had a vague blue tint. They were cold to the touch. “Fool’s mithril, it's called. Looks like the real thing, not as light, but twice as sharp. It’ll serve you well.”

“Do you mind if I…?”

“Of course.”

He picked one up, feeling its weight in his hand. It cut through the air with ease. “How much?”

“Each? Hundred and fifty gold. These took... about five years.”

“They’re beautiful.”

“Thank you. They’re sharper than anything you’ll see.”

Renard nodded. “I’ll consider it, and give you my answer when I come back for my sword.”

“Understood, understood. Should you wish, there are other ones without enchantments.”

Renard looked up in confusion, unaware that there was an enchantment attached to the blade in his hand.

“What kind of enchantments?” Boblem asked, looking over.

“The blade will never dull. Will always strike true.” As Renard’s face fell, the man mistook his disappointment to be about the price. “If you get both at once, 275.”

Renard nodded, gingerly placing the blade down. “I’ll let you know my answer tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

Renard turned back to the group. “Right, shall we continue?”

“Breakfast,” Cassian nodded.

“If you’re eating, Braisie’s is around the corner,” the shopkeep suggested.

Renard nodded, “And sorry, we didn’t get your name?”

“Tarren.”

“Tarren, good to meet you. We’ll see you.”

“A pleasure. I’ll see you tomorrow for your sword and chainmail.”

Boblem tipped his hat in thanks as the four left the shop. “And thank you, Renard, for this,” he lifted his shield as they left. “Feel quite bad you had to pay for it.” Boblem handed over ten gold of his own.

“Oh, thank you,” he replied, surprised.

“I mean, you pay for so much of our stuff anyway, doesn't seem fair to make you pay for more of my stuff.”

“You were hesitating, and I just thought you needed it.”

“Thank you, anyway.”

“You’ll both get paid when we get this map back,” Astra assured the others.

“Oh, precisely,” Cassian nodded, looking around for breakfast.

“It’s fine,” Boblem shrugged.

“So,” Renard looked out across the town. “Shall we head to the Braisies or the tavern?”

“The Braisies was the only place we could get hot food,” Cassian responded, an answer in itself.

Renard glanced over to their resident vegan. “I’ve got stuff with me,” Astra shrugged.

“I’m sure they’ll have vegetables to cook as well,” Cassian added.

“Sure, we’ll see.”

Heading around the corner, there was more of a commotion. The same steel grill extended out over the edge of the pontoon, with nothing below. There were metal posts like scaffolding pipes keeping it up, with no wood to be seen. The whole area extended about twenty square meters. It was shaped in a C, and across the edges were overturned metal drums, fires within. Two or three people stood behind each one, shouting to each other and calling out orders. There were twenty or thirty people in the middle frequenting the many places. The smell of the vegetables grilling and fish cooking filled their noses, everything you could get from the swamps on offer.

Entering the middle, there were eight or nine different points where people were preparing food around the edge. There were many people standing in the middle or sitting with their legs off the edge, gazing off into the mist as they ate. Most people had what seemed to be huge, thick banana leaves, with food piled onto them. “They said things were quite communal here, which is nice,” Astra smiled. “Which do we want to try?”

They strolled past the many stops, each one with a variety of items over open flames or charcoal and steel griddles. There was all manner of fish and seafood and meat. There were huge vegetables, long and twisted green onions and meaty marrows of squashes, and a lot of things they did not recognize, food in all colors. The spices and fragrances hit their noses like an explosion, everything delicious, awakening their senses.

“I sort of want to try all of it,” Renard laughed, taking it in.

Cassian walked up to one of the servers near a grill. “Pardon me, do we just pay for a plate and take what we want, or?”

A little gnome lady responded in a high nasally voice. “No, you pay for the food!” Her head just reached over the grill from the other side. She held a tong in each hand, hair frazzled in the moisture. She had dark skin, and a tattoo of a knife on one hand, with a design of tongs on the other, both drawn in white ink.

“What is the pricing of the food then?”

“‘Pends whatchu want!” she squawked back.

“Fish, and vegetables please.”

“One fish…” she reached over to a piece of fish with her tongs. “Five coppa’ small fish, one silver big fish!”

“I will take the silver.”

“Ah, good choice suh!” she nodded.

“With the vegetables as well?”

She waved her hand. “Included.”

“One silver it is.” He handed the coin to her, and she took it. She pulled out a heavy leaf, laying a blackened fish down on it. It was butterflied, cut in half on a bed of green vegetables. She pulled out something from a pot, sprinkling liquid over the dish before handing it over.

“Smells delicious,” he nodded.

“Taste delicious.”

“Much obliged,” the wizard thanked her, moving to the side.

Astra stepped forward. “How much for just the vegetables?”

“Same price,” she replied. “Get more vegetables.”

“Okay!” he nodded, handing over the coin.

She reached over to grab the vegetables. They looked like long, thin leeks, also butterflied and split open. Juicy and crisp, they were blackened on the outside. She placed a large one on another bed of vegetables, sprinkling it with an orange, dusty powder before handing it over.

“Thank you so much!”

“It’s a pleasure, hope you enjoy!”

Boblem ordered from the woman as well, handing over a silver as she prepared his meal. Trying it, the meals were smoky, delicious, and sweet. The scent of paprika, cumin, and lots of fragrances and tastes they didn’t recognize filled their noses.

Renard stood back from the grill, wrinkling his nose at the vegetables. He continued to look around, heading towards the meat. There was a huge orc with long tusks and a handlebar mustache standing behind another grill, surveying the pool of customers. He stood about seven feet tall, shirtless to reveal broad shoulders. He had a leather apron around his waist, filled with knives and equipment. Cuts of meat were sizzling away on his griddle.

Renard approached, intrigued. “Good morning!” he greeted in Orcish.

The man looked surprised. “Oh! A fellow speaker,” he returned in the language. “Good morning.”

“This all looks delicious.”

“I should hope so!”

“What would you say your finest cuts are?”

“Goat,” he gestured to one, flipping it over. It was an inch thick slab of meat, brown and sizzling, a crust around the edge.

“Anything slightly more… unusual? Just out of curiosity.”

He looked at his grill. “Lizard, crocodile. Mostly things you’d find in the swamps.” He gestured to a filleted snake.

“I'll take the goat, and... a little crocodile.”

“Be a bit adventurous,” the man laughed. He hacked at the meat, turning them into bite sized chunks. He plated them, wrapping and tying them with a bit of string so it was packaged. Already, the juice began to collect at the bottom. Renard took another small leaf from the man to use for picking pieces out. Renard handed a silver piece back for it. “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome,” the man nodded, returning to his grill. Renard walked back to the other three, who had been watching his grunted conversation with the orc with varied levels of interest. Astra and Boblem dangled their legs off the edge.

“I wanted to ask you more, I’ve been thinking about it…” the tiefling began.

“Yeah?” Boblem swallowed a bite.

“I’ve been thinking about the fact you said, your farm is everywhere.”

Boblem nodded. “Yeah.”

“I just… what?”

“What do you mean?”

“What do you mean, it’s everywhere?”

“I mean, it just kinda moves from spot to spot.”

“Does it walk?”

Boblem laughed. “That would be very silly. Just, whenever I would wake up, every now and then, it would just be in a different place. Is that not… Did your home not do that…?”

Cassian turned, flabbergasted. “Are you saying you lived on a teleporting farm?”

“Ah…. I lived on  _ my _ farm?”

“Your farm can travel?” Renard pressed.

Boblem shrugged. “Yeah. I kind of assumed everyone’s homes travelled after a while. We just haven’t stuck around long enough.”

“Not at all,” Renard shook his head. “My home stayed in the same place my whole life.”

“Really?” Boblem replied, intrigued.

“People travel to new homes, but homes do not travel to new places,” Cassian explained.

“Oh wow… how boring it must have been for y’all…”

Cassian looked back down at his plate. “You’re not wrong,” he surrendered.

Renard unwrapped his food. It sizzled, the meat separating in the bag as the smell hit his face. He grabbed a piece with the smaller leaf and began to eat.

“I’ve never heard of anything like that before,” Astra smiled at the farmer.

The boy grinned. “I’d love for y’all to see it someday, then!”

“Me too. Maybe it’ll appear in front of us.”

“Yeah, maybe we’ll happen upon it! I’d love for y’all to meet my grandparents,” Boblem nodded with excitement. “They’ll really like y’all.” He looked at Cassian. “Maybe not so much you, but don’t take it personally.”

Renard burst out laughing.

Cassian’s face was unchanged. “I don’t,” he responded flatly.

“Good. Sorry, my grandma is just… she really cares about manners and being nice. I just wouldn’t want you to feel awkward about it.” Boblem’s concern was genuine, and he didn’t seem to pick up on the tension he was creating.

The wizard gave him a look. “I don’t. Trust me.”

“Well, I think it’s fascinating,” Astra distracted the boy. “Must be so cool.”

“Never travelled to a place like this though,” Boblem smiled.

Renard pulled a piece of meat from his bag. “Does anybody want to try a crocodile?”

“Yes,” Cassian jumped on the offer.

“Ooh, I want too,” Boblem agreed.

“No,” Astra declined, looking a bit uncomfortable.

Renard passed a piece to the other two. It was delicious and tender, smoky, but also quite spicy. “Fuck you, swamp crocodile,” Cassian declared as he ate.

“I really hope it is that one crocodile,” Boblem swallowed his piece down.

Renard smiled. “My thoughts exactly.”

They ate, filling their bellies and taking in the sights and smells at the edge of the city.

  
  


Back at the inn, Elyse woke up very late in the morning, head aching and groggy. She was trying to understand what parts of her night were real or imagined. Looking down at her arcane focus and notebook, she poured over the scribbled nonsense, doing her best to read. She ripped out the page and rewrote it. As she deciphered, she was able to slowly remember bits and pieces. She noticed the note under the door, reading it quickly before heading down to the front desk.

Asking after a place to sell off weapons, and maybe buy some new clothes, the person at the front desk suggested a few places. She thanked them, still swaying slightly. They looked her over. “Feeling better now?”

She nodded.

“Glad to hear it. And is your… companion still in the room?”

“Oh, she left ages ago.”

The man looked at her, confused. “Okay… Didn’t see her leave.” They leaned closer. “If she climbed out the window… there’s no need for subtlety around us.”

Elyse nodded awkwardly and left. Ducking into a quiet place, she disguised herself once more. This time, she changed her appearance to a female water genasi. Her clothes were as similar to the Sanskran style as she could mimic, black and tan, with breathable and light materials, and a bit of beading and embroidery around the cuffs. Some of the more fancy clothing she had seen involved broken bits of shells or pearls patterned and designed into the style.

She made her way to Karvinnen, one of the blacksmiths recommended to her. She took the gold rings from her bag, examining them for value. The inscriptions seemed to be Ospeian in origin, the continent across the sea from Caldera. They could be worth ten to fifteen gold each. Returning them to her pouch, she found the store. The door was closed. She knocked, and after a minute, a dwarven man with a shock of white hair and a long beard answered. He looked up at her with beady black eyes behind wire framed spectacles. He had tan, brown skin, and stood very squat, a rectangle of muscle and age.

“Well?” he asked.

“Greetings, um- ”

“Weren’t expecting anyone today.”

“Oh, well, I have some equipment I wanted to sell, I don’t know if you’d like to buy?”

“Eh, come ‘round back, come ‘round back.” He gestured to the other side before closing the door. She walked around the building to a wooden wall, which suddenly moved up, retracting into the ceiling as huge wooden gears turned. They pulled the shutter up, and a wooden workbench was revealed beside an unlit forge. The dwarf appeared, placing a case onto the table. Opening it, gold light reflected on his face.

“Well? What are you sellin’?”

Elyse began to pull the weapons off her body. She had been carrying quite a lot as she had collected them through the journey, and they were starting to weigh her down. She handed him the club.

“That is useless!” he chucked it past her. Elyse barely reached out to catch it before it soared into the water.

Surprised, she dropped the two light crossbows on the table.

“Oh nice! Nice, somethin’ from far away, I like it.”

She added a longbow to the pile.

“Can’t do much with this, I’m a smith.”

“Fair enough,” she shrugged with a bewildered smile at the eclectic man.

“That’s a big stick!” He glanced to the club.

“Yeah, it is,” she grinned. She finished the pile with two scimitars, a short sword, and a small knife. He gathered them, stepping behind the workbench, and fiddling with his glasses. A lense grew larger, making one eye appear massive. He looked closely at the metal. “Aye, fine craftsmanship. Not great quality, but…”

“Bit banged up,” she admitted.

“Aye, bit banged up.”

“But sturdy, and usable?” she suggested.

He didn’t look convinced. “I can melt it down for scrap. I’ll give you… eight gold, for the lot. Keep the bow, and the stick.”

“I think you can do a bit better than that,” Elyse smiled, doing her best to look charming.

The man rolled his eyes, caught in the bluff. “Alright, alright, you know what… you got me. Smile all you want, I can barely see,” he pointed to his glasses. “Why you think I wear these?” He sighed. “You know what? I’ll give you fifteen.”

Elyse nodded, extending her hand. “That sounds acceptable.”

“Aghhh, acceptable agh?” He spat in his palm, and shook her hand. Elyse, so intrigued by the man, didn’t flinch.

The dwarf pressed something in the case, and a stack of gold coins rolled into his hand after some whirring and clicking. He wrapped them in a roll of paper, sealing it with string.

“Excellent,” she accepted the coins.

“A pleasure doing business with ya.”

“You too, hope to see you again.”

“No problem, I’m sure you shall. Remember, shop Karvinnen's! Stay local, stay traditional! Don’t go to that Ten Tails.”

“What’s wrong with the Ten Tails?”

“Awww! A plight on blacksmithin’, all manner of things not right, not proper. You wanna go to a proper blacksmith, you speak to a dwarf. They know metal, they know rock. None of this… scale and leather nonsense. Who ever heard of makin’ armour out’ve a fish? Fish for eatin’, not wearin’. Argh, I’m all riled up now.” He huffed about, spinning the large lense of his spectacle back to normal size. He closed the briefcase with a hissing and whirring sound, pulling everything on the bench back off, and wrapping it in leather. “Pleasure.”

“I hope you have a pleasant one,” Elyse smiled.

“I’m sure I will,” he nodded back. “I’ll be open for business come the morning, should you wish. Think smith, the proper way. The steel and sweat!” he laughed.

“I’ll keep it in mind,” she smiled, watching him. He gestured her out, and as she left, he grabbed a pulley. With hissing of steam, the shutter clattered back down. She watched the mechanism work as it shut, intrigued. Satisfied, she headed to the tailor.

  
  


In the room, Sariel heard Elyse leave. She waited awhile, until she was convinced they had all left. She dressed herself back in her still dirty clothes, adding her cloak, which hadn’t been worn for a few days. Pulling up the hood and gathering her things, she made her way to the front desk. “Ah, where might I find… something to eat?”

“Depends what you’re looking for. You looking for hot cooked food, or something closer and local?”

“Closer and local,” she replied, throat still scratchy.

They pointed her towards a tavern around the corner.

“Thank you.”

“Whatever you need, let us know. I hope you’re alright.”

She left the building, walking around the corner to the eatery. She climbed up a set of stairs, overlooking the avenue below.

Muffled and faint in the distance, she heard the clanging of heavy armour underneath her. She entered the tavern as the footsteps passed. It was dimly lit, a few people looking up at her as she entered. There was an elderly human woman behind the bar, with dark, tan skin and short black hair just above her color. Dark brown eyes connected with hers. “You looking for food? Breakfast? Lodging?”

“Just breakfast, please.”

She nodded. “Take a seat, we’ll bring something over.”

She sat, and they brought over a small goblet of wine. “What’ll you be eating? Meat, fish, vegetables?”

“Just something simple.”

“That’ll be done. Two copper.”

She scrambled in her bag for it, fumbling over the coins. The woman took them, and after fifteen minutes, returned. She topped off the wine with a light, clear liquid. It made the drink taste a bit of honey. She placed down a bowl with a thin, white soup, speckled with dots of orange oil. It was cold, but not unpleasantly so. Inside were hearty chunks of vegetables, cooked and spiced.

“Thank you.”

It was delicious and heartwarming, if not physically warming. She ate without paying much mind to anyone else, keeping up her hood. When she was done, she left another copper on the table, and headed out to wander.

She saw people moving past, going about trade, and scampering across buildings. There were guards standing at their posts. A bustling city, it was hard to get a scale of it, as the mist prevented vision further than three hundred meters. She walked to the edge of the city, where it looked out to the lagoon. The water below was calm, silent, and unmoving. It was completely black, impossible to see down. There were plenty of rope lines and wooden ladders, and people continually scampered in and out of the water, collecting pouches of something. She made a mental note of where she could access the water, and look up at the sky.

“I haven’t forgotten,” she spoke to the air. “And I hope you’ll give me some guidance tomorrow.” She felt a breeze brush some mist away. Looking out over the lagoon, she watched it move. “I’ll be back tomorrow, I promise.” The wind whistled past her hood. She stood to wander again.

  
  


The boys finished their food on the docks. “You want to go to the Rum and Monkey’s next? The alchemists?” Astra suggested.

“The alchemists,” Renard nodded, “See if they can give a price for the spines, and some potion ingredients for us.”

“Do you think they’ll have rum and monkeys?” Boblem looked between them, excited.

“Maybe the former,” Cassian reflected. “But not the latter.”

Renard scratched his head. “I don’t know if monkeys can be potion ingredients…”

“Oh no! Not like that!” Boblem was appalled by the thought.

“Maybe it’s run by monkeys, who knows?” Cassian teased.

This time, Boblem smiled wide. “Oh, I’d like that.”

Astra approached the orc Renard had spoken to earlier. “Excuse me, I was just wondering if you know where the Rum and Monkeys is? Compared to here?”

He glanced over. “I can tell you.” He pointed out the directions, about a fifteen minute walk away.

“Thank you, I appreciate that,” he smiled.

While Astra was away, Renard turned to Cassian. “I have a… question,” he began.

The wizard regarded him. “I might have an answer.”

“You know things about… gems, jewelry, crystals and such, don’t you?”

“Yes?”

He dug in his bag for the ruby, holding it up. “Do you know the value of this?”

Cassian considered the object. “Hard to say… I worked with the gems, but wasn’t really privy to the pricing. I’d say minimum, around fifty?”

“Okay,” Renard nodded, satisfied. “I’ve got no reason to carry it around, might as well sell it.”

“No, it’s not exactly enchanted or anything, it can’t come in handy to any of us.”

“I’ve got directions,” Astra returned, “So we can go, this way,” he pointed.

The group followed as Astra led them down winding and narrow alleyways, buildings arching over to create a forestlike canopy. On a quieter road, with only the occasional person passing, the mist grew thicker.

Renard’s ears pricked up as he noticed shouting in the distance. He couldn’t make out what was said, but there was a crashing noise, the sounds of armour and shields clinking above him. He looked around for a way up, and there were plenty. Ladders, rope, and climbing pins were attached to many walls. “Do you hear that?” he asked the others. Hurriedly, he made his way up to scale a wall.

“What’s wrong?” Astra called after as the other three followed. Astra and Renard climbed with ease, jumping between ladders and handholds to scurry upwards. Incredibly, Boblem managed to beat their time, scrambling like a monkey up the rope to the roof. Cassian’s journey was a much different story. The first handhold he touched crumbled as he put the slightest bit of weight on it. Annoyed by the slip, he used his wand’s whip to pull himself up instead.

Crowded together on the rooftop, they could only see a few feet ahead of them in the mist, looking across to a few other rooftops. From the left, the sound of running footsteps grew. Emerging right next to their head was a person running at a full tilt. Noticing them, the person leapt over them, sprinting past.

With only a second to react, Cassian made the snap decision to intervene. He let out his whip, catching the runner in midair. They let out a yell, and the person’s face smashed into the side of the roof they were about to haul themselves up and over. Their body went limp, and it dropped towards the ground.

Cassian, who was only leaning against the edge of the roof with his forearms, had no chance to support the weight. As they dropped, Cassian was pulled from the ledge. Renard reached out to save him from the fall, but his hand slipped past. The person crashed to the ground. The wizard followed shortly after, falling two stories facedown.

Three armoured figures shortly followed, appearing from the mist on the rooftop. They skidded to a stop, noticing the rest of the group, and began to shout at them in an unknown language.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Renard started.

“What’s the commotion?” Boblem asked.

“I’ve got him,” Cassian groaned on the floor. He looked to the side, and he saw the form of a human female caught around his whip, hair tied in a braid. She wore dark, studded leather and black armour, two daggers at her hip. Her form shivered and transformed. Where her face was tan skin, it became white, ears changing into slits. Her eyes became black orbs as blood leaked from her ears and nose. He pushed himself up, head pounding.

A guard shouted down from the rooftop. “What in the hell’s happened here?”

“My friend’s injured!” Astra excused himself, scurrying down to Cassian.

“Don’t move from where you are!” The guard ordered after him. “Stay on the ground!” They turned to Boblem and Renard. “You! Up!”

“We just heard the commotion,” Renard tried, hands up. “We came to look, our friend caught them, but then fell.”

“What business do you have interfering with the guard?”

Boblem tried to explain. “We didn’t know- ”

“Why is our suspect lying dead on the floor?” he interrupted, demanding.

Boblem’s eyes widened. “Who?”

The guard pointed over, and they saw the sprawled body of the person Cassian had stopped, their neck at an unnatural angle.

Renard gulped. “We did nothing. We were just taking a look.”

The guard peeked to the floor. “Who’s that one?” he gestured to Cassian. “With the whip.”

Cassian, on the ground, slowly turned to his side.

“A travelling companion of ours,” Renard offered.

“Get on the ground. Climb down,” the guard ordered.

Boblem and Renard complied, the guards following. “What the  _ fuck, _ Cassian,” Renard glowered at the wizard.

“We said we weren't going to do rash things!” Boblem added, scared.

The guards made their way down. One removed their helmet, revealing a female water genasi with cropped, black hair. The other two were tritons. They took out their spears and shields, holding them steady. The woman checked the body, sighed, and let it crumple back to the floor.

She turned back to them. “What business do you have interfering with the work of the Eyes?”

“The work of who?” Boblem gulped.

“The Eyes of Sanskra. The guards.”

Renard, who had visibly tensed, relaxed at the explanation.

“Didn’t mean to interfere,” Cassian gasped, rising slowly to his feet. “Heard the commotion. Saw someone running. Thought if we could catch, we’d be helping. Didn’t intend for this to happen.”

The guard glared. “You thought wrong. What is that? What is that you wield?”

With a flick of his wrist, the whip retracted into his wand. “Let’s see,” she ordered. Cassian handed it over, and she examined it before handing it back. “What are your names?”

“I’m Verdant Astra.”

“Renard.”

“Boblem.”

“Cassian.”

The guard looked to Renard. “What’s with this?” she pointed to his mask.

Renard shrugged. “It’s just a mask.”

“Take it off.”

Renard leaned back. “No.”

She glared at him, cracking her neck. “Take it off,” she repeated, more forceful.

_ "No." _

The two Triton’s stepped forward, pointing their spears at him.

“We don’t want any trouble!” Boblem begged.

“You are in the city of Sanskra! You will obey the laws of this city, and do as the guard are instructing you! Sir, remove the mask that I may see your face!” she ordered.

Astra, frightened for Renard, did his best to stealthily cast calm emotions onto all three of the guards. One at the bac, relaxed and lowered their shield. The woman, noticing this, whipped out a short sword and levelled it at Astra’s throat.

“We will have  _ none _ of that!” she yelled.

Astra put up his hands. “Just trying to calm the situation down, there’s no need for violence.”

“You realize that it is a crime to place an enchantment on one of the Eyes of Sanskra?”

“I didn’t, I’m sorry, I just- ”

“I’m aware of what you do, mage,” she spat.

“I’m not a mage.”

She furrowed her brow. “I am aware of magic, do not think me so blind as to work in a city like this and not understand the arcane laws.” She turned and slapped the calmed triton’s face. He gasped, looking around nervously.

She rounded back on Renard. “I mean not to ask you twice.” Renard grabbed for his sword as a reflex, and realized it wasn’t there. “I merely wish to identify if you are someone we are already looking for, or if this was a matter of happenstance,” she growled. “Are you shy, sir?”

“No.”

“You find yourself scared?”

“No.”

“New to the city?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, we are!” Astra added.

“Yeah, very new,” echoed Boblem.

Cassian caught his breath from the fall. “Less than a day.”

She scowled at them. “Wonderful. We’ll see how much longer you’ll be staying here.”

“We don’t mean no harm, like I said, there’s no need for the hostility,” Boblem tried.

Renard turned his body, his back to his allies. He lifted the mask. The guard looked at him, staring for a few seconds before nodding. Renard put the mask back down.

“A criminal, a suspect, lies dead,” she announced. “Someone that has now escaped the true course of justice. Our Commander lies dead, their throat slit in a pool of his own blood. And now I find four strangers, less than a day into the city, barely any identities but a name, nothing to tie them down. At the scene where our culprit, someone whom we were hot on the tail of, lies with their neck broken. Arcane devices, arcane use. Do you care to explain to me what’s going on?”

“We’ve told you the truth,” Renard repeated.

“Where are you staying?”

“The Water Snakes.”

“Water Snakes,” Astra repeated.

“Then let’s to. The Water Snakes.” The guards flanked them. “Lead on.”

They marched them in complete silence. As they passed the narrow alleyway, people started to stop and stare. A guard whistled at another from a nearby post, and they had a short conversation, sending the guard back down the alleyway. The guard complied, gasping as he found the body.

“What are the laws on arcane magic? We were completely unaware,” Boblem asked as they marched.

“There are no laws against the use of arcane magic sir. But to attempt to influence the mind, the emotions of one of our own? It’s far from acceptable. You will be brought before the Baron.”

“We didn’t mean no harm…”

“Regardless. To influence one's mind is a serious crime. It will be deserving of punishment.”

“It wasn’t them, it was me,” Astra countered.

“I know.”

“There’s no point in- ”

“The four of you together.”

They arrived at the Water Snakes, pushing open the door. Jedda stood from the front desk, looking up with concern.

The guard addressed her. “These four are not to leave.”

“We did nothing,” Renard insisted.

“You can take me and Astra,” Cassian negotiated. “These two did nothing.”

“The four of them are not to leave,” she repeated, stronger. “A guard will be posted outside. Any provisions they need, get them. They are to stay here for the rest of the day.” Jedda nodded, in shock.

The guard turned to address the four. “Regardless of your actions or your intentions, the four of you together, you’ll be staying here. I wouldn’t advise trying to leave the city. There’s one way in, swimming through the mist of the lagoon. Even I wouldn’t fancy my chances at that.” They left, door slamming behind them. Barked orders echoed from outside the door.

Jedda stared at them. “Well, I’d best make up your rooms.”

Renard whirled around and punched Cassian square in the face. He reeled back from the blow. “No!” Jedda yelled. “I’d say take it outside, but you are restricted to these walls for now! I have to act like you are my children.” She pointed at the wizard. “You! To the bath. You!” she turned to Renard, “To the room!”

“Where should we go?” Boblem raised a hand, quietly pointing to Astra.

“Wherever the fuck you want! First last night, now this.”

Renard stormed upstairs, leaving Cassian’s jaw aching, lip split. He spat the blood from his mouth as Astra headed upstairs. Jedda watched, seething. “Thank you, sir. I guess I’ll clean that up,” she glared at the wizard.

“I can do it myself,” he responded, flicking his wrist to draw the spit away with a short spell. She gave him a tight smile, pointing aggressively at the bath. Boblem followed after.

  
  


Meanwhile, Elyse was having a wonderful time in the city. She strolled over to Palermo’s, a tailor shop with black wooden walls. She saw green glass placed into a lattice framework. Probably seaglass, soaked in water for decades and washed on the shores. It was beautiful. Pushing open the door, she heard music softly playing. There was a counter, boots propped on it as someone stroked a harpsichord. There were racks and racks of clothing to the side, a mix of everything. Mostly blue, green, black, tan, white, and grey, but there was the odd red hood, yellow scarf, or set of bright orange gloves.

The boots came down from the counter. “Hi, can I be helping you?”

“Hi, I just, I need a new outfit? Mind if I just puruse?”

She gestured out. “Take your pick, you’re welcome to.”

The woman was somewhat elven, with frilled ears and patches of scale. The boots went back up as Elyse looked around. She was looking for something that didn’t stand out as much, something darker and not too expensive, and something to cover her electric blue hair.

She grabbed a few black and blue pieces, new trousers, a cloak, and a headscarf. She tried them on, and she seemed to blend in well. She approached the counter, and the woman asked for eight silver, which she handed over. “By the way, I love the music you’re playing, it’s beautiful,” she complimented.

“Thank you. I love the music you bring,” she smiled.

Elyse tilted her head. “What do you mean by that?”

The woman shrugged. “Just the… air. The presence. It’s nice. A certain charm to the shop. The hair’s nice, too.”

Elyse tensed, worried her disguise had worn off. She checked her hair. It was black. She was still in the appearance of a water genasi woman. The shopkeep must have just liked her hair anyway. “Thank you,” she smiled at the returned compliment. “What’s your name?”

“Palermo,” she spun her finger, pointing to the store. “It’s my shop.”

“Oh, of course,” Elyse nodded, embarrassed. “Well you know, not every shop is named after someone,” she defended.

“That’s true. There’s a few oddly named places in this town.”

“Like what?”

_ "The Thirsty Vole. The Rapid Duck. The Drowning Horse." _

Elyse made a variety of expressions at each name. “Are those all taverns?”

“Mostly. There’s an odd jewelers, it's called,  _ Gnomes, Gnomes, Gnomes!" _

This time, she couldn’t hide her laugh. “And the  _ Rum and Monkey’s," _ the woman continued, chuckling. “Alchemists. Then there’s  _ The Dazzle Factor. Fire and Brimstone, _ the smiths. Another one,  _ There Will Be Smoke." _

“What’s  _ The Dazzle Factor?" _

“They’re a jeweler as well.”

“Interesting,” she smiled.

The woman was very much enjoying this conversation. “There’s a tailor called Beatrix.  _ Beatrix Bombastus." _

“You have no idea how much I needed all that,” Elyse laughed, glad to have the humor in her morning.

The shopkeep giggled back. “You know what, I’ve lived in this town for twenty five years and it’s still just as funny.  _ Gnomes, Gnomes, Gnomes!" _ She threw her hands in the air.

“How long has  _ Gnomes, Gnomes, Gnomes! _ been in business?”

“As far as I’ve been alive. They live a long time.” An impish smile crept across her face. “I think when it started, it was just...  _ Gnome!" _

Elyse shared another long laugh with the woman.

Palermo was on a roll. “You know how when generations increase, a lot of tailors and haberdasheries become  _ Hatton and Sons, _ or  _ Strongjaw and Daughters, _ but  _ Gnomes _ is just…  _ Gnomes, Gnomes, Gnomes, Gnomes, Gnomes! _ I have a feeling that’s what they’ll call it with another generation.”

“Maybe they’ll surprise you,” Elyse teased back, almost doubled over giggling.

“I’m sorry!” she chuckled.  “Do you want your money back?” she joked.

“I feel like you deserve it,” Elyse smiled, composing herself.

“Thank you,” she grinned back.

“Since you seem to know a lot about the city…” the sorcerer began.

“I do gnome a lot about the city.” She waved her hand, looking sheepish. “Sorry, me. Yes, I do.” She batted her eyes.

“I was wondering if you knew anything about these dragonborn, I’ve been hearing there’s all sorts of trouble being caused by them,” she gossiped.

She leaned closer. “I’ve heard as well! They’ve marched into the city a day or two ago, on the hunt for pirates, or scavengers, all the way over from Arakhis. The Arakhian guard, they call them.”

“Wow, they came that far?”

“Mhm. I‘ve not seen them, they’ve not passed through the shop, but…”

“Any idea what part of town they may be?”

“Hanging about the entrance, the bridge. Near the archives. Probably conversing with the palace and the guard, around the barracks. They’re not on unfriendly terms with the Eyes, but… I assume they're working together, four or five dragonborn can't cover an entire city, can they?”

“No…” she thought back to other conversations she had been part of, trying to dig deeper. “I just wish they wouldn't be so obnoxious,” she complained.

“You know what, me too.”

“What can you do?” Elyse shrugged.

“First time I saw a dragonborn though. I saw just one.”

“I’ve never seen one before, I imagine they look really cool,” Elyse pressed.

“Huge! And the armour, you should see it.”

“What does it look like?”

“Well for one they're gold, and brass, and copper, and they gleam like burnished metal. It puts the armor that they're wearing to shame, just their scales alone. I mean, their horns, they’ve got to be six feet, come to seven. They’re incredible, nothing but might and magic, and muscle.”

Elyse nodded, making a mental note of the description. “I’ve heard they’re pretty powerful.”

“They’re huge, scary looking. There’s one of them, horn broken, bigger than the rest, and she… she’s something to look at.”

“Oh really? Where did you see her?”

“Near the archives. I just heard about the rest, but I saw her and her armour and robes. Lots of gold, lots of purple. Makes a girl want to travel to Arakhis. You heard that it’s almost completely dragonborn there?”

“Really?”

“Dragonborn, and lizardfolk. Couple of others, small communities, but I mean, completely opposite to what’s here. Hot and dry.”

“That’s horrible,” Elyse shook her head, playing the part.

“Mmm. But an island, surrounded by lots of sea, so. Might be comfy there.”

“Yeah, I guess so. Interesting. Thank you very much.”

“Pleasure, come back soon.”

“Pleasure to meet you.”

“And you,” the woman grinned back. “If you visit those places, or find any more curiously named taverns and stores... Come back and let me know. I’d like to update my list.”

“Okay, I’ll keep an eye out for any pun-ish names.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for you,” she returned.

“Thank you very much!” Elyse called as she left the shop, the woman returning to her instrument. She had about a half hour left on her disguise, considering checking the archives for the dragonborn woman.

  
  


Sariel had eventually made her way back to her room, returning before the guards had ushered in the rest of the party.

Cassian busied himself cleaning the blood from his face while Boblem loitered nearby, nervous.

“Cassian?”

“Yes?”

“I thought…” Boblem hesitated. “You said you didn’t want us to just go in and… act on things without having a plan.”

“It was a simple mistake. Could have gone a lot better. I figure, you see someone running on the rooftops of the city, they’re probably up to no good. You catch them, you carry favour with the guard.”

“That’s not how it went, though…”

“That’s not how it went, but it could have.”

“But it didn’t,” Boblem insisted.

“No, and I am a big enough man to admit that. Will you please excuse me while I wash my face?”

“You okay?”

“No, not particularly, I fell off the fucking roof.”

“You need me to heal you or anything?” he offered.

The wizard sighed. “If we're going to be stuck here, I can probably just rest it off. But if you fancy throwing a spell my way I'm not going to object.”

Boblem considered it, but Cassian seemed like he wanted some space. He backed off.

  
  


Upstairs, Renard had slammed the door to his room without bothering to lock it. Astra quickly followed, knocking after him.

“Yes?”

“Renard?”

Recognizing the voice, he relented. “Come in.”

“You alright?”

“No, I’m fuming.”

“Yes… this isn’t… just on top of all the rest of the awful things that keep happening.”

“Yes, and now potentially, we're being accused of something we didn't do. And it sounds like someone important is dead.” He put his hands over his face. “And Cassian just had to meddle.”

“People act impulsively,” Astra countered. “They think they’re doing the right thing, and- ”

“I know, but,” Renard threw his hands in the air in anger. “He came into my room this morning to tell me that we shouldn’t do this anymore. I just, it’s ridiculous! And on top of that, they’re going to keep us here, they’re going to question us.” He took a breath, and fixed Astra with a serious look. “I know we haven't done anything wrong but... there's other places that I'm wanted. I don't want to be scrutinized.”

“...I'm sorry.”

“So I have to get out of the city.”

Astra blinked in surprise at the admission. “How are you planning on doing that?”

“I don’t know. I’m not leaving without my sword.”

Astra hesitated. “If you’re really desperate… I’ve got a kit in my backpack that will help disguise how you look.”

Renard nodded appreciatively. “I’ll think on it.”

“No problem.”

He sighed, putting his face in his hands as he sat on the bed. “But not without a proper plan.”

Astra sat next to him.

Renard ripped off the mask, throwing it at the floor.


	14. Of Swords And Secrets, Episode Twelve

Renard was silent on the bed.

“Everything’s going to work out though,” Astra encouraged him. “Because, at the end of the day, we didn’t do anything wrong, not really. Because the person was bad, and Cassian stopped the bad person. And you didn’t even do anything, so they can’t say that you did.”

“I mean, Cassian killed someone…”

Astra gulped. “Yes… but that’s not you, that’s Cassian.”

“And you tried to enchant the guards.”

“I was just trying to help,” he defended, weakly. “Still, I think everything’s gonna be fine. We just need to tell the truth.”

“Right. Well, we can’t do anything about it right now. Maybe you can help me…” he grabbed his travel pack. “This has been soaked, several times. And if you could, dry it for me?”

“You want me to use magic for you?”

He hesitated.

“I can, it’s no problem,” Astra continued.

“Yes.”

Astra set to work, drawing the water from the contents of the bag. Renard took out a few papers, most of them rolled tightly in leather. There were some letters as well. “Don’t look at them, just…”

“Oh, okay, I won’t!” He held his arms out, tilting his head away as he reached forward with his arms. It took a few minutes. “How’s the map?”

“Good question.” He unwrapped it. It was completely fine, protected in the long wax and leather protective tube given to them by the cartographers.

“We could probably finish that off at some point, if you wanted too. I remember how we came here,” Astra offered.

“Through the mangroves? Well, if you can remember, then sure.”

“Speaking of… you told me, that you’d tell me, when you got a chance, why you like doing maps? Why are you the map man?”

Renard chuckled. “The map man, yes. I don’t know what to say, it’s just a nostalgic thing for me, I suppose.”

“Nostalgic? You do it as a kid?”

“I had a map making apprenticeship when I was fourteen, so, it’s been a long time.”

“Fourteen?” Astra laughed. “What do you mean you were working at fourteen?”

“Don’t a lot of people work at fourteen?”

Astra thought. “I don’t know. Maybe. You shouldn’t at fourteen though, you’re a kid at that age! You should be doing kid things!”

“I mean, I think you’re considered a man in a lot of places, at fourteen, fifteen.”

“I don’t think that sounds right,” Astra tilted his head. “Where are you from?”

“Ah, Shadebourne. It’s in the mountains. Further north.”

“Oh, I’ve never been there.”

Renard shook his head. “It’s not an open place to visit, so.”

“Why not?”

“Well it’s… it’s quite military, and not really open for tourists.”

“We wouldn’t be tourists if we went with you though,” Astra considered.

“No, but, I’m not planning on going back there anytime soon.”

“Is that where you’re wanted?”

“What about your home?” he deflected. “Could go visit your home.”

“Hm. Maybe.”

Renard ran a hand through his hair, enjoying the freedom without the mask. “Look, we should speak to Cassian and Boblem. Would you mind fetching them from downstairs? It’s probably best we talk away from the prying eyes and ears of the staff here. And we have to make a plan for how we are going to get out of this situation.”

“Just tell the truth,” Astra recommended. “But fine, I will.” He bumped him with his shoulder comfortingly before standing to leave. Before he reached the door, he turned back. “Just wanted to thank you for healing me, by the way.” Astra glanced to Renard’s hands. Renard shifted under the gaze, tucking his hands away between his sides.

Astra left.

Renard grabbed his mask off the floor. He stared at it for a moment, and pressing his hands against it, it illuminated. Dropping it on the bed, the light disappeared. He hurried to the washbasin, furiously scrubbing his hands. After a few minutes, there was a knock on the door. Renard put the mask back on, not willing to let Cassian see him, and answered the door.

They four of them sat in the room. “Okay, we need to talk about what we’re going to do now,” Renard sighed.

“Tell the truth,” Astra whispered.

Cassian raised a hand. “I have an idea or two.”

“Okay,” Renard nodded.

“Well, there’s not much we can do for the time being, but first thing tomorrow I can go collect your sword for you.”

Renard looked at him carefully. “We’re not allowed to leave the Water Snakes.”

“Oh, they won’t know it’s me.”

“Are you gonna look like somebody else?” Boblem asked.

“Yes, that was the idea.”

“Okay…” Renard considered.

“But what if they come back, while you’re out?” Astra countered.

“Good point.”

“I mean, why don’t we just ask Sariel?” the bard suggested. “Or Elyse? You’re already in a lot of trouble. Why do you gotta make it worse?”

“I did tell you I need that sword…” Renard thought. “And I would be willing to… not stick around in Sanskra. If you could get it for me.”

“Which I’m pretty confident I can,” Cassian agreed. “My concern with dragging Sariel into this is, she seems to be in a bit of a state at the moment, yes? And I wouldn’t want to put that kind of pressure on her. My concern with asking Elyse is…” he trailed off, thinking how best to word his response. “Elyse clearly has her own sort of business in this town, otherwise I’m sure she would be getting into trouble with the lot of us.”

“I mean, we haven’t seen her all day, she might already be in trouble,” Astra worried.

“That too, she could be in her own trouble, so- ”

“I just feel like we should at least keep them informed,” Renard interjected.

“Yeah,” Boblem agreed. “I don’t think we should- ”

“Oh, of course!” the wizard interrupted. “But asking them to go out- ”

“But I don’t think we should dismiss them like that- ”

The two argued while Renard left to knock on Sariel’s door. The druid had been sitting on her bed, staring into the distance ever since she had returned from breakfast. After another minute of waiting, she peeked through the crack of the door. “Sariel, can we talk to you? As the group of us? About something that’s… just happened to us.”

“Happened to you?”

“We got arrested!” Astra popped his head out from Renard’s door, smiling at her.

“What?”

“Astra, don’t-! ” Renard turned around, shushing him as he motioned to the other doors down the hall.

“You gotta lead better than that,” Boblem advised, joining Astra at the doorway. “Shall we maybe discuss this more privately?”

Astra turned to the farmer. “Should we go to our room? We’ve got the biggest one.”

“Oh yeah! Wanna come to our room?” Boblem smiled, trying his best to look friendly and safe for Sariel.

She stared at the group. “How did you get arrested? We’ve been here less than twenty four hours…”

“Tell me about it,” Renard sighed.

“You gotta ask Cassian about that,” Boblem nodded.

Astra beckoned them out of the hall. “Let’s go to our room though.”

“Would you? Please?” Renard pleaded.

She gave them a wary look. “...Alright.”

Renard gave her plenty of space to walk past. The group settled into Boblem and Astra’s room. Most of them sat on the beds, while Renard and Cassian chose to lean against opposite walls, arms crossed. Boblem glanced between the two, intrigued by the mirror.

As Renard propped himself against the door, he noticed the window on the other side of the room. Where they could usually see out across the misty city before, it was now a pure grey, a solid wall of fog. He didn’t mention it just yet, but he kept an eye on it. “So we went out this morning…”

“Had a really nice breakfast,” Astra smiled.

“Lovely breakfast,” Cassian echoed.

Renard pushed on. “We heard a scuffle. Pursued it, we saw someone running, and... well, Cassian tried to stop them. And it went, rather wrong.”

“Yes, quite the opposite of what I had hoped,” the wizard admitted.

“It seemed to be some sort of assassin. And the guards told us something about the captain of the Eyes of Sanskra being assassinated. And we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and they think we had something to do with it.” He cleared his throat. “Um, Astra tried to…”

“Help,” the tiefling suggested.

“Calm the situation, but unfortunately that made it worse. We just thought we should keep you up to date, and we agreed you don’t have to get involved, we’re not going to put this pressure on you, but…”

“I’m not getting arrested,” she countered.

He chuckled. “That’s a good plan.”

“It’s fine,” Cassian shrugged.

“We didn’t want you to be arrested, we just wanted you to know what was going on,” Astra explained.

“So what happens now?” Sariel asked.

“I don’t know, Elyse hasn’t come back yet and we don’t know where she is,” Renard worried. “They’ve told us just to stay here but, I need to- ”

“How long for?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’ve been wondering,” Boblem interjected, “Should we have the map in our possession? Like… if they think we’re dangerous, or if we had something to do with what happened to the Eyes of Sanskra, won’t they be real suspicious if we have, all of a sudden, a map? To a town that’s not meant to be found?”

Renard turned to the smaller elf. “Sariel, could we leave the map in your possession?”

“Alright.”

“Then, at least that’s something that they can’t find on us.”

“Anything else incriminating that you have?”

Renard grimaced. “You didn’t have to put it like that, but... Can I leave something else in your possession?”

“What is it?”

“It’s just a scroll,” he evaded, “But I don’t want it on my person. I could put it in the same scroll case as the map.”

“What sort of scroll?”

Renard hesitated. “Nevermind,” he shook his head.

“No I’ll take it, I just want to know what sort of scroll I’m hanging onto.”

He hesitated again.

Cassian tilted his head, intrigued. “I would believe she has a right to know.”

Renard sighed. “It’s just... important documents. To do with my work.”

Sariel watched him carefully. “I see.” 

“Nothing incriminating, it’s just something that I don’t particularly want connected to me if they’re going to be investigating us for potential assasination.”

“But you’re okay with it being connected to me,” Sariel observed.

Renard was taken by surprise at that. “Then nevermind. I’ll find some other way to hide it. I wasn’t trying to put you in a difficult situation, I just wanted to trust you.” He shifted his weight. “It’s… strange outside, by the way,” he pointed to the fog.

“It’s what?” Boblem asked. Their heads all turned to the window, and they saw a full wall of fog thicker than they had seen around the rest of the city. Cassian groaned at the sight. It was definitely not natural. Of course, there was magic in the air all throughout Sanskra, but this was different. Reaching out to touch the veil, they found it to be woven into the mist, pressing at the window as small tendrils of fog entered and dissipated.

“That’s not right…” Sariel observed, concerned.

Cassian echoed her confusion, “...The fuck?”

“Do you think it stretches far, or is this surrounding us and keeping us here?” Renard leaned forward.

“I think… this is to keep us here.”

Renard put his hand through the fog, losing sight of his fist almost instantly. But it was permeable. He pulled his hand back, shaking the moisture off it. “Great,” he sighed. “So maybe you can’t quite sneak out.”

Sariel turned. “What were you going to do, sneaking out?”

“I’ve left my armour and my weaponry at the armory in Sanskra, I don’t want to be without it,” Renard explained.

“When did you need to pick it up?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“I still think I could hazard a chance,” Cassian shrugged.

“What if the mist gets rid of your spell though? To disguise yourself?” Astra warned. “You step outside looking like someone else, and the mist gets rid of it.”

“...That, wasn’t the initial plan, but I see your point,” he amended.

“You said you had a disguise kit?” Renard looked to the bard. “That could be a better plan.”

“They’ve said you need to stay here, is that what they’ve said?” the small elf raised a brow. There were nods all around.

“But…” Astra began, “Obviously we’ve got to stay here, but if you don’t feel comfortable staying here with this going on…”

“You can move,” Renard agreed. “There was the other inn that they told us about, the Jumping Swallows, you could move there. I understand if you don’t want to be involved at all, or help us. This is a ridiculous situation we’ve found ourselves in.”

“Yes it is, isn't it,” she replied.

Boblem shifted his weight on the bed. “Do you still wanna be around us?” he worried.

“And, on top of that, are you okay? We haven’t really had a chance to speak,” Renard apologized.

She thought. “There’s something I need to do tomorrow night, that I hope will make things a bit better, at least. But, in all honesty... no, I’m not alright.”

“Anything we can help with?” Boblem offered. “Once we’re out of our trouble?”

“I think you’ve got enough to worry about.”

Astra handed her ten gold from his bag. “If you need to go to stay elsewhere, or do something, just… do that.”

“I can’t take your money.”

“I don’t need it,” he shrugged, smiling.

“I’m not going to take money from you.”

“But if you need to stay elsewhere,” he countered. “Then just, I’m paying for a room for you.”

“...You’ll be getting this back,” she relented, slipping the money away.

“Okay,” Astra nodded, encouraging. “But for now keep hold of it, right?”

“So what’s our plan?” Renard asked. “We need to contact Elyse somehow, but… Do you think you could sneak out and find her?”

“I could certainly try,” Cassian offered again.

Boblem tilted his head to the side, thinking. “Do we even know if she’s coming back?”

“I don’t know. Maybe not…” Renard sighed.

  
  


In the city, Elyse headed off to find the dragonborn woman that Palermo had gossiped about. Asking someone for directions, they told her the Drowned Archives were right next to the Bamboo Bloom, the palace, at the north end of the city. Asking how far it would be, she was disappointed to hear it was at least an hour and a half’s walk. It would be too for her disguise, but at least she had directions. Elyse thanked the citizen, and headed back to the inn, keeping an eye out for dragonborn.

After fifteen minutes of walking across small bridges and platforms over the water, using poles and ropes to scramble through, she heard the clanking of heavy armour. Stepping out of the mist were two figures, clad in bronze and gold plate armour, with heavy pauldrons and chainmail underneath. They were decked out in purple robes, completely gilded, standing out against the black wood, mist, and fog. Both of the dragonborn had metallic, iron coloring, and they were absolutely huge. They both stood nearly seven feet, broad as anything, shortbows and round shields on their backs, with weapons at their hips. They were nailing a piece of paper to the wall as they spoke in low voices. About ten feet away, they stood with their backs to her.

Elyse walked past, loitering at a shop window to eavesdrop. They glanced at her, but didn’t pay her much mind in her disguise.

“It’s not my fucking fault,” one of them growled to the other. “This place is so fucking damp. How was I to know the ink would run?”

“Well, this one’s fine. Just get it up. We’ll be out of this fucking shithole soon enough.”

After a minute, they turned to leave. She peeked over, and saw a wanted poster. It seemed to be waxed over to prevent water damage, but it was rather wet at the edges already where the seal wasn’t as strong. She got the impression this wasn’t the first one they had put up, and they had eventually learned their lesson that regular paper would get quite soggy. Moisture ran down the front of the new poster, mostly rolling off.

There was a large seal at the bottom of it, seemingly stamped over another one. She recognized the seal of Sanskra, two fish interweaving around a circle. The other seal resembled a dragon. At the top, it read  _ "Reward for Capture, 100 Gold Crowns for the Capture of Each of These Figures Alive. Bring Findings to Captain Kenrah, Staying at the Yellow Fin House." _ Lower, in a different font,  _ "Authorized by the Eyes of Sanskra." _ It was signed off by Leftenant Selrish.

There were three drawings underneath, very familiar to her. Her own face stared back at her, central. A rather good rendition of her likeness. There was also a male with pointed ears, and a humanoid female with a long braid coming down her side. She recognized both of them, members of her crew. Glancing to ensure the guards were gone, she ripped the poster from the wall, putting it in her bag. She wanted to follow the guards, but she only had a few minutes left on her disguise. She would have to run to make it back to the inn. Breathing heavily, she touched the pouch that held her arcane focus, calmed herself, and thought about the importance of  _ not _ being impulsive.

She went back to the inn. Rushing as best she could, she felt the disguise wash off two streets away. She put her hood up, hoping to make it without needing to recast her spell, but when she arrived to see the inn surrounded in a strange mist and carefully watched by posted guards, she didn’t want to risk it. She recast the spell.

As she approached, the two Eyes of Sanskra stepped forward, one putting a hand out. “Halt. Your name, please.”

“Aisha?” she offered.

“How long have you been staying here?”

“Oh, couple of days?” she lied.

“One moment.” The guard disappeared through the mist, bringing out Jedda.

“I’m visiting one of my friend’s who’s staying at the inn,” Elyse amended.

Jedda looked her up and down. “She is,” she nodded to the guard.

He nodded. “Very well.”

The mist parted, very slightly, revealing the door. Jedda led her in with a sigh. “Go on.”

“Thank you,” Elyse nodded, suddenly grateful to be mistaken for a  _ nightly companion. _ The mist closed back around her as she entered. She hurried upstairs.

Renard heard the steps, and peeked outside. He watched a water genasi woman wearing black robes unlock the door to Elyse’s room. She entered, and closed the door behind her.

Renard turned back into his room, confused. “I think Elyse... has left? There’s someone else going into her room.”

“What did you see out there?” Boblem pressed.

“There was a water genasi, like Ezra, going into Elyse’s room.”

“So maybe she did go…” Astra frowned.

“She just left us? WIthout saying anything?” Boblem looked very disappointed.

Cassian left the room to knock on Elyse’s door. “Elyse, is that you?”

She was in the process of getting changed. “What do you want?” she called through the door.

“I’m just making sure it’s you.”

“...It’s me.”

“She hasn’t left us, it’s fine,” Cassian sang over to the rest of the group, satisfied.

“Thank the Gods,” Renard sighed, following the wizard to Elyse’s door. “We need to talk.”

“Can you give me like… ten minutes?” she asked.

“Yes?”

“Cool.”

She changed while Cassian and Renard leaned on opposite sides of her door, waiting.

Astra, in the room with the druids, was trying his best to lift Sariel’s spirits. “Do you want me to do your hair, by the way? It’s very nice, but I can make it a bit…” he searched for the word, “...Cleaner.”

“Maybe not at the moment,” her quiet voice responded.

“Okay,” he smiled. “But I can do that for you if you wanted at some point. It’d look very pretty.”

“Yeah, you did try to teach me how to braid last night,” Boblem added. “I can try!”

Sariel smiled softly.

A few minutes later, Elyse emerged, wearing her new outfit. Changed from the torn red sari, though still with the same boots, she exited her room with black trousers, a long sleeved black top under a sleeveless waterfall jacket, blue wraps on her arms that moved down to her hands, and a grey headscarf that covered her hair. Pulling down the fabric in the front, she did her best to hide her scar on her face. “What do you want?”

Renard moved from the wall. “Come to Boblem and Astra’s room.”

As she filed in, she noticed that Astra was wearing armour, as was Cassian, who was sporting a split lip. “Did you all manage to get in trouble in twenty four hours of arriving in this city?”

“Yes actually,” Renard answered as he shut the door behind them.

“You know it,” the wizard joked.

“Cassian killed someone and now we’ve been arrested,” Renard finished, with a much less joking tone.

Elyse looked around the room. “You know what, I don’t think I want any part of this.” She turned to move, but Renard was leaning against the door, blocking her.

Astra jumped in. “It’s a bit of a problem, but as long as we’re honest about it, we didn’t do anything- ”

“Cassian  _ killed _ someone!” Renard countered.

“I know he killed someone but, we weren’t a part of that assasination- ”

“I cannot deal with this right now!” Elyse interrupted. “I am hanging on by a  _ thread." _

“Why are you so tense?” Boblem asked, concerned.

“I thought you just went out shopping?” Cassian added. “I mean, we just went out shopping, but…”

“Nice clothes!” Boblem smiled.

“Time to fess up, I suppose. Where have you been for the last twenty four hours?” Renard interrogated her.

Elyse rounded on him. “Have you not noticed how  _ horrible _ that thing with the dryad was for me?”

Boblem bit his lip. “It was horrible for a lot of us…”

Renard jumped on the defense. “Yes, for a lot of us.”

Elyse took a deep breath. “I haven’t been in a good headspace. I’m sorry, I just have a lot going on right now. And I have some business to take care of in the city, and I cannot have...” she began to laugh, exasperated. “I cannot be around people who are just going to murder people in broad daylight and get arrested!”

Renard shot a look at Cassian. “I didn’t intend to murder anyone, in my defense…” the wizard offered. Begrudgingly, Elyse allowed him to recount the entire tale.

Astra stood by the sorcerer, supportively. When they had finished the tale, the bard glanced back to her new style. “You look nice in your new clothes, by the way.”

“Thank you,” she responded, distractedly. “That wasn’t the point of it, but thank you.” She sighed. “Okay, so what do you plan to do about your murder charges, then?” she smiled sarcastically at the wizard, waiting to hear his grand plan.

He shrugged. “Confess.”

Renard blinked in surprise. “Confess?”

“Hold my hands up, tell them I was just trying to help and it… went a little bit pear shaped.”

“Exactly!” Astra supported.

“And if they try to pin the assassination with the guard captain on us? What then?” Renard pushed.

“We just keep telling the truth!” the bard encouraged.

“The truth doesn’t always work!”

Elyse looked over the room. “The guard captain was assassinated?”

“Yes.”

“Assassinated by the assassin who they now think was assassinated by Cassian, the assassin,” Sariel concluded.

Elyse put a hand on her head. “So wait, the Captain of Eyes? Was assassinated?” Nods all around answered. She glanced at the wizard. “And you killed the assassin. Did you see what they looked like?”

“They were white!” Astra offered.

“They were a changeling,” Renard explained. They had all seen the body. Completely white hair, black eyes with no pupils, and a white featureless face. They had only slits for a nose.

“They… snapped up real good,” Cassian shook his head, remembering the odd angles of the body’s limbs.

“Nothing I’ve ever seen before,” Boblem agreed.

Renard uncrossed his arms. “Hate to say it, but in this instance, I don't think saying  _ we didn’t do it, _ no matter how true it is, is going to have much of an effect.”

“Yeah, you think?” Elyse sighed.

“Why not?” Boblem asked.

“Because they watched you kill him. Or, they watched  _ him _ kill him,” she nodded to the wizard.

“And, you know, authorities are often inclined to try and find someone to blame if they haven’t actually got someone to lock up,” Renard added.

“Precisely, but they can lock me up if they’d like too,” Cassian shrugged, seemingly unbothered by the possibility.

“Is that what authorities are meant to do?” Boblem worried.

“It happens,” Renard sighed.

“That’s not really solving the problem though, is it?”

“It is for them,” Sariel concluded, bitte.

“That’s terrible…”

Cassian shrugged again. “Well, young Boblem can dismantle the system if he likes.”

During all this, Astra had silently cast his daily healing spell on Elyse again. She noticed. “Astr,a you don’t have to keep doing that.”

“You told me to! You asked me to.”

“I thought the arrangement would be that I would come and ask you to do it, not that you would just do it…”

“Oh, I didn’t know! You said that you just wanted me to do it.”

“Asked you to do what?” Renard glanced over.

“Oh, he’s been… healing me,” she explained.

“Healing what?”

“Are you hurt?” Boblem piped up.

“No, I had some injuries…” She sighed. “You saw, I had injuries when I first met you in Ferrelstadt. It’s just been- ”

“Have you not recovered by now?” Renard pressed.

“Well you can still see this, on my face,” she gestured to the scar.

“Sometimes scars don’t just immediately heal, unfortunately,” Astra explained.

“I know,” Renard defended. He turned back to the rest of the group. “So we’ve decided we’re going to hide our Sanskra and Flooded Hills map with Sariel, who’s staying out of this.”

“That seems wise,” Elyse nodded. “Well, I’ve been doing some digging of my own while I’ve been here. And I may have been wrong about… the people who I thought were here.”

“Right.”

“So there might not be any point in me sticking around Sanskra either,” she continued. “But I’d still like to look into some stuff while I’m here, and I’d like to do it  _ without _ getting into trouble,” she stared at Renard. “Without being accused of murder.”

“You look at me like I’m the one who killed him,” he responded, glancing over to Cassian. The wizard gave only a bright smile in return. Renard rolled his eyes. “I understand that,” he turned back to Elyse, “And I hate to ask, but I think we need your help.”

She was silent for a moment. “What do you want me to do?”

He took a deep breath. “I have no idea. Cassian reckons he can disguise himself to get out of here and retrieve my armour and my weapons from the armoury.”

“But I don’t think it’s a good idea for Cassian to go, to do that,” Astra warned.

“I can also… change my form,” Elyse admitted.

Renard gave an appreciative nod. “But in any case, I said this to Astra earlier, I need to get out of the city.”

Boblem straightened on the bed. “How come?”

“You said you didn’t do anything,” Sariel accused.

He hesitated. “I didn’t do anything… here.”

Cassian tilted his head with interest, grinning at the admission. “But you’ve done something somewhere else...”

“And I’d like to not be scrutinized by any formal authority,” he continued.

“Interesting.” Cassian filed that information away for later.

Elyse couldn’t help laugh. “This is all so ironic. After all the shit you gave me in Mirrortail, for taking a couple of gold coins out of a fucking  _ fountain- " _

“I’m  _ not _ a criminal!” Renard avowed. “I’m not a criminal, I just have people… seeking me out.”

She looked him over. “Are these mercenaries?”

“Perhaps.”

“Okay. Well I would maybe be willing to go and pick up your stuff for you.”

“We’d really appreciate it, Elyse,” Astra smiled.

“But I need you guys to not try to interfere with what I’m doing. Unless I ask you to.”

Renard eyed her. “What are you going to do?”

“I just need to look around the city, and there’s some things I need to learn while I’m here.”

“What if you’re in danger?” Boblem asked.

“I’ll be fine.”

Boblem was unconvinced. “Last time you said that, things were not fine.”

“I agree with Boblem here,” Renard added.

“You were planning on going to that airship alone,” Cassian reminded her. “And you would have died. So, plans that you have to be alone might be quite as grim in the ending, if you follow through in such a suit.”

“I loathe to agree with Cassian, but…” Renard nodded at Elyse, supporting the wizard’s thought. He kept his head firmly turned towards the sorceress, avoiding the smug smile that had surely sprouted on the other man’s expression.

Elyse shook her head. “I feel like here, I’m more able to operate on my own, than I would have been walking into an airship that had two manticores living inside of it. It’s not quite the same situation.”

“Never know what dangers could await you around any given corner,” Cassian parried.

“True…’

“We’ve already encountered an assassin.”

She fixed him with an annoyed stare. “Yes,  _ you!" _

“You’ve changed your outfit and hidden your hair in an attempt to disguise yourself,” Renard observed. “You don’t feel safe inside this city.”

“No, I don’t,” she admitted.

“Then I don’t think you should be alone.”

“And you’re going to come with me? You guys? The ones who have been told to stay inside the inn, and they’ve put some kind of magical wall of mist outside to keep you here?”

“Sariel can go wherever she pleases,” Astra interrupted.

“I’ll get it,” the elf’s quiet voice offered. Renard raised a brow at her. “I’ll get your armour,” she repeated.

“You will?” he responded, surprised. “Thank you.”

“Are you planning on fleeing the city then?”

“If I can. Although as far as I know right now, there’s only the one way in and out. With guards posted. So I don’t know how easy that’s going to be.”

The group sat in silence for another moment. “Sariel, I’ll go with you,” Elyse offered.

“Alright,” she agreed.

“And I need to… I need to look around the city a bit anyway, so.”

“If you two stick together, I’ll feel better,” Renard encouraged.

Astra looked between the two women. “It would be better. You can look after each other, watch each other's backs. And I guess we can just… have a bath? Not much else we can do.” Cassian softened at the suggestion. “Drink?” Astra continued, looking around.

This time, the wizard wrinkled his nose. “I shan’t partake.”

There was a knock on the door, and Renard answered. Jedda had brought up four sets of food for them, wrapped in large banana leaves. He took the food. “Thank you.”

She nodded, wordlessly. “Very sorry for the trouble!” Boblem called. Astra tried to hand her two gold coins, but she shook her head.

“Sorry, just a misunderstanding…” Astra tried, but she was already leaving.

Renard sighed as the door closed. “Okay, so, plan of action here. I don’t mind if he hasn’t finished with my sword and armour, I’d just rather have it back sooner. I don’t trust that by tomorrow morning we’re not going to be in worse trouble. I suppose he knows me by name, but I could- ”

“I can make myself look like you,” Elyse offered. “But then, there might be guards around, might not be a good idea.”

“If you were to write a letter,” Sariel thought.

“Yes, I can do that.” He ducked out of the room to grab his writing equipment. After a second, Cassian followed him out.

Astra sat on the bed, and Elyse plopped herself heavily on the mattress. After a bit of silence, Astra lightly bumped her shoulder with his. “I, um…” she began, unsure of how to start. “You have no idea how sorry I am, that I allowed myself to be put into a state where I would attack you, and Sariel, and the others. But I feel like, with you it just became so much more personal, and I…” she backtracked, “Sorry, I’m not good at this.”

“I know you’re sorry. I know it wasn’t you. Things happen, and... it scared me.”

“It scared me too. A lot.”

“But it didn’t happen. You didn’t hurt me.”

“It did happen- ”

“But it didn’t hurt me.”

Elyse shook her head. “But when it, when I was under its control, it… it was so strange, it was like I knew exactly what I was doing, and I didn’t feel anything about it. I wanted to kill you, I would have killed you.”

Astra swallowed. “But you didn’t.”

“I don’t like not being in control of myself. My body, my mind. It happened to me twice over the last couple of days… it rattled me, a lot. So, that’s why I kind of, shut down a bit,” she finished, remembering that Sariel and Boblem were still in the room.

“It’s understandable. I shouldn’t have pushed for that… underground place. If I hadn’t, it wouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

“I was trying to tell you… I wouldn’t have left you on your own.” She sighed. “Anyway, it’s done now.”

“You need to remember, you were being charmed,” Boblem added, unsure if he was allowed to chime in. “Manipulated. It wasn’t you wanting those things. Magic can convince you of things that aren't true.”

“I’m supposed to be able to understand, and wield, and resist magic,” she countered.

“Why?”

“Because it’s in my blood! I should, I should be better than this.”

“You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. We’re not always perfect, you know?”

“Exactly,” Astra nodded.

“Yeah.” She leaned back on the bed, staring at her hands.

  
  


Renard left, entering his own room to grab his bag and writing supplies. Cassian followed, propping himself in the doorway to watch. Hearing the sound of the body leaning on the doorframe, Renard whipped around. He bristled as he recognized the figure. “What?”

“Do not mistake this for any kind of caring, but I know what you must think of me… purely based on how our conversations tend to go.” The wizard looked up, speaking to the walls. “I am not so stupid, or proud, that I cannot admit when I have made a mistake, or when a plan has not gone the way I intended it to. And I am more than willing to accept my fate if the guards wish to pin this whole…  _ accident, _ on my actions. What I am concerned about,” he turned his eyes on Renard, “Is what they think of Astra’s move.”

Renard watched him carefully. “Yes, me too.”

“Yes.”

“Both of you have, unfortunately, committed actual crimes.”

“Yes.”

“No matter what happens with the assasination of the guard captain, you two are in big trouble.”

“Precisely, but- ”

“I’m not going to let anything happen to either of you.”

Cassian froze for an imperceptible second, and continued on. “That’s very noble of you, but I am more than willing to put my hands up in this situation. I just don’t- ”

Renard put a hand on Cassian’s shoulder. He tensed, a strange expression on his face as the wizard searched unsuccessfully for eye contact through the darkened mask. “I’m not going to let anything happen to either of you,” he repeated. “Understood?”

Cassian tried his best to search for some kind of emotion on the guarded face, but it was an impossible task. “Why?”

“I have my own reasons. I think the best thing we can possibly do is try and get out of Sanskra.”

“I think we can. I think we try and rustle up a bit of that bandit camp magic again, we will sail right through the city.”

Renard gave a nod. “Yes, I agree. Any ideas, or…?”

The wizard pursued his lips. “Let me sleep on it.”

Realizing his arm was still on Cassian’s shoulder, Renard gave it an awkward pat before retracting the hand. He turned back to his room, gathering his papers into his bag. Cassian looked at his shoulder, and brushed it off with his hand.

“We should get back to the others before they do something reckless,” Renard chuckled. He glanced back at the doorway, but Cassian was already gone. He rolled his eyes. “Right.”

  
  


Back in the room, Boblem inched over to Sariel, doing his best to give her some personal space. “Hi…. I wanted to say I’m sorry, for not making sure you were alright. Just didn’t seem like you wanted to be bothered with a bunch of questions.”

“I didn’t, so thank you.”

“But I just, don’t want you to think that we don’t care? That I don’t care? I want to be able to help you, and not make you feel bad. But I also don’t get the sense that you want us to be around too much. So I dunno how to help, I guess.”

Sariel looked up at him. “Boblem, no one could ever accuse you of not caring.”

Boblem smiled back. “I just, I know the situation back with the dryad wasn’t good. And, if there’s anything that would upset you like that again, or that you think might, could you let me know? And I can try and help, or at least make sure we don’t go into that sort of thing.”

“I wish I had a better handle on it. I thought I did, but apparently not.”

“It’s okay.”

“It was all... rather too much in a very short space of time.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too, I should have known,” Astra echoed.

“You weren’t to know,” Sariel excused him.

“But still, we’re a team. And more importantly than that, we’re friends,” the bard smiled at the group.

“We’re friends?” Boblem looked with excitement to Sariel.

She examined him. “I suppose we are...”

Boblem straightened, beaming. “I have more friends now!”

Elyse remained quiet. Cassian, slipping back into the room, made a face.

“Besides,” Renard began, closing the door after him as he entered, “The situation with the dryads, it’s not like anyone who was charmed had any control. Magic can do cruel things.” He cleared his throat. “I think I have a plan for getting us out of the city.”

“That was quick,” Cassian raised a brow.

There was a knock on the door. They tensed, and answering the door, found Jedda standing there once more. “You four. You’re required downstairs.”

“Okay!” Astra complied.

Cassian sighed. “Alright…”

Renard passed the letter he had scribbled to Elyse.

“That’s the Ten Tails armoury,” Astra informed her.

She nodded. “I know where it is. Good luck.”

“We’ll see you guys soon,” Astra smiled, optimistic. As they left, Renard kicked back his bag with a backward glance at Sariel. She took it.

The boys walked downstairs. The atrium was empty but for two guards, dressed in the armour of the Eyes. They watched them arrive, readying themselves as they pushed open the door.

“Hello,” Astra greeted, doing his best to be friendly. They nodded, silent. They filed out, an archway forming in the mist. There were two more guards posted outside. They picked up their shields and spears, and began to lead. The other two guards were behind them, boxing them in.

“An escort, how fun,” Cassian drawled. The mist disappeared behind them, rolling out and off the building. They were led to the main thoroughfare. They looked around as they were marched through the city. Passing through, they saw a dragonborn, clad in golden and brass armour, coppery scales shining underneath. With huge figures and burly arms crossed, a crest of horns curved up, one shattered. She stared them down as they moved past.

People stopped what they were doing to look as they were marched through. Boblem glanced at the rooftops, and noticed a row of bats hanging from the edge of a building. They were hanging upside down, seemingly awake, and they opened their eyes to flutter their wings and tilt their heads.

They were led through the city, across bridges and pontoons, through winding alleys. After a full hour of walking, they were led to a completely isolated building pushed out on the north side of the city. Bulbs and domes opened outwards, giving the appearance of a bloom. There were three, one central and larger, and two to the sides. The entire building was about a hundred meters wide, with small clusters of buildings to either side, all made of glistening black bamboo. The palace, The Bamboo Bloom.

There were walls around it of bamboo fencing, the entire thing glistening. Pillars, domes, and minarets disappeared upwards into the mist. They walked through the gate and over a bride. Where before the water was solid black, the water here was covered in lily pads, ranging from only a few centimeters to a meter wide, white and yellow lotus flowers blooming on each one. They were led almost to the gate of the palace, but then, they took a sharp left. Walking for another five minutes, they saw a three tiered building with slanted pagoda roofs. The crest of Sanskra hung down in a fabric tapestry. The double doors creaked open, and they were led inside, their boots clicking and ringing out in the silence.

There were ten or twelve guards posted, standing on higher levels, balconies, and entrances, all watching them intently. They were escorted into the atrium and ushered to the basement, into a side room. Looking through slitted windows, they saw wide beams that stretched across, each a meter thick. Hanging from them were black iron cages. Dozens, maybe twenty on each side. Each one was shrouded in its own pocket of mist. There was nothing below but the black of the water.

They were led through a corridor, into a waiting room. The guards stopped, pointing them to the benches. Two left, and two remained. Renard sat, looking visibly shaken from the sight of the cages.

“You won’t be waiting long,” a guard informed them. “Five minutes.”

“Okay! Thank you!” Astra smiled.

“Thanks,” Boblem echoed.

Astra sat next to Renard, putting his backpack on his lap. Boblem followed, standing by the other two. Besides the benches, the room was mostly unadorned.

After a short time, a female sea elf walked in. With a familiar green tinged coloration, long pointed ears webbed and pinned at the edges, and gills on the side of her throat, she sported a tight bun wrapped up on the back of her head. She wore chainmail armour, seemingly in uniform. She pointed to Astra and Cassian. “You two,” she beckoned. “Come with me.”

“Of course,” Cassian nodded, following.

Astra stood. “Okay!”

“The other two of you, wait,” she ordered. “Should you require water, let the guards know.”

“Thank you,” Boblem nodded.

“We’ll see you in a little bit, okay?” Astra comforted the boy.

“Okay… take care?”

“Yeah, sure! We won’t be long.”

Astra and Cassian were led out and up a staircase to a room on the first level. It was a corner room, with wide open windows and a balcony. The palace was visible in the distance. There were a few chairs, a desk, dozens of scrolls on the walls, and the general accoutrements of an office. There was a fair amount of weaponry hung up symmetrically on the wall.

The woman turned. “I’m Leftenant Selrish, of the Eyes of Sanskra. I have been informed of the situation. Please, take a seat.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Cassian sat.

“I’m Verdant Astra,” the bard sat, smiling.

“Cassian Thiarin.”

“Well, that answers my first question,” she replied, taking a seat. “Before we start, is there anything you wish to say?”

“Just that I’m terribly sorry, I didn’t mean for it, I was just trying to calm the situation down. I know I did a bad thing, but I didn’t mean for it to be… that,” Astra apologized.

She looked between the two of them. “Are you aware of the laws of Sanskra?”

Astra shrugged. Cassian jumped in. “Upon our entry, we were told- ”

“Don’t get into trouble,” Astra finished.

“...And don’t start fires. So it was a little bit… vague, I suppose?”

“Perhaps I shall instruct my guards to be more specific,” she nodded. “But we would hope that using enchantment on an armed force is generally regarded as…” she shook her head, “A no-no.”

“I’m sorry,” Astra repeated.

“I’m aware.” She pulled out a notepad and a quill. “Where are you from?”

“Near Riven.”

“Mirrortail,” Cassian followed.

“Wonderful. Why are you in Sanskra?”

He shrugged. “Exploration, more or less. I had a friend who wanted to come here.”

“Who?”

“Ahh…” Cassian stalled, realizing his mistake. “Sariel.”

She seemed to accept it, and turned to Astra. “You, same purpose?”

“Yes, I’m with them.”

“Who do you know here?”

“Just each other. And the people we’ve spoken to, the person who owns the inn we were staying at- ”

“Jedda,” Cassian supplied.

“Yes, Jedda.”

“She’s very nice, has nothing to do with this whole mess.”

The woman took some more notes. “I wish I could say she said the same about you. What do you know of Vherris Bahn?”

“Never heard that name before,” the wizard answered. She stared at both of them for at least twenty seconds, scrutinizing their faces, unconvinced.

“What do you know of Lady Remenra Turquoid? Lord Greymantle?”

“Sorry, what are those names?” Astra furrowed his brow at the pronunciations.

Cassian rolled his eyes, waving him off. “He’s not really from anywhere so I don’t think he knows anyone. And I have never heard those names.”

She added to her notes. “Another name. The Gorgon.”

“Like the creature, or a person who uses the name as an alias?”

“There’s a creature called a Gorgon?” Astra glanced up.

“Yes.”

“What is it?” Then, remembering himself, he turned back to the woman. “Sorry.”

Cassian had heard whispers of the Gorgon. People who dealt in secrets and information. He hadn’t seen anyone like that, but there was talk in the underbellies of cities, an organization that dealt in knowledge. “The secret keepers?” he asked.

“So you’re aware of them. And you’re from Mirrortail?”

“Yes, there’s a lot of… interesting politics, as one may guess about Mirrortail. There’s always whispers of groups who have unsavory intentions, but I’ve never come across any myself.”

“Interesting. By what means did you conjure the whip of crystal?”

“It just comes out of my wand.”

“May I see it?”

“Sure,” he passed it over. She took it, looking it over, and tapping it on the table. She handed it back, looking to Astra. “You. What did you do to the guards? What enchantment did you cast? How did you learn?”

“My mom taught me how to do it. It’s just a calming spell, to try and diffuse situations where everyone’s a bit too stressed. I was honestly scared, because it was so in our faces about something that had happened. My friend Cassian had fallen, so he’d hurt himself as well, so...”

“Hm. Very well.” For another five minutes, there was only the sound of the scratching of her quill. She put away the papers, rolling up her sleeves. “I believe, by virtue of your blank faces, that you were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’m not inclined to believe you had anything to do with the assassination of Commander Vherris Bahn. Regardless, you took the life of someone. You did not know the circumstances, I believe, but regardless, you took a life.”

“I took a life,” Cassian amended. “He did not,” he nodded to Astra.

She nodded. “You took a life,” and to Astra, “You interfered with the mind of a guard.”

“I did,” the bard looked down, guilty.

“For this,” she pulled out two more sheets, stamping wax rings into each. “This is a writ. I am charging you for the offense of murder. I’m charging you for the offense of casting an enchantment upon the guard. Thank your graces or Gods or whoever you pray to that I am not tying you up in anything further.” She turned to Cassian, “You have a week to pay the fine of a hundred gold crowns,” and to Astra, “Thirty-five gold crowns. Please remain in the city, although you are free to leave where you are staying.”

“Thank you,” Astra nodded.

She called for the guards, and they appeared, opening the door. “Bring their friends up.”

As soon as they entered the waiting room, the other two guards stood, gesturing out Renard and Boblem. “You two.”

“You okay?” Boblem whispered to Renard as they stood.

“Fine.”

They were brought up to the same room. As they passed the others, Cassian waved. The Leftenant was waiting for them with a new set of papers, and she looked them over as they entered. “I was told about the mask,” she observed, “We’ll have it off.”

Renard removed it, and she studied him for a second. Boblem smiled and waved, causing her to smile the smallest amount before looking down at her papers to retain her serious composure. “I have spoken to your acquaintances. Anything to say before we start?”

“Just that we had nothing to do with this,” Renard answered.

“We just kinda saw our friends act out and then, we ran after them,” Boblem added.

She nodded. “I understand that you were not… Neither of you cast the enchantment, and neither of you took the life of this person.”

“But we didn’t know there were laws against using magic here,” Boblem reasoned.

“There are generally laws against using magic against people. Most particularly, the guard.”

“Nowhere I’ve ever been,” Boblem replied, looking genuinely confused.

“Well then. Who are you? Where are you from? Both of you.”

“Ferrelstadt,” Renard answered.

“Um, I’m Boblem, from my farm?” the boy answered.

“Where is your farm based, sir?”

“Kind of… around everywhere? Couldn’t really tell… It moves.”

“I don’t follow.”

“He’s not particularly sure,” Renard interjected.

She looked back over to him. “Are you nomadic? That would make sense.”

“...Yeah?” Boblem offered, not entirely understanding what that word meant.

She scribbled her notes, looking back to Renard. “Ferrelstadt you say? What brings you to Sanskra?”

“We were travelling into the area, we told the guards when we arrived. We’d just been curious about this, we passed a water genasi ranger from Jennick’s Village, and they told us of Sanskra, and we were somewhat in awe.”

“Who do you know here?”

“My friends that I came here with,” Boblem answered.

Renad nodded. “We’ve spoken with only with some people, um, at the Water Snakes.”

“No one else you know here?”

They shook their heads. “Curious. Your friends seemed to have a contact here.”

“Oh, well, there’s more of us in our small group,” Renard covered.

“Hm. No matter.” She went on to ask them about the same names she had listed for the others. Boblem told her that they had only heard of Lady Turquoid when they arrived, and how a guard had told them of her many human servants. Renard had heard the name Lord Greymantle in association with Shadebourne. Neither of them had heard of the Gorgon.

She closed her notes, sealing them. “Currently, I am not charging you with anything.”

“Thank you,” Boblem nodded.

“I ask that you remain in the city a week. I can disclose to you that your allies, your acquaintances, have been charged. They will not be allowed to leave the city until they have paid a fine.”

“Of how much?” Renard asked.

“That’s between myself and them. Whether they choose to disclose that to you is up to them.”

“I’ll pay on their behalf,” he offered.

“Very well, arrange that with them.”

“Are they going to be okay?” Boblem worried.

“If they can pay the fine, of course. I don’t believe that you might be tied up in anything greater. I believe you might be, truly, four idiots who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I say that in jest, but, someone who could have been of great use under investigation lies with a broken neck. Many questions remain unanswered. You are free to leave your residence, but please, remain in the city until your allies’ fines are paid.”

Renard leaned forward. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

“We’ll see about that. We’ll send word.”

“Thank you,” Boblem smiled, feeling better.

“Might I let you know. There will be eyes kept on you whilst you’re in this city. Don’t- and I repeat this- don’t cause any more trouble. You may leave.” She stood, and they were escorted downstairs. The four of them were all asked to sign documents, Renard’s and Boblem’s stating they were free to go, Astra’s and Cassian’s agreeing to the charges.

They signed,

_ Renard de la Mer _

_ Verdant Astra _

_ Cassian Thiarin _

_ Boblem :) _

Ren peeked over at the other papers. “How much are the charges?”

“Thirty five gold,” Astra answered, embarrassed.

“One hundred,” Cassian followed.

Boblem swallowed at the number. “Oh my… Oh boy.”

“Maybe I can get a job?” Astra brainstormed.

Cassian considered, tilting his head. “We could both get a job, that would be fun.”

Boblem rummaged in his bag. “I have seven gold…?”

Renard dropped his coin purse on the desk with a heavy clink. “It’s not quite all of it,” he warned. Boblem passed over his seven coins.

“I’ve got money,” Astra looked in his bag.

“I would need another five.”

“Done,” Cassian answered, dropping a few more coins on the desk.

“We’ll sort it out later, okay?” Renard assured the bard, who seemed concerned about others paying for him. The person behind the desk, a male dwarf, looked very surprised.

“Well then… you’ll be needing these,” he pulled out two more forms, each stating that the fines had been paid. “You are cleared of charges.”

“You will be paying me back this time,” Renard added. “Both of you.”

“I will! I will,” Astra nodded fervently.

Two guards pushed open the doors, allowing them to leave. Astra smiled at them on the way out. “Thank you! You’ve got a really nice place here!”

“Stop, Astra,” Renard hushed him.

“Okay.”

Two guards escorted them out, no longer flanking them, simply guiding them along. They were brought to the gate. “You are very lucky,” Renard admonished.

Cassian shrugged. “It could have gone a lot worse.”

“Could have gone better,” Boblem countered.

“Where I’m from, murder is not paid with a fine,” Renard sighed as they stepped out onto the street. “Well, at least that’s over.”

“Now we need to pay you back,” the bard nodded.

“Yes, you definitely do.”

“I will,” he dug in his bag and passed over seventeen gold. Surprised, Renard accepted it.

“Astra, just give him your share of the map money whenever we cash that in,” Cassian chided, his debt to Renard seemingly not a priority.

“Well yes, but I want to pay it off, I don’t want to be stuck in debt.”

“Is this all the money you have on you?” Renard eyed the tiefling. He fidgeted. Renard gave him seven back. He accepted.

“I can get money easy, don’t worry.”

“You can play your music again.”

“Mhm!” he smiled.

They began the long walk back to the inn. As they passed, Ren noticed a few new posters up. Looking closer, he saw a damp paper, smudged to illegibility. Another paper was hammered on top of it, this time coated in wax. He immediately recognized Elyse’s face. A flash of blue hair, shaved on one side, front and center.

“...That’s Elyse?” Boblem observed, wondering.

Renard glanced around. There were a few people milling about, and a guard at the corner looking bored. The poster also depicted a half-elf male, and a humanoid woman. He didn’t recognize them. He chuckled a bit. “Uh-oh, Elyse.”

“Well, that’s not us…” Astra observed, trying to stay optimistic.

“We need to get rid of these.”

Boblem scratched his head. “What did she do? We were gone five minutes!”

“Is this what she was doing when she wasn’t with us? She was meeting people and… doing crime?” Astra worried.

Renard raised a brow behind the mask. “No, I get the feeling this is perhaps… why she wanted to come here.”

“But she was very angry with us when she found out about the crime!” Boblem protested.

Cassian glanced back to the poster. “I think perhaps Elyse has been doing crime longer than we have.”

“Maybe it’s Elyse who needs that disguise kit,” Renard turned to Astra, lowering his voice.

The bard bit his lip. “Maybe you’re right…”

“We should get back to her as fast as we can.” Renard continued to lead the others onwards, Cassian swiping the poster and stealthily adding it into his bag.

  
  


Back in the room, Elyse and Sariel loitered for a minute after the boys were escorted away.

ELyse cleared her throat. “We’ll go in a bit, but there’s just something I need to do first, in my room, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course,” Sariel agreed.

“Thank you,” she left, locking her room door behind her as she entered. Sitting on the floor, she took out her focus as well as the piece of cage from the wreckage. She began to channel magic between both pieces. Closing her eyes, she conjured the image of the shadowy figure, glowing from within. In the same low, guttural, and harsh language, she whispered. “If you are watching me right now, I don’t quite understand what or who you are, but I feel like you know more than me about this. And I just need to know, if they are in the city, if it’s worth staying here. And what the fuck is going on.”

The focus began to glow and light up, reflected against the copper cage. Suddenly, the strut of metal snapped to it like a magnet, the focus floating in the air as usual. She was able to pull it off, but letting go, it would return. She huffed. “Are you only ever going to talk to me when I’m dying or naked? Because this relationship seems pretty one-way at the moment.”

No response. She kept trying until her energy wore out. The focus drifted back to her hand. “Okay fine, I’ll do it myself.” She returned the two pieces to her pouch, and went to inspect the poster she had torn down. The scar on her face was missing, but it was very clearly her likeness. She tore it up. It was hard, because of the wax. Gathering the bits, she burned them away in her hand, careful not to let the small fire get out of control in a city like this. The smell of smoke wafted through the room.

Spending a few minutes steeling herself, she checked the window for dragonborn. She caught a glimpse of gold, but it wasn’t armour. A woman in a long gold dress was walking past the building. She was a bout 6’ 2” with very dark brown skin, a shaved head, and long pointed ears, crests of gold detailing on the tips. On the back of her neck, slivers of gold travelled up her head. In a thin strapped dress which flowed down her like a waterfall, the garment lifted itself like smoke, avoiding puddles and dirt. Another glint of gold, contrasting the deep brown of her skin, was a row of bangles, some kind of gauntlet that covered her arm completely. She took elegant steps over the bridge, disappearing around the corner.

Standing by the window, she took out her focus and made one last try, pouring magic into it as she called out to that creature. She projected the sensation of falling and reaching out in her mind. A word came to her. Not a voice, but a word clear in her thoughts. Or maybe not a word, but an idea.

_ Patience. _

“I don’t really have the capacity for that right now,” she pleaded. “But, if you say so…” She put away the focus and went to meet Sariel, locking the door behind her.

  
  


While she had been waiting, Sariel took Renard’s bag from the floor, moving it to her room. She peeked in. There were many scrolls. She recognized which one the map was, but there was no way to tell which scroll was the special one Renard had been specifically concerned about. But she could guess. Most of the bag was loose papers, letters addressed to him, blank writing pages, but there was one scroll wrapped in a nice leather.

She took the scroll. Opening the map, she put the scroll inside of it, rolling it and returning it to the map’s tube. She took the whole thing and put it with the rest of her own belongings. The rest of Renard’s bag went in the lockbox in her room. She took the key with her.

Elyse knocked on her door, and the elf opened it. “You ready? I was wondering if maybe you have anything, or any kind of spell that might be able to hide a scar?”

“Not a scar in particular, but I can hide us.”

“Yeah, me too, I just… don’t know how long I’m going to have to be out in the city. I don’t want to waste my magic when it’s not necessary.”

“Is someone looking for you?”

Elyse flicked her eyes to the doorframe. “I don’t know.”

“What’s happened?”

She considered. “There are some people here looking for the same artifact I am, and I want to find it first. And I don’t want them to know I’m looking for it.”

“No, something’s different. You’re different. You’re scared.”

Elyse chuckled, evading. “Because they’re all big scary dragonborn! So if you see any dragonborn in the city, stay away from them.”

She didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t pry further. “Alright. Do you need me to hide us?”

“With the spell you used on the crocodile?”

“Yes.”

“That would work for now.”

Sariel set the spell, and they slipped silently through the alleyways and streets. Elyse kept her eyes on their surroundings. She heard the clanking of armour first, and disappeared into the shadows of an alcove, bringing Sariel with her. Three dragonborn stepped heavily past, but they didn’t seem to notice her. The two she had seen before were more iron in coloration, but these were two brass, and one copper colored with a broken horn and slightly more ornate armour. Elyse recognized her.

She watched them head north. “Was it them in particular you wanted to avoid, or just any kind of guard?” Sariel whispered.

“The dragonborn in particular. Her especially. Don’t go anywhere near her.”

They arrived at the Ten Tails easily enough. Elyse remained in the shadows while Sariel stepped out to offer Renard’s note to the man at the armoury. The blacksmith seemed confused, but they handed over the sword, leather armour, and chainmail. The armour was cleaned and repaired, but the sword had not yet been sharpened. They gave her a gold coin back as a partial refund.

Elyse looked out at the streets and rooftops as Sariel spoke with the man. There wasn’t much to see, except for a black bat, hanging off the edge of a roof before fluttering away to the south. “Sariel, do you mind if we go take a look at something, quickly?”

The elf glanced up at her, appraising her. “We’ve got about forty minutes left on the spell.”

“Okay.”

“What is it you want to see?”

“I saw something that might lead me to someone I know. I just, have to know if they’re here.”

“I thought you were trying to avoid people you know.”

“There are some people I want to find, and there are some people I don’t want to find. And this might lead me to someone I really want to find.”

“Alright.”

“Thank you.”

Elyse started after the bat, but it was impossible to track. Even climbing to the top of a roof, it had disappeared. After a few minutes, a dwarf popped their head out of a window. “The fuck are you doing?”

She glanced over, trying to look official. “Inspecting the tiles, don’t worry about it.”

“Thank fuck! They’re leaking like crazy.”

“Don’t worry mate! We’ll sort it out!”  
  
“I’m waiting! You don’t look like an inspector…” He didn’t seem to be buying it.

“Just leave us to it, we’ll get someone in. Don’t worry.”

“Arghhh…” He ducked back inside.

She walked a bit further, but was forced to return to the ground when the rooftops ended.

“What was it you were trying to follow?” Sariel asked.

“I saw a bat. And I know that might not sound too unusual but, I know someone who… has a lot of bats.”

Sariel considered this. Bats certainly were not native to this area. It was suspicious. “Bats shouldn’t live here. It’s too wet for them.”

“It has to be his.” Elyse kept moving. They passed by the south bridge, the only entrance and exit to Sanskra. A couple of guards saw them, but didn’t make any move to stop them as they passed. “Fucking dammit…” she whispered to herself.

  
  


The boys made their way back to the inn. “What do we do about that?” Boblem asked as they passed another crop of posters.

“We’ll talk about it when we’re private, somewhere,” Renard hushed him.

Guards looked up at them when they passed, but they didn’t leave their posts. They had probably all been warned about them. “They seem to be very watchful of us now,” Boblem warned the others.

“Pay them no mind,” Cassian advised.

As they entered the Water Snakes, Jedda looked up. “I’ve heard you are no longer… under arrest. Whether you wish to stay here is up to you. But if you go, or you continue to stay,” she held up a scroll, “Someone left this for you.”

Renard observed the scroll cautiously before taking it. “Okay.”

“What did they say?” Boblem pressed.

“They called for you four, specifically,” she shrugged.


	15. Raise A Glass, Episode Thirteen

Renard began to unscroll the paper.

Astra stopped him. “Should we go upstairs to read it?”

“Um…”

“Give Jedda a break?”

“Please,” the woman begged, visible bags under her eyes.

“Yeah… we can go to our room,” Boblem agreed.

“Thank you,” Renard nodded to the woman, before leading the group to the double room upstairs. 

She called up to them as they left. “Your stay has been covered for the next three days, by the guard. They expected you’d be in town. I’m aware that your charges have been lifted, but your stay has been covered.”

“One more thing,” Boblem asked. “What did the person who dropped off this letter look like?”

She thought. “She was an elf. Tall, very dark skin. Shaved head. Lots of jewelry, not seen it before.”

Cassian inclined his head. “Sounds delightful.”

“Bit intimidating, actually.”

They thanked her, and continued up. “Do any of you know anyone like that?” Boblem asked.

“Sound familiar to any of you?” followed Renard.

Heads shook in dissent. There was a seal in deep blue wax, depicting a hand that grasped a branch with leaves, and a blade at the bottom of the fist. As soon as they were in the room, Renard broke the seal. The letter was very short and simple.  _ Your presence is requested at the nearest availability. _ There was an address in the shallows, the northeast end of the city. It was signed,  _ Lady Remenra Turquoid. _ The same seal stamped at the bottom.

“Lady Turquoid… we should see to this immediately.”

Boblem’s head perked up. “Didn’t they mention that name? When they were interrogating us?”

“She’s the person that’s like… the most in charge of this area, right?” Astra glanced around the group.

Renard looked back at the paper. “The guards at the entrance told us- ”

“This is the lady with all the servants,” Cassian interrupted.

“The Lady,” Renard continued, shooting a glance at the wizard, “Makes her home here and has a lot of servants. And she comes and goes as she pleases, but I don't know any more than that.”

“Well sure! Why not,” Astra agreed. “We’re allowed to walk around now, so, might as well.”

  
  


Elyse and Sariel had wandered around the town for a bit longer to no avail.

“Elyse, I can’t hold the spell for much longer,” Sariel warned.

The sorceress looked very on edge. “Okay, okay let’s go back.”

They loitered at the inn, and upon the arrival of the boys, they entered with Renard’s sword and armour. “Got your shit,” Elyse announced, chucking it at him.

“Good,” he inspected the items. The blade was unsharpened.

“Yeah, he didn’t finish that,” she shrugged. “But the armour seems to have been done.”

“Fine. I can, I suppose, try and do it myself.”

Sariel handed him the map.

“Thank you.”

“The rest of your stuff is in my room.”

“Thank you, I truly appreciate that.”

Elyse went to the window, deep in thought, still looking for bats.

“What happened?” Sariel asked.

“We got asked a lot of questions,” Astra replied.

“We’ve been let off the accusations, and Cassian and Astra’s fines have been paid,” Renard answered.

Boblem nodded. “Was a lot of money!”

Elyse leaned against the wall. “That’s good, no other trouble then? Free to wander?”

“Oh, we did find a wanted poster with your face on it,” Renard added, feigning an afterthought. Cassian modelled the poster, retrieving it from his bag.

Her face contorted with anger. “That poster is fucking bullshit,” she grabbed it from the wizard, burning it in her hands.

“There’s quite a lot of them,” Astra apologized.

Sariel stared at her. “That’s why you wanted to be unseen.”

She was silent.

“Elyse?” Renard prompted. “If you’ve done something we need to know about, I would appreciate hearing about it, but- ”

Elyse jumped in. “I haven’t done anything. Like I said, it’s- ”

“I don’t know if I speak for all of us, but, I’d say that we won’t press until you're ready to tell us, as long as you tell us when we’re in danger. If there are people looking for you, who do we need to avoid, and how quickly do we need to get out of the city? Because we’re supposed to stay here for a week.”

She pursued her lips. “A week?”

“Yeah, we can’t leave,” Boblem explained.

“Oh, we can! We can now that we’ve paid it,” Astra corrected. “We’ve paid the fines, we’re allowed to leave.”

“We can go now,” Cassian nodded. Renard visibly relaxed.

“But we did just get that letter, we need to go…” Astra reminded them.

“The Lady of Sanskra has requested our presence,” Renard informed the girls.

Elyse raised a brow. “Lady of Sanskra?”

“Turquoid,” a chorus of male voices elaborated.

She looked over them. “Why?”

Blank faces.

“Does it say?” Sariel pressed.

Renard read the letter to them.

They sat in silence for a bit. “Do you know the other people in the poster, Elyse?” Boblem asked, turning the conversation back around.

Renard surveyed her face for answers. “Are they the people you’re looking for?”

“Some of them, yeah,” she admitted. “Okay, the people you need to watch out for are dragonborn. Stay away from them, they’re dangerous.”

“Many guards were dragonborn…” Boblem worried. “Seemed like it.”

“Yeah, there’s a few of them in the city.”

Renard nodded, mask bobbing up and down. “Shouldn’t be hard to spot.”

“There are other people looking for this artifact, and it’s… a point of contention, you could say. Um, basically, they don’t want us to have it and we don’t want them to have it.”

Astra met her eyes. “What is it?”

“What is this artifact you keep mentioning? Don’t tell me you don’t know,” Renard warned.

She tensed, debating for a long moment. “Okay, okay,” she sighed, giving up. “So you know I said I was  _ looking _ for an artifact…”

“Yes?”

“Well, that’s not entirely true, because I  _ was _ looking for an artifact. And you’ve all seen it before,” she pulled out her arcane focus by the chain.

Renard put a hand to his forehead. “Did you steal it?”

“Not technically… because it always should have belonged to me.”

“Then what are you looking for?” Boblem asked.

Renard wasn’t done with the artifact yet. “Did you take it from those dragonborn?”

She looked to the floor. “Yes. They call it stealing, I call it reclaiming. It… it was always supposed to belong to me.” She held it close, her thumbs stroking over the lantern as her hands shook.

Astra took a guess. “Is it like an heirloom?”

“It responds to you,” Cassian observed.

“Yeah. And yeah. My mother had it, it’s been passed down in my family for... as long as my family has ever existed, from what I know. And then it went missing, and then I found out that there was a chance that I could find it again, and I took it. Well, I say find it again, I’ve never had it. Sorry,” she put her hand on her face, still clutching the object. Renard put a hand on her shoulder.

“How long have you had it?” Sariel wondered.

“I think… I’m not entirely sure. But I think just over a week. I don’t really know.”

“So just before you met us?” Renard confirmed.

Boblem raised a hand. “You don’t know, or you can’t remember?”

She looked at him. “I... don’t know.”

“I think the important question to follow with is, what do you want to do now?” Renard pressed. “If people are hunting you down in the city.”

“Your face is plastered everywhere,” Astra warned.

She grimaced. “I know.”

“Although Astra does have a disguise kit,” Renard looked over to the tiefling.

“I was about to say, I can help with that,” the bard nodded.

She considered it. “That might be helpful. I... the thing is I know I should leave the city, but I feel like I need to stay here. There are other people who are involved and I want to find them, I think some of them might be here.”

“And we can help you with it,” Cassian smiled softly, meaning it.

“We are your friends,” Astra nodded.

“You’re willing to help me with this?” she looked over them, wary.

“Of course.” Renard’s hand was still on her shoulder. “I’ve told you that before.”

She looked at him in disbelief. “You of all people?”

He paused, searching for the words. “I've been frustrated with you, I’ve gotta be honest, but my offer to help still stands.”

“You’re a terribly curious creature Elyse, I would not want to miss out on this adventure,” Cassian elaborated, his smile becoming a bit more sly.

“I'm not going to leave you to do things on your own,” Astra continued.

“I would like to ask that if we help you with this, then, perhaps you help me with what I need to do after this,” Renard finished, dropping the hand.

She glanced at him. “That seems fair.”

“Time is, somewhat of the essence,” he explained, “But there may be a way I can find

information here, and well, we've got this Lady of Turquoid to speak to now.”

“And we've also got the rooms for an extra three days,” the bard added.

“Oh yeah, would seem rude to just leave when she paid for them,” Boblem considered.

“So you want me to try and do your makeup a bit different? I can make you look different that way,” Astra offered. “Because you’ve got everything else covered,” he glanced at her headscarf.

“Yeah, if you could cover the scar… I don’t know if they know about my scar,” Elyse wondered.

“It’s not on the poster,” Renard thought.

“No, it’s not.”

“Make it a bigger scar,” Cassian suggested.

“But they might, they might know…”

Astra seemed set on his idea. “I can change your face. I can make you look different, so you won’t look... like you.”

“That would be helpful. I can do that myself, but I don’t want to burn all my ability to use magic.”

“It’s a kit, it’s not magic. It’s just a kit,” he assured her. “Just makeup.”

Elyse nodded. “To be honest, I always saw this as a temporary arrangement to get me from one place to another, to find the ship. But…”

“You weren’t going to stay with us,” Renard finished.

“No. I'm not familiar with these lands, and I needed people who were. And that's why I've offered you the chance multiple times to get away from me, and my shit that you have no need or business to be involved in.”

“Well, it seems like you’re stuck with us, now.”

“We don’t want something bad to happen to you,” Boblem agreed. “If these are

dangerous people.”

Astra followed with his own support. “I don't know how many times I have to keep saying this, that you are my friend, regardless of anything that happened. Which means I'm not gonna let you go out there into danger.”

“And top of that, I said this after the airship, but we make a reasonably good team whenever we put our heads to it,” Renard added.

She had to agree to that. “We do.”

“I'm gonna need help, you could probably do with assistance here, and so I suggest that we stick together as a group for as long as it takes to get what we need to do done. If everyone would be okay with that.”

Elyse looked genuinely shocked at the many admissions around the room.

“I quite like to take care of my friends,” Boblem repeated.

There was a moment of silence after that, and then Astra went to work. He did his best to add makeup, though it wasn’t great. She was appreciative of the effort, but she tried a second time herself. It was much better. She decided to cover the scar.

“Well, you’re better at it than I am,” Astra shrugged with a smile.

Renard surveyed the room. “So, Boblem’s with us. Astra, you’re sticking around, I can tell.”

“You don’t sound too happy about that,” the bard teased. They shared a short laugh before Renard turned to address the pair of elephants in the room.

“Sariel? Cassian?”

“Oh I’m fine here,” the wizard answered. “This is an interesting lot, and I’m sure we will head to many interesting places.”

Sariel nodded, silent.

Elyse laughed, a bit nervous. “Okay, well, if you’re going to be involved in all this, I feel it should go without saying, but given what’s been happening to this group lately… subtlety and discrecion are a must. And, you go around introducing yourself to everyone with your full name, right off the bat,” she turned to Astra. He looked confused.

“It’s dangerous, it can be,” Renard explained.

“It can be dangerous for some people,” Elyse agreed. “I might call myself by different names, just go with it.”

“Right, okay,” Astra nodded.

“So we lie?” Boblem worried.

Elyse fixed her gaze on him. “Yes.”

“Because dangerous people can do bad things with the truth,” Renard concluded.

“Yes, exactly.”

“And they can lie worse,” Cassian smirked.

Astra shifted where he sat, worried. “Should we say different names?”

Renard gave a nod. “Or no names at all. There’s no need to introduce yourself to everyone.”

“It doesn’t necessarily apply to you guys,” Elyse clarified. “I was more talking about myself.”

“What would you like us to call you?”

“Um, let’s go with Zavine for now.”

Sariel piped up. “Has this Lady of Turquoid requested us specifically, or…?”

“Is it all of us?” Elyse pressed.

“Well it came for us four, but if I think if we’re going to operate together, we should go there together,” Renard suggested.

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea for me to go there, though I want to.”

“You could be invisible.”

“You also don’t look like you now,” Astra encouraged.

“Yeah, it’s just still risky. These dragonborn seemed to have got in with the Eyes, with the guard. You saw the poster, it’s got the official seal from both of them. And the other two people in that poster, I think at least one of them is in the city. If you’ve seen any bats around…”

“Oh, there were plenty of them. Where we went to see the… judge?” Boblem finished, still confused about the entire situation at the palace.

“When we were walking to the palace, the Bamboo palace,” Renard explained.

“Yeah, there were a lot of them hanging up there, didn’t you notice?”

“How many?” she asked.

Astra shrugged. “I didn’t see them.”

“I didn’t count them,” Boblem followed. “There were a lot.”

She smiled. “Okay, that’s good.”

“See? We can be helpful,” Renard teased.

“Well, I kinda wish I hadn’t burned the poster now, but the guy, the half-elf, he has five pet bats that he keeps with him at all times.”

“Aww, that’s cute!” Astra cooed.

“They really are, I love them so much,” Elyse grinned. “We saw a bat earlier, and we tried to follow it but we couldn’t. We kind of lost it.”

“And what’s his name?”

She hesitated. “Xander.”

The bard grinned. “I like that name.”

“Can you still speak with animals?” Sariel turned to Boblem.

“I’m not prepared for it today, I’m afraid,” he apologized.

“That’s okay! We’ll figure it out,” Astra reassured him. “But we’ve got a name we can keep an ear out for.” 

“And we can see one of those other posters, if we find one,” Renard concluded

“Burn them. All of them,” Elyse ordered.

“But take a look first,” he countered.

Astra grimaced. “We kind of have the guards watching our every movement, probably shouldn’t do that.”

She shrugged. “Tear them down, bring them to me. I’ll burn them. Whatever.”

“Am I the only one not being watched in this city?” Sariel wondered.

“Seems so,” Astra replied, sheepish.

“But I don’t think they’re suspicious of us anymore, they dropped all the charges,” Renard offered.

Boblem frowned. “They still look at us whenever we walk anywhere,”

Cassian tossed his hair. “I think they would look at us regardless, we are a bunch of foreigners.”

“We do stick out like a sore thumb,” Renard agreed.

Elyse nodded. “Sanskra does seem relatively insular.”

“You cause trouble once, they expect you to do it again,” Sariel warned.

The bard turned to Elyse. “Well, where should we go?”

“Maybe… where did you see the bats?”

“Near the Bamboo Bloom,” Boblem repeated.

“So near the archives…”

“The archives?” Renard prompted.

“Yeah, I’d like to go check out that area.”

“I’d like to as well.”

“But shall we respond to this letter?” Astra pressed.

Renard was shaken from the distraction. “Yes, let’s go. I wouldn’t want to keep her waiting.”

“She sounded quite stunning,” Cassian reflected, intrigued.

“Elyse,” Renard turned back to the sorcerer. “Stick with us.”

She was silent.

“We’ve got your back,” Astra bumped her shoulder.

“...Thank you,” she responded, unsure.

Renard stopped by his room to put the map in his lockbox and get his armour back on. The group left under Jedda’s watchful eye before she made her way up to their rooms to clean them. They walked through the city, heading northeast.

  
  


They walked for about fifteen minutes before they heard a voice from behind. “You! Stop! The six of you!”

“Hello!” Astra was quick to be friendly as the group turned. Elyse took stock of herself. She was wearing her new outfit and headwrap, and with the makeup, her skin was a bit lighter, and her scar was covered. About fifteen meters away was a Sanskran guard and a dragonborn in conversation. The guard was pointing at Astra, speaking to a dragonborn. “There, c’mon, c’mon, come with. He’s been with them.”

They pushed through the crowd towards them. The dragonborn had brassy scales and gilded armour, and stood about 6’ 3”, reaching 6’ 8” with the horns. They stopped, looking over the group. “This is definitely them,” the guard said. “I saw her with them. I’m not sure…”

The dragonborn stared at them, leaning in to look at each of them, especially Elyse. “Can we help with anything?” Astra offered.

“Something the matter?” Elyse blinked up, innocently. Their nostrils flared, and they pulled out a piece of paper, glancing at it.

They looked back to her. “You are to remove your hood.”

Boblem, Astra, and Elyse answered in tandem. “Why?”

“Just so I can check something.”

“It’s a cultural thing,” Astra offered.

“Yeah, I don’t…” Elyse shook her head, grabbing the excuse.

“That matters little. I just need to see the color of your hair.”

“Why?”

“Don’t waste my time.”

She moved her hands up, as as she did, she subtly traced arcane symbols in the air. The rest of her group, watching intently, noticed flickers of gold from her hands. The dragonborn and the Sanskran guard were both fixed on her eyes, unaware of the magic. The smallest drift of golden dust washed off the back of her scarf as she pulled it away, revealing a short black bob of tight curls. The dragonborn leaned in closer, taking a sniff. Then, they nodded. “On your way.”

Elyse did her best to look confused. “Do you mind telling us what this is about? Something wrong?” She rewrapped the headscarf.

The dragonborn stared at them. “Where are you staying? The rest of you?”

“The Jumping Swallows,” Renard lied.

The guard turned back to the dragonborn. “They were definitely with her. Blue hair. I’d recognize this one,” he nodded to Astra.

“I’m not very subtle looking,” the tiefling smiled.

“No. Very well. Jumping Swallows.” They glanced at them once more, and turned away.

The group let out a breath. “Well done,” Astra complimented.

“That was very impressive,” Cassian agreed.

Elyse gave a small smile. “Thanks.”

Boblem nodded. “Yeah, so quick with it!”

“Continue on our way then,” Astra squeezed Elyse’s hand. She squeezed back.

“Let’s keep going,” Renard urged.

They continued northeast. They saw the palace in the distance, about five hundred meters away. The mist was slightly thinner, letting them see a bit further. They continued through the bustle of the city. There was a small pontoon leading out over the main chunk of the city, and a large houseboat. WIth three tiers in dark purple wood and black trim, it had gorgeous ivory inlaid detail.

There were a few people on the boat, standing at ready, with two more on the edge of the pontoon. They wore crimson robes, with copper scale mail on their shoulders and over their chests. They had copper shields and spears, some with short bows on their backs. Their helmets came to points in spikes over a full face of scale, with two small eyeholes.

Renard approached, scroll in hand. “Good afternoon. We’ve been summoned.”

One nodded. “Yes, you have.” They turned, beckoning, and led them up the pontoon.

“That was easy enough!” Astra smiled.

The bridge swayed slightly as they stepped onto the boat. Before them was an ornate door, pushed open for them. Inside was a large, open room, at least fifteen feet wide and long. On a sort of chaise longue in the corner was a woman in gold flowing dress that almost seemed to move like smoke from the way it billowed. She had deep, deep brown skin, clearly an elf, with long pointed ears almost ten inches long. One of her hands, resting on the side of the chaise longue, was covered past the elbows in bangles, or perhaps some type of gauntlet, connected by a number of rings. She had a shaved head, with strips of gold laid on the top of her skull and down her neck. Elyse recognized the woman from earlier.

She looked towards them, flashing a vivid smear of gold eyeshadow. She stood, closing her book, and reaching about 6’ 2”. “Welcome. My name is Verran Greywood. You’re here to see the Lady. May I have your names?”

“Renard.”

“Cassian.”

“Boblem!”

“Verdant Astra.”

“Zavine.”

“Sariel.”

The elf nodded. “I ask that you leave your weapons here.”

“I’m not carrying any weapons,” Astra smiled. The rest of the group set about disarming themselves. Renard took off his belt and sword, Elyse offered up her daggers, and Cassian passed over a crossbow with two daggers of his own. Boblem had a small axe on him, though it was more a tool than a weapon. The guards accepted the pile, holding out their hands to collect the items.

“They’re pretty much ornamental, they’re very delicate, please take care of them,” Elyse requested as she let her weapons go.

“Understood.”

Sariel passed over a small dagger, as well as her staff. The guard accepted the knife, but allowed her to keep the latter. Their weapons were placed in a trunk at the side of the room. 

The entire space was ornately decorated, even the edges of the tables inlaid with ivory detailing. There were paintings on the walls of busts, figures, and landscapes. The boat slowly rocked underneath them.

“Come with me,” the elf turned, leading them through to the edge of the wall. Pressing her hand on it, a hidden door pushed gently open. They stepped into a semicircular room with windows of smoked quartz at the far end. It was a reclining room, with a long C shaped desk in the center, and rows and rows of scrolls, parchment, and books lining the walls. A lush, velvety carpet led to the desk.

Tapping her fingers behind the desk was a human woman in her early forties, with pale skin, a pointed chin, and deep brown eyes. She had black hair in a loose bun, a few strands falling down her face. She wore a deep blue jacket, with a silver metal breastplate strapped on overtop. It bore the same sigil, a fist clutching a branch with leaves, and a knife below. A lush fur mantel draped around her shoulders. She held a walking stick in one hand, a short staff, while the other hand tapped away on the desk. “Thank you Verran.”

As the group’s vision was drawn to the woman, Astra and Elyse noticed a shape shift in the corner, almost feline. It was difficult to keep their eyes on it. It was almost the size of a lion, but it melted into the shadow.

The doors shut behind them, and Verran stalked around the room, placing her unadorned hand on the Lady’s shoulder.

Renard approached with a bow. At that, she smiled slightly, raising her eyebrows.

“My Lady, you’ve summoned us?”

“Well, I’m glad someone knows the proper courtesy.”

Taking the cue, Boblem, Astra, and Elyse fumbled behind with their own bow. Cassian followed, but only after sizing her up with his eyes. Sariel was hiding herself away at the back of the group.

She examined them, inclining her head. “My name is Lady Remenra Turquoid. You may call me Lady Turqouid. I’m pleased to have you in Sanskra. I hear you’ve caught yourself up in some affairs.”

“It’s all sorted through, now,” Astra spoke up.

“Just an unpleasant little accident,” Cassian followed.

“An accident…” she considered. “Convenient, truly. Mind telling me what brings you to Sanskra?”

They were silent, all waiting for someone to make an excuse. “It’s a city of many wonders and mysteries. We wanted to see it,” Elyse offered.

“Adventure,” Cassian supported. “Curiosity.”

Renard gave a more concrete answer. “We were travelling from Jennick’s Village through the hills. We met with one of the Jennick’s Village rangers who was from here, and we were intrigued.”

She stared at them. “That’s all? Curiosity?”

“It’s a city of legend,” Renard continued. “You can’t blame us for being curious.”

“Some people say it doesn’t even exist, we had to see it for ourselves,” Elyse laughed, trying to appear friendly.

“Some people say many things don’t exist,” the Lady countered. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but the commander of the guard, Vherris Bahn, was most recently killed.”

“We were informed,” Renard nodded.

She looked to Cassian. “I understand you… had contact, with the assailant.”

“I suppose you could put it like that,” he chuckled.

She gave him a small smile in response. “I regret to inform you, the blame for this killing has been put squarely on my head.”

Cassian tilted his head, curious. Boblem piped up. “Why?”

“Yeah, why?” Elyse followed.

“This city has it out for me. I ask you here for your help. I need your assistance in clearing my name.”

Renard bowed his head again. “We will do whatever we can.”

The group was suspicious. It seemed there was a lot she wasn’t telling them, but they didn’t know enough to judge her character just yet. “I have resources…” she continued. “Whatever you need, whatever brings you to this city… I have connections, friends, money, favors.”

“What we’ll need is information.”

“Exactly.”

Cassian wasn’t convinced. “I mean no offense my lady, but, would it not seem awfully coincidental and strange to the guard that we clear our names and suddenly we're helping the next person they lay the blame on?”

“I'm not expecting you to make this aware to the guards. They are keeping an eye on me, as I’m sure they are keeping an eye on you.”

“Correct.”

“But if I'm to understand from… whispers on the vine, you might be more skilled in the art of deception then some of the men I employ,” she glanced outwards with a discerning sneer towards a few guards. “I have need of your tricks. Don’t think you haven’t been seen since coming into the city. You draw attention. What I need is for you to be subtle, gather information on who has done all of this. I need you to clear my name. Gather information anonymously.”

“We need you to tell us everything you know so far,” Renard prompted.

Elyse nodded, black bob shaking slightly. “Yes, please.”

“I am being framed.”

Renard gave a nod. “Yes, you’ve made that quite clear. Who do you think did it?”

“Why?” Boblem repeated.

“I believe an organization known as the Gorgon are attempting to put me in my place.”

Cassian lifted his head. “The secret keepers.”

“Why would they want to put you in your place?” Renard pressed.

“They despise me here. I’m not welcome.”

“They don’t like outsiders?” Elyse guessed.

She shook her head. “They have nothing against outsiders.”

“You’ve been here for awhile, haven’t you?” Astra wondered.

“A number of years.”

Boblem seemed disheartened by the situation. “Why would they despise you?”

“They dislike my trade.”

“What’s your trade?” Renard probed.

“Weaponry.”

Looking around, they saw some kind of weapon between every window. There were ornate and beautifully carved spears, javelins, and arrowheads. Examining the inlay of the desk, it resembled the arms of a crossbow.

“Those are very beautiful,” Elyse complimented.

“I know.”

Astra glanced around for the moving shape again. Just in the corner of his eye were two large, yellow, glowing feline eyes. But turning to look directly, it was in the corner of his eye once more. Something on its back shifted slightly. Astra gulped. A Displacer Beast.

“My Lady,” Renard continued, oblivious to the shape in the room. “The Eyes of Sanskra, when we were speaking with them, mentioned you in association with Lord Greymantle?” Her hand balled up. “Could you expand on that?”

“No.”

That surprised him. “You’re expecting us to help you, but you won’t give us the information we need to get started.”

“I do not need to divulge to you details of my personal life.”

“But they seemed interested in Lord Greymantle in conjunction with this assassination.” 

She pursued her lips, staring him down. “You garb yourself in armour typical of Shadebourne, sir. I’m surprised you haven’t heard of Lord Greymantle.”

“I didn't say I hadn't heard of him,” he parried. Renard knew he was once a ruler of Shadebourne, at least.

She remained tense. “I do not need to divulge details of my ex-husband, or any accusations thereof.” Verran’s hand gripped ever so slightly tighter on her shoulder. She placed a hand over it.

“Understood, my Lady,” Renard surrendered.

“All charges were dismissed.”

Boblem blinked. “What charges?”

“Let your friend explain,” she countered. “I wish to speak of this no more.”

Renard waved a quieting hand at the farm boy. “Understood. And, if we help you with this, what would you offer us in return?”

She shrugged. “Name your price. I have reason to believe the Gorgon are involved in this.”

“How much sway do you have in the city?” Elyse wondered.

“Enough. I have enough sway outside the city as well.”

“Over the Eye?”

“Over the Eye, little. A stubborn client.”

“You’ve been watching around the city,” Renard began once more.

“My men have.”

“May I ask if, just out of curiosity, you've heard anything about the dragonborn in Sanskra at the moment?”

“Couldn't avoid them.”

He nodded. “I think we'll consider our price.”

“Since you've been looking around the city,” Astra wondered, “I was wondering if you have heard of anyone called the Weeping Eye?”

Renard shot him a glare, but it was invisible behind the mask.

“I know of the Weeping Eye,” she replied.

“You do?”

“What do you wish to find them for?”

“Just looking to locate some of them,” Renard assured her.

“Verran,” she prompted, and the bald woman pushed past the group, searching the wall of scrolls behind them. She grabbed one after a short search, and walked back to the Lady. She popped it open, unrolling it, and looking up at them, nodded. “Interesting. I can help you with this,” she gestured to the scroll, rerolling it. “If you can convince the guards that this is the work of the Gorgon, it’s all yours. I must impress, the veracity of the situation matters little to me. If the Gorgon weren’t involved in this, I cannot, but- ”

“You’re sure they did this?” Boblem pressed.

“I have an inkling, but…”

“Any evidence?” Renard assessed.

“That’s your job. As long as you find that out, how you prove it I don’t care.”

“And do you know where we might want to start? Do you know a place where the Gorgon might be here in the city?”

“I know little.”

“That’s fine, we can work with little.”

“If you find someone else to pin this on, I wouldn't be too opposed to it.”

Boblem looked uncomfortable. “We don’t want to set somebody innocent up for something they didn’t do…”

“Oh no, of course not, that’s not what I’m implying,” she dodged.

“No, I’d never do that,” Elyse smiled, conspiratorially placing a hand on Renard’s shoulder. He violently flinched away. Oops. She had forgotten.

“But I’m sure,” the Lady continued, “Whoever you find to be the culprit, the instigator of this, would be the correct person. Why, if it came from the ranks itself, that would be quite the scandal. Wouldn’t it.”

Renard straightened himself. “I’m sure we’ll find the culprit.”

“Lieutenant Selrish might be one to investigate,” she offered. “Pokes her nose in. See what you can find. I do warn you... don’t cross me.”

“Never dream of it,” Elyse grinned.

She nodded. “Pleasure.”

“Pleasure,” Renard echoed.

She leaned back in her chair, tapping away with her fingers and gesturing them out. They turned, Renard giving another bow on the way out. “Let’s get our weapons and go to discuss.”

Their things were handed back. Verran walked out following behind, a contrasting shadow, shimmering. She was standing at the edge of the boat as they walked off, stepping onto the firmness of the city.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” Astra smiled. She raised her eyebrows at him.

“Can we find you here again, if we need you?” Renard asked. She nodded back, turning and walking back to the boat.

“Let’s get out of here,” he mumbled. They turned, and began to walk back through the city.

“Sorry about, that…” Elyse stammered, gesturing to his shoulder. “Forgot.”

“It’s, it’s okay. Let’s find somewhere quiet- and I suggest  _ not _ the Water Snakes- to have a discussion.”

“Did you want to go have a look at the Archives?” Cassian offered.

Elyse grimaced. “That is not a quiet, nice place to have a discussion.”

“Should we cast a spell to make sure the dragonborn don’t bother us again?” Boblem suggested, glancing at Sariel.

“For now, I should be fine,” Elyse declined. “They’ve also already seen me and already talked to me, so.” Astra and Boblem protested, but she waved them off. “I know a place we could go…”, but as she suggested it, she realized the bar she was thinking of was too far away for her disguise to hold up. They noticed people beginning to walk past, carrying large crates across the bridge to the Lady.

Renard hurried them on. “Let’s just find the first tavern with dark corners, and tuck ourselves into one.”

“I’ve never much believed the idea of having a quiet, not overheard conversation in a tavern, in public.”

He relented. “Fine, what do you suggest?”

“Down under a bridge somewhere?” the wizard offered.

She nodded. “Yeah, there are lots of rooftops here… easy to access.”

“On top of somebody's house?” Boblem asked, looking confused.

Renard shrugged. “Why not.”

“It’s going to look suspicious,” Astra warned.

“A lot of people have been walking on the roofs! Or, at least, the walkways…” Elyse countered. “Either way, we need to not be in this part of the city when we do this. Would you all mind if we walked past the archives?”

“Perhaps they have a private research room,” Renard thought.

“No, we’re not going to go inside and discuss this there, I want to see the leader of the dragonborn. They keep saying she’s stationed out there, I just want to see if she’s there. Just want to check, I just want to know as much as I can.”

“We’ll walk past it.”

“I’m not saying we have to go in or anything, it would probably be a bad idea anyway.”

“Is everyone okay with it?” Renard looked over the group. They seemed to agree.

“Though I would really love to get into those archives and see them, soon,” she complained. “There’s so much I could learn in this city, and this is so frustrating.”

“Let’s discuss this first,” Renard advised. “Have patience.”

“You remind me so much of my brother sometimes,” Astra grinned.

“...Okay?” she glanced back, still reeling from the resurgence of  _ patience. _

“What do you mean by that?” Boblem asked.

“Hot headed and brash,” the bard chuckled. “Not a bad thing, I love him to pieces.”

“Excuse me, I’m the one who sneaks everywhere, thank you very much!” Elyse defended.

Renard raised a brow under his mask. They walked on, and asking a few people for directions, they made their way past the Yellow Fin house. It was painted yellow, a large decorative fin coming out of the top. Elyse flicked her eyes around, but no dragonborn. None at the archives either. There were plenty Sanskran guards, though.

She checked the rooftops. No bats. “Let’s head into the center and find somewhere to talk,” Renard urged.

They found a relatively busy tavern, with a simple sign hanging over the door that read  _ Monsieur Manuel. _ They ducked inside. It was early evening, and there were eight patrons already inside. They grabbed a table off to the side. Someone came up to the table, offering drinks and food for five copper each. “I feel I should pay for this…” Elyse sighed. “I have some money now.”

“I have no money, I gave it for the fine, what was missing,” Boblem gave a sheepish grin.

“Do you want me to buy you something?” Astra offered. “I’ll buy you food.”

“I’m in very much the same situation,” Renard added, feeling strange without his gold.

The bard nodded, “Okay, I’ll buy you both food- ” 

“I’m buying everyone’s food!” Elyse shushed them.

“Then I’ll buy drinks for the table,” Astra countered. He handed over a silver, and Elyse passed over three more. The waiter accepted and left.

Renard crossed his arms, leaning on the table towards the wizard, though he kept his eyes on the ceiling. “So Cassian, when do you think you can pay me back?”

He glanced over. “I told you, I’ll give you my share of the map money.”

Elyse smiled, watching this. “Did you pay for their… bail, or whatever?”

“Yes,” Renard gave her a meaningful look.

“I had to pay thirty-five, and Cassian had to pay a hundred,” the tiefling elaborated.

“I’ll give you a hundred of my share of the map money,” the wizard repeated.

Elyse did the math in her head and turned back to the other man. “How much money do you have, Renard…?”

“Currently, nothing,” he deadpanned.

“Oh, okay,” she laughed.

“Minus five,” Cassian corrected himself. “Ninety-five.” Renard gave him a look. “I paid five gold,” the elf shrugged.

“So what about this Lady Turquoid?” Astra interjected, sensing the coming argument.

“I don’t think we should be getting involved,” Sariel answered.

“No,” the bard agreed.

“Do we trust her?” Boblem asked.

A chorus of  _ no _ rang around the table. “I don’t trust her at all, but I need that information she had,” Renard explained.

Astra swallowed heavily. “She had a Displacer Beast in her… chamber.”

“She had a Displacer Beast?”

“What’s that?” Boblem tilted his head.

Most of them had heard of the mythical, giant cats that lived deep in the jungle. They had six legs, tentacles with teeth at the ends, and the ability to bend light around them to appear as if they were somewhere else. They were never where you looked. Astra flipped open his notebook to a sketch, passing it to Boblem.

“So, from what I’ve learned about them, they’ve got a projected appearance,” the tiefling explained. “So whenever I’d looked at it, it’d be in the corner of my eye. And then I turn and look at it, and it’d be in the corner of my eye again.”

“Incredibly useful,” Elyse grinned.

“Absolutely tricky bastards. Nasty things.”

Cassian blinked in surprise, not expecting the swear from Astra.

“What do they do?” Boblem pressed. “They just... look at people?”

“No, they will attack.”

“They’ll tear you to pieces,” Sariel nodded.

“Exactly,”

“And you won’t be able to fight back very well,” the wizard concluded.

“No. They’re hard to hit.”

Elyse shrugged. “Well, then we want to be on her good side.”

“Or we could just walk away,” Sariel advised, overlapping Astra’s call to leave it as well.

Renard set his jaw. “I need that information.”

“They might be able to help me, too,” Elyse added.

“I don’t necessarily think she’s guilty…”

“She wasn’t telling everything, though,” Astra reminded them.

The sorcerer didn’t seem bothered. “Why would she?”

“She just wanted to find somebody to pin this on,” Boblem worried. “It didn’t seem like she was really interested in the truth.”

Elyse considered. “There are a couple of parties it might be useful for us to pin this on though.”

“I must admit I'm very interested in this mention of the Gorgon,” Cassian declared.

Boblem turned to him. “Why?”

“They trade in information, and I… once, did much of the same.”

“I thought you were a tailor?”

“Being a tailor is quite boring. You attend a few parties, people let loose a few things that they shouldn't have after a few drinks, you sell that to someone else. Easy money, easy business.”

Renard surveyed the wizard, but pressed on. “So, I’d say if we do anything with this, it would be for the sake of justice for the city, and not to help the Lady, because…”

“We were told not to involve ourselves,” Astra warned.

“I know…”

“She didn’t want to be crossed either,” Boblem added.

“But it was specifically that we don’t cause trouble, or get in the way of the Eyes of Sanskra, they’ve told us that specifically,” the bard countered.

Elyse wasn’t swayed. “But if we look into it a little bit and find out who actually did it…”

“It’s got nothing to do with us,” Sariel pressed. “You’ve all been cleared of this crime, why are we still involved?”

“Sariel does make a good point,” she admitted, “But there’s a lot to be gained from this.”

Renard looked torn.

“I know you need that information, but we can find it elsewhere,” Sariel assured him.

“She might be able to get the dragonborn out of the city,” Elyse angled.

Renard was studying the table. “Or she might not be able to do anything.”

Elyse wasn’t listening. “Or I might be able to pin it on the dragonborn and get them kicked out of the city, or executed, which would be very useful.” At that, Astra and Boblem shared a concerned look.

“I don't even know where to start with this anyway,” Renard sighed.

“Me neither. Well, you guys were the ones who were there. What did you see?”

“We saw someone running across the rooftops in the fog, and then, by the time we got another look, they had returned to their changeling form.”

“A changeling…”

Astra grimaced, “If you want to do this, maybe it’s worth asking if we can go and see the Leftenant again. Because she offered, or she said that she might get in touch, because you offered to help.”

Renard thought on that. “I did offer to help.”

“There’s also someone else I met, who might know about the shadier going-ons in the city,” Elyse suggested.

“When was this?

“First night we got here, I just went out on my own. Needed a drink. Went to a tavern and met a mercenary called Pebble.”

“Pebble?” Cassian squinted.

“He’s a tortle.”

“They commonly named after rocks?”

“Well I don’t know- ”

“I mean we have met someone called rock,” Astra reminded them. Cassian squinted harder. “Rocks, the lizard.”

“Oh right… quite.”

Elyse thought back to the lizardfolk in the flooded hills. “I don’t think it was spelled the same way...”

Renard wrangled the group’s attention back to the subject at hand. “I would be interested in meeting this mercenary.”

“Could go talk to him, see if maybe he knows anything. He seemed relatively trustworthy, we drank together a lot. He bought a lot of drinks so.”

“Well let's finish up in here and have our food and drink first then,” Astra nodded. “Then we can go see your friend. It’s not one of the people on the poster…?”

“No, no, never met him before. He’s not my friend, I’ve met him literally once.”

“So?”

“You trust him,” Boblem nodded.

“Excuse me.” Renard, who had been staring off in thought, suddenly stood. He went over to the bar, leaning over to the man behind it. “Good afternoon.”

“Hello. I am Manuel.”

“Manuel, nice to meet you.”

“How can I help you?”

“I actually had a question about the city, I don’t know whether you’d be the right person to ask, but…”

“I know a lot of things.” He looked very tired, one of the few humans they had seen. He had curly, frizzy black hair, and bagged eyes. He wore explorer’s clothes, and his wrists and knuckles were covered in scars, matched with a large one on his neck.

“We’re new to the city and there’s two names we keep hearing. The Lady of Turquoid, and Lord Greymantle. We’re just curious what the people might know about them.”

A bit of interest appeared on his face. “You’re going to be staying awhile, buying some drinks?”

“Yes.”

“Good,” he leaned over the bar conspiratorially. Renard sat on the bench to listen. “She fled Shadebourne. Five years, six years. Gutted her husband. Many people say she’s hiding out here. I, um, I can’t remember her original name, but it’s not what she’s taken. Left him in bloody pieces on the steps of his own castle. Found a way here, tries to keep a relatively low profile, but her guards, her men, are everywhere. Deals in weaponry, but…”

“Sells to outside of the city?”

“Occasionally. She’s been trying to sell to the Eyes for a long time, but they won’t take it. People who get in her way often end up found in many parts across the city. She’s got a pet. Big cat, dangerous.” Leaning back, he pointed. There were paintings of creatures all around the bar, monsters, reptilian creatures, and the giant cat of the Displacer Beast. “It’s one of these. Displacer Beast. I’ve been around, maybe you can tell,” he pointed to his scars.

“You’ve worked for her?”

“No no no no no, I’m an explorer. I find animals. Beasts, monsters. I’m writing a book. I’m calling it the Monster Manuel.”

Renard stifled a smile. “That’s very interesting.”

“I’m a bit keen on the animals, the creatures.”

“We know how interesting they can be, we recently came across a manticore, and, it was interesting, to say the least.”

Manuel’s eyes bulged. “You did!? And you lived to tell the tale…”

“We did.”

He smiled wide. “I don’t suppose you have any spines? Any claws? Teeth? Eyes?”

“We do have spines actually… So perhaps, we can pass some of that over to you, if you could tell us a bit more about the state of things here.”

He whistled to another employee. “Fredrick! You take the bar,” he poured a drink for himself, giving Renard a pat on the back as he came to sit down with the rest of the table. He didn’t seem to notice the other man flinch away from the touch.

The rest of the group looked up as the wiry looking human in his late fifties made himself comfortable in their booth. “This is Manuel,” Renard informed them. “He has some information for us, and he has some interest in the manticore spines.”

“Oh sure,” Boblem unloaded them from his bag.

“A trade?” Elyse asked.

Manuel busied himself examining them. He spread the forty one spines across the table. “Gold a piece.” He picked one up. “Gold a piece, you’ll find no better price anywhere else.”

“Per spine?” Renard clarified. Manuel nodded, and Renard turned to Sariel. “You wanted them sold, didn’t you Sariel?”

Astra nodded. “So that’s Sariel’s money.”

“Yeah, you decide,” Boblem agreed.

“Gold a piece,” Sariel repeated, deciding.

Manuel smiled, tapping one against his teeth. “I’ll have them settle it for you.” He waved to a waitress, and a water genasi woman took the bundle of spines. She peeked at them, rolling her eyes, and took them away.

“We do have some more questions,” Renard continued, lowering his voice and taking note of the hubbub of distraction providing cover around them. “The Eyes… has there been any trouble with them in the last month or so?”

“Between me and them?”

“No, with them in general.”

“No, not that I can think of.”

“Does the city have any enemies? I know it’s quite off the map…”

“Not as far as I know. I mean, there’s the business I’m sure you’ve heard of. With the commander being killed. But, I could make no judgement.”

“And you said that the Eye of Sanskra wouldn’t buy from the Lady? Do you know why?”

“Maybe it’s a point of pride? Maybe they want to wear their own armour, wield their own weapons.”

Astra seemed to accept that. “It is a bit different lookin’ from the Lady’s armour.”

“We heard rumor though,” Renard pressed on, “That perhaps there were some people who don’t like her in the city.”

He nodded, lowering his own voice. “Many people don’t like her in the city.”

“How come?” Boblem asked.

“Because people who speak out against her go missing, and wash up later. But nothing can be pinned.”

“What kind of people?” Elyse urged him on.

“Guards, informants. A rival merchant. She’s not done anything to piss off the Eyes enough, maybe until now. I’m certain it would have been her who gutted the commander. Maybe not herself, but…”

“One of her men,” Renard finished.

“One of her men. The Endigni, at least”

Boblem scratched his head. “The Endigni?”

“It’s the name of her guard, a mercenary company from Shadebourne.”

“Is that one you’ve heard of?” Sariel asked softly, eyes flicking to Renard.

He had. An absolutely ruthless mercenary company, who had been stationed in Fang for awhile. But it seemed a small number were under the Lady’s employ. Fang had been troubled for the past few years, and the Endigni were supposedly there to keep peace. “They’re trouble,” he answered.

“All of this sounds like trouble if we get involved,” she countered.

“Don’t get on her bad side,” Manuel concluded. “People do jobs for her, people do well, but… I wouldn’t. Depends how much you like all your limbs, and how heavy you like your coin purse.”

“Thank you,” Renard transitioned. “A few questions on a different topic, if you wouldn’t mind?”

Elyse nodded with enthusiasm.

“Of course, you've bought a lot of my time,” he smiled.

“There were dragonborn in the city, I think the question you wanted to ask as well,” he glanced at Elyse, “Do you know how long they’ve been here?”

“Couple of days.”

“Have they been causing any trouble?”

“No.”

“We've seen them talking with the guards and walking with them, do you know if they're working with the guards?”

“They do seem to get along,” Astra nodded.

“I assume so. To let a foreign powers’ guard inside your walls, especially a place such as here…”

“So the dragonborn are guards of somewhere else?”

“Arakhis, I believe. From the island.”

“Of course.”

“I’ve not been there, but I’d love to.”

“I’ve heard it’s very nice.”

Manuel smiled at that, humming agreement.

“Do you have any idea what they’re doing in the city?” Elyse pushed.

“No, they have not been in here. They have gone to some other taverns, putting up signs. I don’t know.”

“Strange. You seem very interested in creatures and animals,” she continued. “Have you seen any bats around the city at all?”

“I’ve not been out much, but I can keep an eye out.”

“Fair enough.”

“My adventuring days are mostly behind me. But I’m saving up.”

“To go travelling?” she smiled.

“Yes. I’ve got a few more chapters to fill out. I want to see a giant.”

“That would be amazing.”

“It would be cool.”

“I met a guy the other day who fought a dragon,” she gossiped.

“I’ve seen a dragon! In the distance.”

“What kind of dragon?”

“I don’t know, big, far away in the sky.”

“What color was it?”

“I don’t know, too far away,” he shrugged. “But that, that would fill a lot of pages in my book.”

“We’ve got a lot to look into,” Astra replied.

“Well, if you want to do some thinking, come here. Eat at Manuel’s. And spread the word. Okay? Because it’s cheap. And we  _ don’t _ have rats, we don’t.”

“But you do have whisky, right?” Elyse smiled.

“We have whiskey!”

“I’ll get a double,” she told a passing waitress, passing over five silver for it. “Anyone else?”

“I’ve never had a whiskey before,” Astra considered.

Renard took her up on the offer. Manuel excused himself. “If you have anything more to ask, you know where to find me. I’m here usually, behind the bar.”

“Thank you!” Boblem smiled.

“Thank you Manuel,” Renard echoed.

He bowed his head. “Pleasure.”

Astra smiled. “It was nice to meet you.”

“And you.”

The forty one gold coins were brought to Sariel in a nice leather satchel as he left.

“Interesting…” Renard stroked his chin.

Sariel glanced across the table. “So we agree we’re not getting involved?”

Elyse sighed. “I honestly don’t know anymore.”

“I don’t wanna be on her bad side or good side from the looks of it,” Boblem admitted. 

“Because if you go on her good side then you’re probably not gonna be on the good side of the Eyes,” Astra concluded.

Cassian thought. “So then, maybe we should just…”

“Leave.”

“...Leave.”

“I can’t leave yet,” Elyse protested.

Astra gave a small smile. “You’ve got your bat business.”

“Not immediately then, but soon, perhaps,” the wizard concluded.

“Yes, there’s something I need to do tomorrow,” Sariel agreed.

“There’s something I would like to do as well.”

“In which case, I need that information, so I guess we’re staying at least a day more,” Renard sighed. “And, I am going to keep looking into this, but I’m not expecting anyone who doesn’t want to be involved to- ”

“I’ll help you,” Elyse assured him.

“...Thank you.”

“I’ve done this kind of thing before.”

“It’s just vital to me that I get that information. And if the Endigni are involved, then, that’s somewhere to start. A place to point the blame.”

“Oh yeah, we might be able to lay a bit of the blame on certain other parties, as well. You don’t know what we’re going to find.”

“I don’t particularly think we should be absolving the Lady of Turqouid of the blame, however.”

“Let’s just see what we find before we formulate a solid plan. I'm interested in looking into this but I don't, we don't necessarily have to carry through all the way.”

“Okay,” he agreed.

Astra had conditions. “If it gets too dangerous, we don’t.”

“Of course,” Elyse assured him. “We’ll see if we do find anything. We can go talk to Pebble.”

“I’d love to meet a tortle,” Boblem grinned.

Astra seemed to relent. “Everyone wants to stay for a bit longer, so I suppose why not. And you want to see the archives anyway.”

“By the way, I went to a shop that I think you’d really like,” Elyse grinned at the bard. “I went to a shop when I bought these clothes, and there was a woman who was playing music and singing in her shop. I thought you might like it. She was cool.”

“Maybe we can go, I would like that,” he grinned.

“Also, she told me about this shop…” Elyse broke into a laugh, “A shop which, I feel like we  _ have _ to go to. It’s called  _ Gnomes, Gnomes, Gnomes!" _

There were varied reactions of confusion and enthusiasm across the table. “Pray tell, what do they sell?” Cassian asked.

“It’s a jewlers!” The wizard gave her a look. “I know right, but I’ve got a bit of jewelry I can sell, make a bit of extra money.”

“You’ve got that ruby,” Astra looked to Renard.

“Oh, you wanted to sell that ruby, right?” Cassian agreed.

He nodded. “I do indeed.”

The wizard shrugged. “Sell it to some gnomes… gnomes, gnomes.”

_ "Gnomes, Gnomes, Gnomes!" _ Elyse declared, chuckling again.

“Well, I believe it’s a franchise, they’re not all run by gnomes,” Renard countered with a bit of a grin.

“Oh have you heard of it before? It’s a franchise?”

“I’ve seen one.”

“You’ve seen one?” Boblem pressed.

“What, you’ve seen  _ a gnome?" _ the sorcerer teased. “Well, it might be useful to go to. Also the name frankly brightened my day when I was in a terrible mood, so, I kind of want to see it.”

Renard seemed convinced. “I would like to sell that ruby, and perhaps have a bit more coin on myself.”

Elyse peeked at the gold rings in her bag. She was pretty sure they weren’t magical. She could sell them.

“The thing is, at the moment, we’ve got free air. We can go and do whatever we please,” Astra replied. “Let’s just enjoy the city, finally.”

“A lot’s happened,” Sariel agreed.

Cassian groaned. “It’s been  _ a day." _

“It’s been a  _ week," _ Elyse countered. “Or it’s been a something. I don’t even know if it has been a week for me.”

“I reckon we should rest,” Boblem advised.

“A rest would be nice, I did fall off a roof earlier,” Cassian frowned.

Elyse looked across the table. “Maybe we should go see Pebble first?”

“Sure, why not. It’s on the way,” Astra nodded.

“He was out drinking until late, so I imagine he’d be there now.”

  
  


The group made their way out of Manuel’s and over to meet Pebble. As they made their way to the tavern door, she turned back to the others. “My name is Cordelia.” The disguise settled onto her face.

“Cordelia, got it,” Renard nodded.

Boblem seemed surprised. “Wow, you look way different!”

With the spell, she became a pale skinned elf woman, with soft and feminine features, curly blonde hair, green eyes, and freckles.

Astra glanced to Sariel. “You two look like twins!”

“You look like someone I used to know,” the smaller elf smiled.

Elyse grinned. “Oh really? Was her name Cordelia?”

“No.”

They stepped in, and it was much busier than the night before. There were people moving about, and a bit of arm wrestling, some people betting and shouting. Looking around, they didn’t spot Pebble. Elyse walked up to the bartenders, the same staff as the previous night.

“Hi, um, I was here the other night. I met a mercenary named Pebble. Is he still here?”

The bartender laughed. “Not usually gone for long, give him a while. He lives upstairs.”

“Will he be up there now?”

“Most likely. If he’s not here, he’s usually there.”

“Can we go up?”

The man shrugged. “I don’t mind. It’s his house.”

“I’ll buy a whiskey for him.”

She passed over five silver, and she was given a round copper cup.

“Astra, this might be a nice place to play your music as well, if you wanted to,” Renard suggested.

“Yeah, earn some coin,” Elyse nodded.

“Okay!” the bard smiled.

“Renard, you’re the one who’s most interested in this. Do you want to come upstairs with me?”

“Sure,” he agreed.

The others remained downstairs. Astra began to play his lute, but it was difficult to get attention. He spotted a low, upturned box at the back. He stepped on it, a few people turning to look with bleary eyes. As he strummed the first few notes, their ears pricked up. He began a jaunty rhythm, a drinking song. People didn’t seem to recognize it, but after the first few bars, people began banging on their tables rhythmically. Astra wasn’t casting a spell, but he felt the weave of magic flow through him, pulsing out of his lute. Only his eyes were able to catch the fine gold mist disappearing through the air, washing out through the space.

As Elyse and Renard climbed the stairs, they heard the chanting and clapping. The people were enthralled. It was a mix of burly workers, traders, and people from all over the city. There were many triton, many genasi, and a couple of halflings. Someone stood on the bar, clapping against their drink, but the bartender quickly grabbed them and pulled them off.

Astra had a small box out in front of him. Sariel put the ten gold she had borrowed from him earlier back in the box. The bard winked at her, smiling as he sang. A few more people were inspired to give, throwing in some coins. It would total fourteen gold, not including Sariel’s repayment.

Boblem, Astra, and Sariel remained below while Cassian made the decision to follow behind Renard and Elyse. They climbed windy stairs, clearly reinforced with iron beams underneath. The stairs did not bend at all.

Renard gave Elyse a small nudge. “You okay? I understand this has been pretty stressful for you, since…”

She let out a short laugh. “Just a little. I don’t really know how to answer that right now. But I’m not in the state I was in when I arrived in the city, so, that’s something.”

“We’re here for you.”

She gave him a quizzical look. Renard looked away, moving faster up the stairs. Cassian gave her a silent pat on the back after hearing the exchange.

She glanced at him. “Umm, thanks.”

At the top of the stairs was only one door, tucked into the side. They knocked. “Pebble, it’s Cordelia!” Elyse called.

Ten seconds of silence passed before steps echoed in the room. The door opened, and they looked up to see the hulking figure. Elyse held out the whiskey in one hand, throwing wide her other arm in greeting.

Pebble let out a deep belly laugh. “You brought friends!” He reached out a giant leathery mitt, taking the whiskey and shooting it back. He glanced at the others. “Nice to meet you two. Who would you be?”

“Cassian.”

“Renard.”

“Cassian! Renard!” he repeated. “Pebble. Pleasure.”

“Pleasure,” Renard smiled.

“Well? What the fuck are you waiting for?” he grinned, urging them down the stairs. They looked down after the huge bony protrusion of shell, scarred and weathered with obvious experience. He pulled something from behind the door, swinging it up and strapping it onto his back. “Go on them, we can’t all fit on the fucking landing!”

They quickly made their way down, Pebble thudding behind them. “We just wanted to ask you some questions,” she explained. “Thought you might know some information about some stuff going on in the city?”

Pebble pushed through to the bar. “Go on.”

A small crowd had gathered around Astra, about 20 people singing along. Astra chose to sing in Common so they could join in. They did their best to learn the words, drunkenly clapping and cheering.

Elyse whispered to a few of them as she passed. “Oh my gosh, that’s Astra! Verdant Astra, world famous, I can’t believe he’s really here!”

A couple of tables were abandoned as the crowd took up Astra’s name, nodding at Elyse’s sly suggestion. Astra was content to continue playing, but Boblem was intrigued by the tortle, quickly making his way over.

“Hello!” he tipped his hat in greeting. “I’m Boblem.”

He chuckled. “I’m Pebble.”

“Never seen one of you before!”

“Not seen one of you before, not seem many Boblems,” he winked back.

“Me neither.”

“There is only one Boblem,” Cassian admitted.

The tortle shrugged. “There is only one Pebble.” He put his huge mitts in his mouth, letting out a shrieking whistle that cut over the music for a second, motioning to the bartender.

Astra excused himself from the stage. “That's probably my cue, I should go and sit down with my friends.” A couple of other people stepped up, one with a small, beat up drum, one with a reedy instrument, clapping the tielfing’s shoulder as he exited.

“I hope you paid him well, he is amazing!” Elyse called, doing her best to clap as loudly as possible. The other two people took the stage, and began to play a strange whining, keening tune, but people seemed to be into it.

They all gathered around, Pebble introducing himself to the rest of the group. His face cracked in a huge smile as he looked Astra up and down.

“I’m Verdant Astra, it’s nice to meet you,” he smiled.

“Pebble. What can I help you with?”

“Our topic is, unfortunately, rather serious,” Renard began.

Pebble sighed. “Well, good thing to do it over a drink.”

The bartender came over, placing down a tray with many different cups of all varying sizes and makes, and a clear decanter of amber liquid. Pebble spun the top off and began pouring out glasses, which a few of them accepted.

“I don’t suppose you’ve heard what happened to Commander Bahn,” Renard continued.

“Couldn’t help,” Pebble took a drink.

“Well, we're just somewhat looking into it, out of curiosity.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You employed? By the guard?”

“No,” Boblem replied, examining his glass with great interest.

“Okay…”

Renard chose his words carefully. “No, rather found ourselves in the wrong place at the wrong time and now I… kind of feel like I have to know. And we have some information, we heard that the Endigni from Shadebourne, some of them are stationed here.”

“There was also mention of the Gorgon being involved, I don’t know if you know anything about that…” Elyse prompted.

Pebble shook his head. “Gorgen and I don't know anything about, Endigni, stay the fuck away from them. I've had my share of scraps.” He pointed to a long healed scar, where a chunk of his arm had been taken out. “Fuckers gave me this.”

“Where did that happen?” Renard probed.

“Fang. Ten years ago.”

“Why?” Boblem asked.

Elyse was impressed. “You’ve been to Fang?”

“Mhm. Don’t go,” Pebble advised.

“Wasn’t planning on it.”

“It’s a shithole.”

“It is…” Renard admitted.

“Made worse by them. They were kicking off, getting in people's way. Protests turned ugly.”

Elyse leaned closer. “Protests against them?”

“Protests against the Baron. People started being cut down, I wasn’t to stand for it.”

“Messy business.”

“That’s horrible,” Boblem empathized, forgetting his drink.

Renard leaned closer. “And how long have you been in Sanskra? Longer than them, or have they been here longer than you?”

“I don't know, I've heard this is the base for seven, eight years I believe, they've been here for a couple. Started showing up with the Lady. They're hired, by her.”

“I’d assumed so.”

“When she fucks off, they’ll fuck off.”

“Interesting… I'm very convinced that they played a hand in the assassination.”

“Oh, yes absolutely,” Elyse rolled her eyes.

“Do you know the Lady?” Boblem pressed.

He considered. “Personally no, by name a bit.”

“Has she ever asked you to work for her?” Renard continued.

“No.”

“Do you know anything about her?” Boblem followed.

“She sells weapons. Tries. I've not bought anything from her. Deals in large scale, outfits armies, horses.”

Elyse took another drink. “Do you know where?”

He seemed confused.

“Where she sells to,” Renard clarified.

“Oh, where she sells to, I couldn’t say. I don’t have that information. I assume she’s trying to sell here, trying to make a purchase, a footprint. Maybe no luck, no success. Why does she stay?”

“Maybe she is responsible,” Elyse whispered to Renard.

“She had tried to sell to the Eyes of Sanskra before, and they continue to tell her no,” he responded.

“So she takes out the captain, puts someone in there who will buy her weapons?”

Renard wasn’t convinced. “Sounds pretty plain, doesn’t it…”

“They are going through a leadership change,” Pebble interrupted. “With the Commander dead, they’ll be picking someone new.”

That interested the sorcerer. “Is there any word on who they’re going to pick?”

He shrugged. “I could find out. I don’t know, but I could find out.”

“That might be useful…”

“If you’re looking to hire someone. Subtlety is not my strong suit- ”

“Mine either,” Astra smiled.

“But I’m very persuasive.”

“Yeah, I can imagine so,” Elyse gave a glance to the gigantic weapon on his back.

“That’s a very nice warhammer you have there,” Renard complimented, equally intrigued.

Pebble grinned. “I know. Old.”

“Looks heavy!” Boblem exclaimed.

“Good thing I’m strong,” he winked back.

“Cordelia tells me that you're a mercenary yourself?” Renard pressed.

“I'm available for hire. At a very affordable price. Two gold a day, I'll break down what door you need, sort out what problems you encounter. I'm sure you're capable yourselves but…”

“Sometimes you just need someone who can smash shit up,” Elyse finished with a grin, offering a cheers.

That got another big laugh from the tortle, and he clinked his glass against hers.

“Maybe they’ll know about the dragonborn? Or he can help you with that?” Boblem stretched himself across the table, whispering to Elyse. “Instead of having to rely on the shady lady?”

“That’s true,” she thought.

Renard was still talking. “If you’ve been as far as Fang you've obviously been around. Just out of chance, I was wondering if you’ve ever heard of a mercenary company called the Weeping Eye?”

He shrugged. “I’ve heard of them. Why?”

“Trying to locate some of them.”

“They don't stay in one place long. Not many humans in the group, and those who do are nasty.”

“Okay,” he leaned back in his chair. “I think that’s all the questions I had.”

“The Endigni, they do precise, calculated strikes. The Weeping Eye are their opposite. Brutal, savage. Unrestrained, unrefined.”

“I’m aware.”

“A disservice to the name.”

Renard looked back to Elyse. “Did you have more questions or shall we enjoy our evening?”

“I do, but I can speak to Pebble on my own on that, and then I’ll join you guys? I’d quite like to actually enjoy the evening.”

“You can do that with us!” Boblem offered brightly.

“Yes, I will do that,” Elyse grinned back. “After I’ve spoken to Pebble.”

“Well find me, because I was actually going to ask you if you wanted to dance,” Renard smiled, giving Elyse a bump with his shoulder. He took his drink and left to go watch the music.

Elyse was surprised by that one. “Really?” she called after him, but he was gone. “Okay, I will,” she spoke to the air. She slid closer to Pebble, pouring herself another drink as the others shifted slightly away. “The other night, when we met, we spoke about the dragonborn in the city…”

“Yes?”

“My memory from that night is a little fuzzy,” she admitted. “We drank a lot- ”

Pebble let out a great belly laugh. “Elves!” he teased, slapping her on the side of the arm. She was thrown to the side, and she responded with a friendly punch of her own. It was like hitting a brick wall.

“Well you know, we can’t all be as hardy as you tortles. I was wondering, if you’d heard anything else about the dragonborn in the city since then? They seem to be questioning a lot of people, moving around, getting in people’s way...”

“Not since yesterday, no. They’ve been making a mess, from what I hear.”

“What sort of mess?”

“Kicking down doors to taverns. Some houses.”

“Yeah, I think you said the same yesterday.”

He shrugged. “Sorry I can’t be of more help.”

“If you do hear anything, I don't know how to get you to contact me.”

“Where are you based? Where are you staying?”

“Water Snakes. There’s quite a few of us.”

“Okay, I know where that is. It’s a bathhouse right?”

“Yeah. I’d really appreciate it. And just because you know the city better than me, I was wondering if maybe you noticed any bats flying around the city? In the last couple of days?”

He seemed a bit confused, but he answered. “I can’t say I have, I’ve been inside for most of today. I continued drinking for a while after you left.”

“So did I. Made the mistake of drinking in a hot tub, won’t be making that mistake again for a while,” she chuckled.

He let out another deep laugh. “Steam, alcohol…”

“Woke up on the floor. Great night,” she smiled. “But if you hear anything about that as well, I’d be interested to know. I don’t think you get those kinds of animals here regularly.”

“I can keep my eye out. Big bats? How big?”

“Fruit bats, the bigger bats. Not the tiny, little flitty ones.”

“Oh, oh. I’ve seen goblins ride bats. Big bats.”

Elyse was elated. “Now that I would love to see! Where did you see that? I have to go there.”

“Near Riven.”

She grinned. “Astra!” she called over, interrupting the smaller group’s conversation. “Have you ever seen goblins riding bats? Near Riven?”

“I don’t think so, think I’d remember that.” He had seen people riding winged creatures, but not bats. “I’ve only seen… bats. Nothing on them.”

“I didn’t know you could ride a bat,” Boblem wondered.

Elyse grinned. “Neither did I.”

“Big bats! Big bats,” clarified Pebble, stretching his arms out. “Bigger than that.”

“I’ve never seen a bat that big,” Astra replied.

“Oh, they’re hefty. Maybe can’t carry someone like me, but, someone like you maybe.”

“Could carry you Sariel,” Boblem suggested, smiling down at the shortest of their group.

“Oh, definitely,” the tortle agreed.

Elyse was intrigued. “New life goal.”

Astra took a second to listen to the music, trying to copy the rhythm of the song. He reached out to the weave of magic, letting it flow through him. Without even concentrating, his fingers found the notes and the strings. People looked around for the sound, and began cheering. Astra found himself pushed back to the stage, as Elyse yelled encouragement once more. “That’s Verdant Astra! Pay him well!” One performer stepped off the box to make space for him. Joining in the melody, the drummer began to walk through the crowd, banging the rhythm. Astra and the reed player continued in symphony, each passing the rhythm back and forth.

Elyse, satisfied with her conversation with the tortle, poured herself another glass, making a second one to bring over to Renard. “Thank you Pebble. It’s great seeing you, I’m sure I’ll see you again before the night’s up.”

“I’ll be around.”

“I’m going to go dance with my…” she was still surprised by the offer, “Friend? Friend.”

“Okay, enjoy, enjoy.” He stayed at the table, continuing to drink.

Elyse made her way to Renard, offering the whiskey. He turned, but put a hand up. “I've had two already, I think that's two too many.”

“Okay,” she shrugged, combining the glasses. Disposing of the empty cup, she now had one massive drink to herself. “So you wanted to dance… with me?”

“Yes.”

She eyed him. “Okay.”

“If you would be interested.”

“Sure,” she grinned.

“I just thought we could have some fun, after such a stressful week.”

“You? Fun?” she teased. He rolled his eyes. “I’m kidding.”

“I do know how to have fun, you know.”

“You know could've fooled me,” she winked. He tensed. “Again, kidding!”

He gave her a look. Elyse downed the whiskey. “Come on then!” she invited, holding out her hands. They waited for a beat in the music, and began to stamp their feet, clapping and spinning, taking each other by the arms. It wasn’t a familiar tune, but it was all blending into the swirling movement of the crowd.

A bit of space opened, and there were other people dancing and twirling around each other. There was an odd moment where the alcohol almost got to her, but she was able to keep from… expelling. As the song came to a close, Renard stopped, Elyse giving a final twirl. He steadied her, trying to make sure she didn’t fall over from the dizziness.

“It’s good to be talking to you properly again,” he smiled.

“Yeah... same.”

“I… want to be your friend. And, I dunno, last week's been tough.”

She swallowed. “Yeah, you're telling me. I, um,” she gave a nervous laugh, “I wasn't sure that people like you would ever consider me your friend. So…”

“People like me?”

“All of you, I mean. But yeah. I’m glad...”

Renard considered his response. “I’ve been very on my own for awhile now, and it’s just good to feel like I can trust some people.”

There was a bit of silence as she took in the confession. “Okay.”

He gave a nervous chuckle of his own. “I’m gonna have that drink after all.”

“Okay! Let’s go,” she smiled.

Astra, finishing the song, made his way over to drape his arms around both of them. Elyse grinned, leaning into the side hug, but Renard tensed and aggressively pushed the arm away. The other two didn’t seem to notice.

“Come on, Ren!” Elyse beckoned him to the bar.

“Let’s have a good night!” Astra grinned, following her.

Renard grunted in response, but his mood was lost.

  
  


Cassian, not one for drinking, stepped outside onto the landing. The stairs winded down the building, and the sound of music and cheers echoed out from behind him. Other taverns across the neighborhood let out similar sounds. He settled himself on the banister, watching the mist above. No bats. He closed his eyes, breathing, and waiting.

After a few minutes, Sariel stepped out as well, escaping the noise. His eyes flicked open. “Ah, hello Sariel.”

“Hello.”

“Looking for a breather as well?”

“Yes. Quite crowded in there, isn't it.”

“Quite. Not really my sort of crowd.” He paused for a moment. “How are you feeling?”

“I don't think I really know how to answer that. Not at the moment.”

“That’s fair.”

“How are you feeling?”

He crossed his arms. “Eh, the usual. Intrigued. Bored. Interested in what is to come. It's a strange mix to subside on.”

“You say you're bored?”

“Yes.”

“What would thrill you?”

He considered. “Interesting question. I would say, one of the most thrilling experiences was nearly being killed by a troll. One of the most thrilling experiences was vanquishing a Manticore.” He bit his tongue. “It's also quite thrilling just to tease Renard.”

“So you like danger then.”

“One could say that, yes. I suppose I just have to… figure out how to channel that. Do something a little less… brash.”

“Was that what you were trying to do this morning?”

His response was immediate. “No. Not at all.”

She studied him. “Where are you trying to get to, Cassian?”

“Nowhere. Where are you trying to get to?”

“I suppose it's not a case of getting to somewhere as opposed to getting away from somewhere.”

His eyes flicked back over to her for another moment. “Yes, well, that we have in common, though I'm sure for different reasons. I would not wish to leave Mirrortail forever, but I have been there for quite some time. I'd like to see new places.”

“Do the years just sort of roll into one for you?”

“Terribly so,” his head drooped a little.

“But at the same time it's... an extortionately long time.”

“Mmm. It's a terrible burden to bear.”

The two elves sat in silence, staring over the bannister together.

“I suppose some might say that we’re privileged to see so much time pass,” Sariel considered.

“Some might say.”

More silence. It was about 8 o’clock. “I think I might go back to the bathhouse,” Sariel decided.

“Would you care for some company?”

“I wouldn’t want to drag you away if you still want to be here.”

He glanced back to the tavern. “No, not particularly.”

“Then let’s go back.”

Very cautiously, Cassian offered a hand. She regarded it for a long moment. As he began to retract the hand, she took it. He gave her a light squeeze, and the two elves began to walk hand in hand back to the inn.

  
  


The rest of the group remained at the tavern. At some point when Renard was sitting at the bar, Elyse plopped herself down heavily next to him. “You know Ren, that mask of yours.”

“Yes?”

“If you were looking for the least subtle way to conceal your identity ever... I think you might have found it,” she took another sip of whiskey.

He rolled his eyes, though of course she couldn’t see under the mask. “Funny, you’re very funny.”

“It's a very cool mask.”

“Thank you… was that all?”

“Well I know you're not gonna tell me why you wear it, there's no point in asking,” she hiccuped.

“But you’re very handsome without it! You don’t need to wear it!” Astra encouraged, his own drink in hand.

“Thank you?” Renard replied, confused. “I don’t wear it because I think I’m ugly...”

Elyse laughed, “Well there’s that crossed off the list!”

“It’s easier to talk to you when you're not wearing it, ‘cuz I can see your face properly!” Astra called. He was not near them, sat at the other end with an arm around Boblem, but he sure could yell. Boblem, Astra, and Renard were all quite a bit tipsy, and Elyse was much farther gone. Boblem, enjoying this as one of his first few drinking experiences, was pleasantly cuddled up against the bard.

Renard looked around the bar, checking out the crowd. It was almost exclusively made of native Sanskrans, with 70% of the attendees either water genasi or triton. There were only a few humans.

He took off his mask.

Elyse gave him an excited smile, holding out her hand for it. He frowned at her. “I’ll give it back to you when we leave!”

“No,” he held the mask out of her reach. “Absolutely not.”

“I want to wear it, come on!” she hiccupped again. “I just wanna try it on, come on.”

Renard sighed. Giving in, he rubbed it clean with his shirt, and passed it over. Elyse immediately put in on, turning to the other members of their team. “Astra!”

The bard gasped with excitement at the sight. “You look like Renard!”

“I know!”

“Who is that?” Boblem played along.

Renard sighed as they giggled, and he knocked back another drink. “Bobby!” he snapped his fingers. “Let’s dance!”

Elyse took Astra to the dance floor. Boblem had a mixed expression as he considered the nickname, but went along with it. “I’ve never danced before,” he admitted, stumbling over. “I dunno how good I’ll be at it.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Renard smiled.

They went slow, stepping over each other's feet. Boblem was a bit gangly, but it was fun. Lots of people were dancing at varied levels of ability. They remained there until Elyse had to duck into the bathroom, her disguise wearing off, but with her headscarf, the makeup, and Renard’s mask, she was confident enough to re-enter the tavern.

Pebble tried to dance, but a lot of people had to move out of his way. He did manage a bit of a russian dance, crossing his enormous arms to lean back on his shell. The speed of his legs was incredible, each step shaking the entire bar. The bartender held up the bottles in fear. “Pebble! Not again, please, we spoke about this!” he begged.

“Ah, okay, okay okay,” he grumbled. He moved to stomp his foot in a corner, clapping to the beat.

They danced for a bit longer before making their way back to the Water Snakes. It was a pleasant walk, a couple of people moving by, but the guards didn’t pay them any mind but annoyance at the rest of the passing drunks. Elyse was still looking for bats, to no avail.

  
  


Sariel had made her way up to her room, Cassian following. The wizard leaned against her doorframe, regarding her.

“You’re… you’re a good person, Sariel,” he observed. “May not talk much, but…”

She glanced over to him. “I thank you for saying that. But I’m not a good person.”

He shrugged. “Well, neither am I, so. Maybe we both have poor judgement in the situation. But, I believe, we can both make our way with this little team we’ve brought together.”

“Perhaps we can.”

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight Cassian.”

They retired to their rooms. They heard people coming in and out, residents causing commotion. Eventually, the other four members of the group stumbled in. Elyse returned the mask, but Renard simply swung it in his hands, hair down and flowing in the breeze.

Jedda, face drawn, looked up to them in shock as they entered. She glanced to the side.

A voice from the edge of the inn shouted at them, loud enough for the elves above to hear. “Sky rat!”


	16. The Sky Rat, Episode Fourteen

They turned to the voice, and saw the form of a dragonborn. She had copper scales, one horn broken, one curving up, and a look of malice on her face. Elyse recognized her as a figure she had fought before. Captain Kenrah.

Jedda ducked behind the desk as the clock struck midnight.

Elyse rolled her eyes, stumbling from the drinks.  _ You again? _ she complained in her head. She subtly let loose her magic, feeling the arcane focus heat up. “Excuse me?” she said, doing her best to look innocent.

Sariel sat bolt upright in bed. She heard footsteps outside. Poking her head out the door, a muscled, armoured figure with iron scales looked up and down the corridor. They had a short sword drawn. She did her best to nonchalantly walk past. He watched her, but did not stop her. Looking down the stairs, she saw the brass dragonborn pointing at Elyse. There were two more dragonborn further inside, one with a bow and arrow.

Sariel called down to the brass one. “Excuse me, can I get some more towels in my room please?” They looked up at her, distracted.

Astra drunkenly lifted his hands. “Probably been some sort of misunderstanding. We should just all calm down, see if we can’t sort this out rather than this swords out malarky.” He pushed calm emotions through the air. The Captain and one other seemed calmed, but the other made their way through to Elyse, pulling out manacles.

“Don’t you fucking come near me,” she snarled, releasing a wave of thuder at the guard. A burst of sound energy forced them away, sending them back into the desk. The furniture smashed to ribbons as Jedda screamed, doing her best to duck away. Elyse had her hand on the focus inside her pouch, but she didn’t want to take it out and let them see it.

Renard marched forward, still maskless. He grabbed the face of the leader, drunkenly jamming his thumbs into her eyes. The strange power that came from him poured into her face, her eyes lighting up from the inside. She let out a guttural howl, two beacons of burning light exploding out, moving like twin spotlights before she broke out of the grasp, bellowing.

Elyse gave him a strange look, but there was no time to discuss. Renard backed away, looking horrified at himself as the dragonborn continued to scream.

Boblem tried his best to hold another guard in place, raising his staff and slamming it on the ground. The magic reached out, but the spell didn’t take hold. Steps moved quickly from upstairs and another dragonborn appeared. They pulled out their shortbow, shooting towards Elyse. “It’s her!” they yelled in Draconic, Boblem the only one of the group who could understand the guttural language.

The arrow hit the wall behind her. Cassian, shaken from his nightly meditation, ran from his room. He was stopped by a dragonborn in the hallway. They stared at him, and Cassian cocked a smile. He reached into his bag, grabbing two shells. Breaking them on the floor, a wall of ice grew in front of him as he legged it downstairs. The guard tried to grab him as he flew past, but his sword only stuck in the wall. Cassian slid underneath the blade, racing to the stairs.

The captain, still screaming, opened her mouth even wider. A jet of clear liquid soared out, drenching Renard and splattering onto Boblem and Elyse as well. Acid burned at their skin. She retreated towards the stairs. Another guard ran up to Elyse, tackling her to the ground. She snarled back at him as he did his best to flip her over. Elyse tried to bring her hands around to cast a spell, but she was pinned.

The one who had been after Cassian pushed past, looking confused about which person to target. Sariel turned towards him. “Excuse me, this has nothing to do with me, I’m just going to go back to my room…” he stepped to the side, and she stabbed him with a dagger of ice, the blade appearing in her hand. It shattered off his armour, and they snarled down at her.

Astra pushed the one on top of Elyse, but the guard kept his weight on her, growling at the tiefling. The bard growled back, “Don’t hurt my friend!”

A cracking bolt of lightning soared from the guard’s mouth, hitting Astra as smoke crackled from it. Jedda screamed again, “Get out! Get out!”

Renard slowly tied his mask back on, walking towards the one who had hurt Astra. He brought up his shield, and Renard smashed down his blade, battering him into unconsciousness. He whipped around and punched the Captain, his fist connecting with scale, decking her as the lights continued to stream from her eyes.

Boblem tried again to grapple a guard with magic, but once again he felt the power slip away from him. There were footsteps from behind as two guards ran up the bridge to the entrance of the Water Snakes. “There’s more coming from behind!” Boblem yelled.

Sariel was spun around by a dragonborn, her arms yanked behind her. Cassian backed against the stairs to aim and cast his own spell, an impossibly loud smashing sound ringing out. The one holding Sariel crumpled, freeing her. Another guard was left barely standing from the blow, blood trickling from their ears. Satisfied, he ran back down the stairs, giving Sariel a small wink.

The captain pulled out a longsword and a shortsword, swinging wildly in her blindness. The first went wide, and Renard took the opportunity to stab into her ribs. As his blade connected, her second swing caught Renard in the gut. She swung again, missing once more. The dragonborn let out a grunt of pain, blood sinking down and covering Renard’s hands. She pushed off them, moving towards the door. As she tried to stumble past, he whacked her on the head with the pommel of his blade, and she went straight down.

A spear was thrust towards Cassian, missing as he dodged. Iron manacles were clamped around Elyse’s hands. Astra and Boblem tried to intervene, but the guards coming from the outside shoved them out of the way as they hauled Elyse to her feet.

A guard shouted into the night, “Help us! We found the fugitive!” They dragged Elyse out of the inn. She considered jumping off the bridge, but she couldn’t swim with her hands behind her back. Elyse shoved into a guard, trying to push them off the bridge instead.

She screamed at him. “What did you do to my ship? Where are they?”

He growled and spat at her. The Eyes of Sanskra held her tight as her vision blurred, fog wrapping around her. The rest of the group, still inside, lost sight of the bridge.

Sariel reverted to primal savagery, reaching her claws up the throat of the guard near her. Its neck was wider than her arm, but the claws sunk in. He pulled her hand out, four small holes in his throat, dripping with her acid.

Astra looked outside, noticing a guard who seemed to be holding a hand up, controlling the fog. Astra tried to distract him with a spell, but the guard waved it off.

Renard ran out into the mist, slamming into the back of the two dragonborn. Using the full force of his body, he tried to push all three of them into the water. Their heads leaned over the bridge, but they steadied. He yanked them, throwing them to the other side and slamming them into the wood. Elyse was freed, but her hands were still manacled.

Boblem aimed a moonbeam, and it burned through the fog, the air clearing. The guard gave a shriek, crumpling as he fell and splashed into the water below.

Sariel watched as a dragonborn lunged forward, driving a spear into Cassian’s abdomen. A cascade of ice flurried out in counterattack, chunks of it sinking into his skin as he dropped to the floor. The wizard skidded to the side of the door, beginning to run through, dropping a shell as he went. A column of smoke encapsulated him as he disappeared, reemerging on the bridge, dagger in hand. He drove the weapon down onto the guard by Renard outside. It sunk between his shoulder blades, and the dragonborn let out a growl.

Another guard in the far distance pulled out something, and began to bang an alarm, calling out in an unknown language only Elyse recognized. “Call forth the waters!”

The brass dragonborn turned to them, spewing fire as it circled Elyse and grabbed her by the manacles. Boblem, Cassian, and Renard were all singed, Astra taking the brunt of the burn. The door to the Water Snakes ignited as Jedda screamed once more.

Cassian struck out with his dagger, stabbing it again, smoke still pouring from their mouth. Underneath them, the waters were pulling up like a flood. It was reaching towards their feet, lapping over, soaking their legs, and coalescing in a swirling pillar before them. Towering eight or nine feet, arms seemed to grow from it, making a vaguely humanoid shape. The water level dropped again as it formed.

Elyse sprinted forward to the edge of the bridge, launching herself off it. As she whispered an arcane word, the manacles burst open behind her, clattering to the bridge. Before falling into the water, she leaped forward, bounding with a surge of energy. Twisting and barrel rolling, she flew up to the roof, surveying the battle. “We should be on the same side, we’re the same kind!” she shouted in the same strange language to the guard who had summoned the water creature. The guard just looked panicked, still ringing the alarm with no reply.

Sariel made her way to the ruined entrance hall, following Cassian’s lead with a misty step forward. She appeared out of the steam, claws sinking into the back of the guard by Boblem, ripping out a chunk of flesh. They staggered, trying to push themself up as they fell to the floor.

The edge of the door frame was blackened, flames a foot high. Astra held up his arms, doing his best to dim the fire. He turned back, locking eyes with a Sanskran guard. “Can you help us? The city’s on fire because of these fuckers! They’ve attacked us when we’re just trying to go back!”

Renard shook himself from the previous blow, making an attempt to knock out the dragonborn that Sariel was attached to. He whacked it on the head with the pommel of the blade, and they sank to the floor.

Boblem moved his moonbeam in front of the water elemental, hoping to deter it from moving forward. Cassian grimaced at the fire. “Let me help you out with that,” he called to Astra, waving his hands to snuff out the flames.

“Thank you,” Astra gasped, relieved. The remaining guard turned away, disappearing. The water creature moved forward into the moonbeam, diminishing in size as the light burned through it. It pushed towards Renard, engulfing him in the column of water. He was able to pop his head out the other side to gasp for air as the creature swallowed Sariel as well, filling her lungs.

Hyperventilating, shaking, and eyes filled with rage, Elyse shot an orb of lightning at the creature. One hand on the arcane focus, the spell flew past. Sariel pulled her head from the creature, and grabbing the banister, pulled herself free. Astra tried to send out a spell to push the creature away, but it glanced off. Renard broke out of it, stumbling back and pushing Sariel behind him. It turned, sending a huge column of water knocking into him. Renard went down, toppling to the floor.

Boblem ran forward to Renard, casting healing magic over him. His eyes flicked open as he gasped for breath. Seeing that, Boblem shifted his form, becoming a gigantic octopus on the bridge.

Cassian glanced up at Elyse, then Astra, surveying the battlefield. Shouts from other guards were echoing through the neighborhood, coming towards them. “Time to make our great escape?” he called out.

“I’d say so!” Astra returned. The wizard turned to the left and started running.

The water creature rounded on Boblem. Its arm splashed and broke, quickly reforming and slamming into him. Elyse ran, taking a flying jump to shoot another orb of lightning at it. Another miss, her skin splitting and cracking, light shining out as purple and blue patches appeared on her skin.

Sariel cast her own spell on the creature, illuminating it in an unearthly green light. Astra pulled his lute around, strumming as the fey magic surrounded him, his hair glittering with the power. Renard, Elyse, and Boblem felt the spell spur them to move. Renard retreated to the doorway as Boblem’s eight arms wrapped around the creature, but his limbs passed right through it. Realizing his plan was a failure, he reverted back to his usual form.

From the side, Cassian shot off an arcane bolt that went wide. “Fuck!”

The creature wailed down on Boblem again, thudding its arms into him. Elyse looked exhausted, with a hand on the wall and bags under her eyes. She lobbed a firebolt at the creature, but it only splashed against it with a hiss of stream. Cassian looked over to her and saw on her face the purple and blue patches that surrounded her eyes like a cracked mask, as if there was a layer of colored skin just under her face. Cracks of light shone through behind, her eyes pure blue-white and burning. Where her hand gripped the wall, her fingers up through to her wrist were stained with the same coloration. Elyse didn’t seem to see him staring.

Cassian went for another bolt, this time hitting his mark. The creature was blasted backwards with the force of the blow, a small explosion forming inside it. Sariel brought out her ice knife again, the blade soaring from her hand and embedding in the creature. The ice spread, beginning to freeze it. Chunks formed, frozen, as it tried to move. It was much slower now, the bottom of it becoming a wide icicle. The top half was still moving, and a hole opened up to form a face, slurping and looking around as it stared at Sariel.

“So what are we doing, we’re running?” Astra urged.

Elyse was fuming. “I want to talk to that bitch,” she spat.

“Do we have the time?” No response. “Elyse?” he pressed. “I know, but there’s other guards coming. We need to leave. We have to live another day.”

“You guys need to get your things, right?” Cassian remembered. Along with Astra and Elyse, he always kept his belongings on him, but he knew Renard had important documents upstairs. “Shall we hold it off while you collect your belongings?”

“Go get your stuff,” Astra urged. Renard pelted past, running back into the building with Sariel behind. Jedda had disappeared.

Elyse followed, using the manacles on the captain’s belt to restrain Kenrah’s arms, and a bit of rope for their legs. “One of you want to come and back me up here?” she called.

Astra ducked into the room. “What are you doing?”

“I need to talk to her.”

Cassian, Astra, and Elyse dragged the captain into the bathhouse. They heard shouts, steps, and people running outside. The alarm was ringing again.

“I don’t think we have the time,” Astra urged. “Elyse, we should probably… we need to go.” She looked torn, desperate to get answers out of the dragonborn captain. “I don’t want you to get arrested or hurt,” the tiefling continued. “Not when we can leave.”

“For fuck’s sake,” she panted. “I finally got the opportunity…”

“I know, sapling.”

“Can we take her with us?”

“We can try. You grab one arm.”

The two of them hoisted her up, but she was close to seven feet tall, and wearing plate armour. She was going to slow them down. “I just want to take her somewhere,” Elyse pleaded.

“Come on, let’s just keep moving,” Astra urged.

Renard and Sariel came back down the stairs with their belongings. “We’re taking her with us,” the bard informed them.

“Right,” Renard nodded.

“Once we’re done with her we can kill her,” Elyse growled. “I just need to ask her some questions.”

Astra winced.

“Do we know where we’re going?” Sariel asked.

“Out,” the bard begged.

“Anywhere we can question her, kill her, dispose of the body, and then leave this fucking city for now,” Elyse spat.

“I might be able to carry her,” Sariel offered. She was about to explain when a booming knock hammered on the front door. “We need to go, we need to go,”

“We need to move,” Cassian agreed. “Out the back, there’s the door!”

“Out the back,” Renard echoed. They began to move, but the captain was slowing them down. They had just reached the back door as the front burst open, three Eyes on the other side.

Elyse cast a gust of wind at them, trying to knock them back. Two faltered, but one stepped forward with a sword. Renard stepped forward as well, pulling out his own blade.

“By order of the Baron, stop what you are doing!” the guard commanded. “Put down your weapons!”

“They attacked us!” Astra pleaded.

“My friend speaks the truth,” Renard followed. “They attacked us. Let us leave, and there won’t be any trouble.”

“Drop the sword.” Two more guards appeared.

Renard sheathed his sword, speaking to the others over his shoulder. “Just keep going.”

That broke Elyse from her trance. “Ren- ”

“Just keep going!” He put his hands up. The guard approached, pulling out shackles.

Astra looked alarmed. “No, we’re not just leaving you!”

“Go!” he ordered. Fog crept up around the sides of the building. Renard didn’t resist as they shackled him. “Go!”


	17. Truth & Consequences, Episode Fifteen

Renard was shackled, with five guards in the room. The rest of the party stood behind, ready to retreat out the back door with the unconscious body of the dragonborn captain. Sariel readied a spell, primed to attack if the guards tried to leave with Renard.

Elyse’s eyes flicked almost back to normal. She put up a hand. “Wait!” She swallowed, and spoke to them in that same strange language. “Please let him go, this is all a massive misunderstanding. My friends saw me being attacked and they retaliated. I just need to talk to her,” she gestured to the dragonborn. “I just need to straighten this out. You have no idea what’s going on here, and neither do I frankly. Please, please let him go.”

The guard seemed uneasy. “We… we can’t just let you go… you speak Aquin? Sounds like no dialect I’ve heard of before. Where are you from?” He looked about, confused. “Stay here, we have to get to the bottom of this.”

“I don’t know what Aquin is, but… I’ve never met anyone else who speaks Fulgan before. But I need, I need... please, I just need to talk to her, if I talk to her I can straighten all of this out. And my friend hasn’t done anything, he hasn’t killed anyone.”

“You’ll all wait here. Await the Leftenant.”

Nobody else could understand their conversation. Renard looked back over his shoulder. “Elyse, I have this under control. Just go!” He turned back to the guard. “I won’t stop you taking me, but, if you take this any further you’re making a huge mistake.”

“We cannot let this pass. The rest of you, lay down your arms. You’re staying here.” The guards fanned out across the room.

“We’re not leaving you Ren!” Boblem called over. “Guess we’re staying here, with you.” He set down his staff.

Cassian folded his arms and leaned into a corner, watching and waiting.

Three guards were still on Renard, and the other two moved to Boblem and Cassian, pulling out manacles. “Stop, and listen to me!” Renard ordered, but they continued on.

Cassian put his hands up, but he wasn’t quite surrendering. “I suggest you listen to our friend over there in the mask. He has quite a lot to say.”

The guard was grim and resolute. He grabbed the wizard’s wrists and bound them.

“We’re standing down!” Boblem protested. “What’s the point of handcuffing us if we’re not fighting back?”

“To make sure you stay here,” the guard responded.

“We’re stood here!”

Boblem’s hands were clamped in manacles.

“Well this wasn’t worth it, was it,” Astra whispered to Elyse, the two still holding the guard captain. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know what Ren’s planning, he seems to have something, but we could just chuck her at them and run?”

Astra tried, but she was too heavy. The body fell to the floor, and she grunted on the impact, armour clanging.

“Oops,” Astra smiled at the guards, apologetic. Renard groaned at the sight.

The guards moved to Sariel, but she moved away. “Don’t touch me,” she backed up, out of the door.

“Stand where you are!” they ordered.

“Don’t come near me with those,” she shook her head, staring at the manacles. They continued to approach.

Elyse backed up as well. “Whatever the fuck you think you’re doing, just do it now,” she hissed to Renard. Then to the guards, in Fulgan, “I suggest you listen to my friend, whatever he has to say. Because this is really not what I intended to happen. We didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

Sariel and Elyse were on a landing out back. There was a short stream behind them, and another platform with a wall that led to a separate building behind them.

Renard still was not resisting. He spoke to the guard once more. “You have to listen to me, you’re making a terrible mistake. Just reach into my bag, there is a scroll in a piece of leather, and it will explain everything.”

The guard gave a curt nod. “Fine, but it will be explained from within here.” He turned to another guard. “You, get the bag.”

Another guard began to rifle through Renard’s bag. Boblem prepared a spell, but he wouldn’t release it unless they attacked. Cassian made an attempt to break the manacles behind him with his own, coughing and doubling over to hide the sound of the magic. Unfortunately, all he could think of to try was a poison attack, and the spray simply dripped off of the metal.

The guards were still moving towards Sariel and Elyse. A guard went in for Sariel, and she did her best to push away, but one manacle was clamped onto her. She pushed away again. “Stop!” The guard ordered. “You need to stay here!” He went for his sword.

“Get those away from me!” she shrieked.

The one searching through Renard’s bag found the scroll, popping the lid off the leather tube. They began to read.

Astra tried to force his body between Sariel and the guard, but the Eye refused to budge. He pulled his sword out fully. “She’s told you to stay back from her,” Astra warned.

“And I’ve told you to stop resisting!” he commanded.

“We were standing still, thank you!”

“Doesn’t look like it,” the guard countered. He went for her again. Sariel burst into primal savagery, her nails and teeth elongating in a familiar sight. She backhanded him across the face, her claws digging acid into him.

“No, stop!” Elyse yelled. She pulled off her headscarf, reaching out a hand, her fingertips visibly purple where they peeked through the wristwraps. She turned to the guards, backing up and calling in Fulgan again. “This is so much bigger than just this, please, please, just listen to us!” She held the headscarf in one hand, looking scared.

Renard turned his eyes on the guard who had been scanning his scroll. “I hope you understand what you’re reading. If you don’t release us right now, you can consider this an act of war.”

The guard shook his head, staring him down. “Prince or no, we cannot let this pass. You’re all staying here.”

A few of the guards snapped over their heads in surprise at the reveal. “Fine, you have forced my hand,” Renard declared. He kicked into the guard, a foot slamming directly into the shelled, scaled armour, sending him reeling back.

Seeing the guards step forward, Boblem let loose a wave of thunder, slamming two of them back. The sound was almost visible, a shockwave bursting from his hands as he moved towards the exit.

Cassian took a moment to absorb the words he had just heard from the guard, doing his best to recover from the mental whiplash.  _ “You watch who the fuck you’re speaking to,” _ the masked man had warned him.

Channeling his emotions, the wizard stared at the guard closest to Sariel, sending horrible, horrible screaming into their mind. The guard dropped to the ground, falling on his butt as he stared up at Sariel in fear.

A spear jutted into Sariel’s stomach, an attack from a different guard. It pierced through the rags and hide as a third guard headed for Cassian, dropping Renard’s things on the ground. Another spear made contact, this time with the wizard.

Astra sent his own discordant note into the mind of the one on Sariel, and the guard reached to the side of their head, mouth wordlessly opening in a scream. The bard forced his way in front of Sariel. “Get away! I’ve warned you now.”

The guards were looking panicked. Sariel swiped out again, scratching the guard to leave their skin bubbling with deep cuts. They fell back, clutching their neck through the gap in their armour.

Elyse had been outside. Though she had been unable to hear when the guard had read out the scroll, Boblem’s thunderwave was quite loud, causing all the mist on the outside wall to shake off with the blow.

She reached into her bag, making contact with her arcane focus once more. “I could really use some help right now,” she begged. Something flickered, but dissipated. No connection. Desperate, she pushed more magic into it, but still nothing. Thankfully, she was still imbued with the usual power from it, the warm and comforting feeling of electricity shooting through her veins. To anyone else, this would be pain beyond measure, but for her, it was simply pins and needles. She took a breath, and her eyes spat lightning as she moved back to the door. She saw a guard knocked back in front of Sariel, screaming, as another held their head in pain. Two more had been thrown to the floor. Elyse dove for the dragonborn captain once more, but she was too heavy. Her boots shuffled against the floor, but the body was impossible to shift.

A bit of color returned to Renard’s face as he steadied himself, and he ran to deliver another kick to the one who had stabbed Cassian. Hands bound, he spun in a roundhouse strike that whacked the back of the guard’s head with a heeled boot. All the wizard could do was stare at the other man, a flurry of emotions crossing his face.

“You should have listened to me!” Renard chided the guard on the floor. They moaned in response.

There was only one still standing. Boblem let out a second thunderwave, throwing the last one onto the pile of guards. He groaned, not looking good, a bit of his armour dented in. None of them were killed, but Boblem looked nervous. “Oh gosh! Oh gosh, oh gosh, guys, we gotta go!”

Cassian was still staring at Renard in open shock, shaking slightly. “A  _ prince?!" _ he shrieked, reeling from the knowledge.

“Now is not the time for it!”

Cassian glanced around with wild eyes, unsure of what to do next, before offering his manacled hands out to the man. “Will you get these off me, my liege?!”

Renard rolled his eyes before crouching down to the guard who had manacled the wizard, pushing his arm into their chest to keep them down. Grabbing the keys to unlock the shackles, he stood on the guard’s chest to free Cassian.

The wizard stared at his free hands for a moment. He took a steadying breath, running his hands through his hair before promptly fleeing. Ducking out the back, he saw a small platform before a thin river, the street stretching down both ways. “I think I might have a plan,” he called over to Elyse, still crouched on the floor by the dragonborn captain. She looked almost feral, twitching with the lingering effects of electricity as she nodded.

Two guards scrambled to their feet. One slammed the butt of their spear into Boblem before spinning around with the weapon to hit the boy’s side with the point. Boblem went down, sinking against the side of the wall. Not done yet, they spun on Renard, two spears digging into his flesh.

Immediately, Astra called out to the farm boy. “Come on, get back up! We can do it, sapling!” The words, laced with Sylvan magic, were enough for Boblem to return to his senses. He clutched at the wound as Astra ran to tackle the guard. They barely stumbled at the impact, righting their spear to strike again. Astra gulped. “I think you’re right, we should probably start moving out!”

“We should leave!” Boblem agreed, standing once more.

Outside, Sariel was hacking at the manacle on her arm. The chain fizzled under her acid as she tried desperately to free herself, frantic.

“Help me get her up,” Elyse urged the wizard. “Let’s do this, now,” she pulled at the body. Cassian came to her aid, and they managed to stand the body upwards, but the dragonborn was dangling in their grip. “Hey Ren, we could actually use the person who is good at strong shit here!” she called, the pair beginning their retreat.

Renard motioned to his manacles as an answer, shoving a nearby guard before grabbing his bag and heading to the door. Two more spears hit him as he left.

Scared, hurt, and bleeding, Boblem turned to leave as well. “Come on, we gotta leave! We can’t just stay here!”

Cassian turned over his shoulder, sending his voice soundlessly into Sariel’s mind, who was still frantically pulling at the manacle.  _ “Sariel, it’s Cassian. Take a deep breath, just follow us. Elyse knows where she’s going.” _

Two guards went to tackle Astra, but they bashed into each other as he fended them off, dodging a fist that went straight into the other guard’s head. An arrow shot across the room, landing in Renard’s back as he fled. Astra ran after him.

Sariel’s manacle finally popped off, and she threw it into the river, legging it after Cassian, Boblem, and Elyse.

“Okay, so what’s this plan of yours?” the sorcerer called to Cassian, struggling to be heard across the long and thick body of the dragonborn.

The wizard did his best to pick up speed, matching her pace. “If we can hide her, I can make myself look like her and escort you out of the city.”

She nodded back at him.

Renard grabbed Astra, putting himself between the bard and the guards as they pushed out of the building. Boblem glanced behind him as he ran, ensuring that Sariel was still following. The guards were in disarray, most of them pretty hurt, and none yet giving chase.

“If you can turn her invisible, and someone else can carry her,” Cassian brainstormed.

Elyse shook her head. She had poured the last of her magic into her focus. “I’m out.”

“If we can hide her somewhere, I can just…”

Elyse set her jaw. “If we can find somewhere where I can just question her quickly, we can leave her there, and we can go, and you can- ”

“Perfect.”

Another arrow sunk into the doorway just over Astra’s head. The guards were shouting to each other, almost out of ammunition, still stumbling to stand. As Renard and Astra ran out the back, the bard cast a minor illusion in the doorway. The image of a feral wolf burst out of a stream, dripping in water as it growled at the guards. There was a shout of fear from inside the building.

The pair bolted around the side of the block, winding down the alley before intersecting with the other four. The dragonborn captain was dragged along, her armour clanking as it bounced off the street.

Coming up on a bridge, Astra checked over Sariel. “I’ve got you, sapling.” He gave a soft smile as his golden magic flowed through the small elf.

The strange effects on Elyse’s face were fading, the blue and purple marks diminishing to appear like a smoky eyeliner. Panting heavily, clearly exhausted, she chanted once more to the others. “If I can just get her somewhere, ask her some questions, we could dump her and get the fuck out of here. Cassian can disguise himself as her- ”

“I’ll escort you out of the city,” the wizard clarified.

“ -and make it look like he’s escorting us out of the city.”

Boblem seemed concerned. “But we’re not gonna kill her, right? You said that earlier, I wouldn’t be okay with that.” Astra shook his head in agreement.

“No, I, I don’t know…”.

“Please, no.”

“Fine,” Renard agreed, and the group travelled across the bridge as the Water Snakes disappeared into mist behind them. In the distance, the alarm was still going, echoing through different parts of the city. They heard the clanging of soldiers in rank and file, marching through the streets.

They made their way through quiet alleys for five minutes before they found a possible location to hide. It appeared to be a low, wide, and squat building, maybe a warehouse or a barn. Crucially, the door was slightly ajar. Renard pulled up his hood, tucking away his hair as he crept up to it, slightly pushing the door to peer inside. He saw two people coming down the street. There was no clanging of armour, the pair seemed to be staggering home from a bar. The couple walked, hand over shoulder, as they dropped a liquor bottle and went stumbling to retrieve it.

The building was rather long, maybe ten by thirty meters wide. He heard a snore, and glanced to a chair in the back with a pair of feet up on a box. A security guard, asleep on the job, with a shortsword at their hip. There were vague shapes and shadows in the dark building, a channel down the middle. There seemed to be a window or a door close to the opposite wall, where dim light came in. There was possibly a small balcony, but he couldn’t make out any more details in the darkness.

Renard turned back to the others, whispering. “There’s just one person in there, as far as I can tell.”

“Even one person might be too many,” Elyse returned. “Do we want to risk that? What’s it look like in there?”

He did his best to describe. The group could hear the snoring from inside. “Somebody without shackles could go in and tie them up while they’re asleep,” he suggested, motioning to his own hands again.

Boblem still had shackles too. “Also, if we’re questioning someone, it’s gonna make noise,” the boy warned.

“It’s gonna be loud, yeah,” Elyse agreed.

“How far are we across the city from just getting to the docks?” Renard pressed.

“I honestly don’t know.”

“So our options here, are we trying to sneak the Captain’s body- ?”

“It’s just too risky- ”

Cassian’s form shifted, reforming as a triton, one of the Eyes of Sanskra. The group stared at him. “I could ask him to leave.”

“That’s a great idea,” Elyse encouraged.

Renard nodded. “Then do it.”

Cassian crossed to the warehouse, banging on the door. He heard sounds from inside as the guard scrambled to stand, answering the door. It was a human man, portly looking, wearing patchwork armour. “Ah, wha, what can I help you with? I, I’ve been here all night.”

The wizard was stone faced. “Sir, I got some prisoners I need to do some questioning with, do you mind if we could we get a little bit of privacy in here? The streets are a bit chaotic at the moment.”

“I guess, um, I dunno, I’m not really supposed to let people in.”

“I’m not going to make trouble with the guard for you, we’ll just be a few minutes.”

“Ahh, alright, but, I’ll have to be outside.”

“Outside is fine.”

The man seemed persuaded, and he opened the door for Cassian, holding out his palm as he did so. The wizard dropped in a gold piece.

“Oh! Well in that case, take as long as you need,” the man nodded. “I’ll go for a slash.”

“You can have another nap if you want.”

“Yeah, yeah um, just, leave the place alright?”

“There’s not going to be any trouble.”

He seemed relieved. “Thank you, the master’s very… particular.”

“No worries.”

“I’ll give you an hour.”

Cassian gave a curt nod. “Thank you. Have a good evening.”

“You too.” The man disappeared around the corner. In case anyone was looking, Cassian grabbed Boblem by the shackles, pulling him into the building. The boy stumbled forwards.

They entered the warehouse, closing the heavy door behind them and sliding a beam into place. Renard couldn’t see in the dark, but the rest of them could make out workbenches, timber, supplies, tools, and all sorts of coring mechanisms. On the other side was simply rows and rows of statues and gargoyles. Elyse tied the captain to a column, securing knots.

Taking a few steps back, visibly shaking as she stared at the guard, she rubbed her face. The body was still limp, but the dragonborn was breathing.

“What’s your plan?” Astra urged.

“I just have some questions I need to ask her, that’s it.”

“Just questions, right?” Boblem pressed.

“Just questions.”

“And you guarantee you’ll get answers?” Cassian wondered.

“I don’t know, but I have to try, this is the only chance I’ve had.”

Astra stepped forward. “I can help you with that.”

“Really? How?

“I’ve got a spell that’d make everyone in the room tell the truth.”

“Everyone? Not just one person?”

“Potentially everyone.”

Elyse glanced around. “Is everyone okay with that?”

“Yeah, I’ve got nothing to hide,” Boblem nodded.

Renard and Boblem were freed from their manacles with the use of Cassian’s key, and Renard hurried over to the dragonborn to check her injuries. She was stable, and breathing, but not conscious, and fairly battered. “I can bring her to, whenever you’re ready.”

Elyse reached into the pouch again, hand on her arcane focus. She gathered herself, feeling the magic still her mind. Cassian left to watch near the door.

They could all see a balcony out back, filled with completed sculptures. There was a counterweight crane to lift pallets of finished work upwards. There was also a short door, or a tall window, which led out onto the roof level of a neighboring building. By Cassian’s door, there was a small viewing hole to slide open. He kept it closed for now.

It was unlikely anyone would enter from the space connected to the rooftops, but knowing the mishmash shape of the city, it was impossible to be sure. “Can someone go keep an eye on that?” Elyse pointed.

“I can keep an eye on it,” Boblem volunteered, moving towards the balcony.

“Thanks.” She stared down at the body, breathing. “Okay, do it.”

Renard removed a glove, pressing his hand to the dragonborn’s face. She coughed, opening her eyes. She looked around, panicked, but she didn’t focus on anyone. Her eyes appeared normal, but it seemed she was still blinded from Renard’s earlier attack.

“Where am I? What’s happened?” she panted. “I can’t see, I can’t see…”

Astra glanced to the sorcerer. “Do you want me to do it?”

“Yeah, do it now,” Elyse nodded. Astra reached out, but the magic didn’t take hold. “Again,” she urged. He tried once more, but the Captain was resisting. Elyse looked at him, desperate. He gave it one last try.

No luck. Astra shook his head. “Didn’t work. I’m sorry.”

“It just dissipated then?”

Astra shrugged in apology. The rope and the armour began to shake. “What’s happening?” their prisoner repeated, starting to struggle.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Elyse bent down. “I just need to ask you some questions.” She did her best to make her voice sound as scared and vulnerable as possible.

Recognition struck the guard. “It’s you. Untie me.”

“Please, please, I just need to ask you some questions.”

“One first. My, my soldiers…”

“They’re fine, they’re fine,” Elyse consoled.

“We didn’t kill them,” Renard confirmed.

“We didn’t kill them,” she echoed, giving a questioning look to Renard. Cassian and Sariel knew better, but as far as the rest of the group was aware, no damage had been done.

“We didn’t kill them,” Renard repeated with conviction.

“Okay,” Elyse nodded.

Kenrah seemed convinced. “Okay…”

“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

“If I get out of here and find my men dead, or butchered… there will be hell to pay. You’re wanted.”

“I know that now, I didn’t before.”

“Your questions. Make it quick.”

Elyse took a deep breath. “Did you find the other two people on the poster here, anywhere? Do you have them?”

“Not yet.”

“Anyone else from the crew…? Did you find them here, or anywhere else? Any of your other soldiers?”

“If I answer, do you truthfully… will you let me live?”

“Yes.”

“Yes,” Renard echoed. It was the truth. She believed them.

The dragonborn nodded. “Your crewmates are in the cells. In Arakhis.”

Elyse’s face darkened. “How many?”

“Four? Five?”

“Names?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do they look like? Have you seen them?” she pressed.

“Like you. Like you look like. Humans, elves. I don’t know. They’re alive. They’re serving a sentence.”

“A sentence?” Astra interjected. “What for?”

“Thievery.”

Elyse shook her head violently.

“Elyse, breathe,” Renard calmed her.

She pressed forward. “Do you know, do you have any idea who they are, what their names are, what they look like, what races they are, what sort of equipment you took off them, anything?”

The dragonborn looked very weak. “My, my head… I’ve been hurt. My head is everywhere, I can’t say for certain. There was… an older human. Maybe a dwarf. Another one, another woman. I don’t know.”

“What did they look like? Who were they?”

“Dark-skinned, wearing robes, long hair, greying. They fought viciously and well but…”

“With what?”

“Swords, sorcery, all manner.”

“The human, what did he fight with?”

“Swords. If you're worried about your crew, they’re probably alive, if they haven't got themselves killed in prison.”

“And what's going to happen to them, they’re just going to stay in prison, or?”

“To serve out their sentence, yes. I’m not the Magister. We fought them, we overcame them, your ship went down, and we tracked you down. The rest of your crew that came here... It's a stroke of luck that you're here,” she laughed. “We didn't expect to find you so quickly, but.”

Elyse had venom in her eyes.

“Elyse,” Renard cautioned.

“I’ve got this,” she shot back.

“Ask what else you need to ask, and then we need to go.”

“I’m doing it!” She turned back to the dragonborn. “What would you have done with me if you had captured me?”

“Put you in the pit.”

“The pit?” Astra worried.

“The cells.”

Elyse took a deep breath. “And do you know where the artifact is?”

“We assume one of your crew has it. The college is most assuredly looking forward to having their property returned.”

“It’s not their property.”

The captain shrugged. “I guess these are matters of discussion another time.”

“Maybe. So you think you have five or six people in Arakhis. And the two on the poster are unaccounted for. And me, unaccounted for, until now.”

“Yes.”

“Anyone else that you’re trying to track, actively?”

“No.”

“Okay.” Elyse took another breath. “On the ship, I remember, I don't remember a lot but I remember seeing… a man struck down in front of me. Dark skin, long dark hair, blue eyes.”

“That fits the description.”

“Is he alive?”

“He’s alive.”

“In the cells?”

“Yes, he’s the one I mentioned,” they nodded. “Put up a good fight. A good fucking fight.”

“I would have hoped he did.”

“Your people have spirit. I’ll give you that. I’ve rather enjoyed this little chase.”

“I hope you'll continue to enjoy it,” Elyse spat. “Who sent the artifact to Arakhis and why was it sent there?”

“I don't know, that's not my business. I command the guard, I'm not a historian.”

“Fair.”

Kenrah grinned. “Why don’t you set foot in Arakhis? We’ll find out there. We’ll arrange a meeting. Some of the cells are quite roomy, we can have a few of the historians in there.”

“I don’t think that’ll be happening anytime soon. Where’s the rest of the ship? After you blew it up.”

This seemed to confuse the guard. She cocked her head.

“I found the front third of the ship in the Mangrove Swamps, where’s the rest of it?” Elyse pushed.

The dragonborn was still confused. “You… tore it apart, we all watched you. We watched you writhe in blue flame. Split the ship like it was paper.”

Astra blinked in suprise. “Elyse?”

The sorcerer’s face was contorted in anger and pain, and complete disbelief.

“If you’re the one with the blue hair,” the guard answered. She seemed earnest.

“Elyse blew the ship up?” the bard clarified.

Elyse fell silent, putting her hand on the arcane focus as she shook her head, tears stinging at her eyes. She channeled as much magic as she had left into it, her hair rising on her head.

“If we weren’t in so much danger it would have been beautiful,” the guard shrugged.

“Shut up,” Elyse silenced her, turning to speak to her focus in Fulgan. “Is that true? That can’t be… that can’t be true.” Still, no response. The dragonborn went silent, bowing her head.

“Take a breath,” Astra consoled.

“Look, I have nothing to gain,” their prisoner argued. “You’re either going to kill me or leave me. What benefit do I have of lying to you. You were there!”

Elyse’s throat closed up. “I… I don’t remember anything, I remember  _ you _ trying to kill me,” she pointed to the scar on her face, but the blinded guard couldn’t see. “I remember, I remember your people striking him down, and I remember you trying to kill me and your men surrounding me, that’s all I remember,” she was frantic, words spilling out of her. “And before that I remember being in Arakhis, and I don’t remember anything before that either, so you did something to me.”

The guard let out a hollow chuckle. “We did nothing more to you than try to detain you.”

“Elyse, she’s just a guard,” Cassian interrupted. “Muscle. Tracking you down for a hunt.”

“Excuse you, sir,” the guard spat. “There is more to the Arakhian guard than that.”

“I am not saying that there is any shame in your profession, I am saying that you can’t answer her deeper questions,” the wizard countered.

“I understand that, but bare us the respect we deserve. And you,” she turned back to Elyse, following the sounds of the voices. “You didn’t do nothing. You think I was born with a horn and a half?” She tilted her head so everyone could see the shattered knob on her head. At that, Elyse felt a memory of surging forward. A chain of lightning, whipping and circling around her head, yanking her forward, the horn shattering to dust and sparks in a second. Her eyes spat lightning and she twitched as the memory settled. Flashes of them passed, blurs of color and sound, steel and sorcery, sparks burning through her mind, too much to digest at once.

“Hey, take a breath. Come on, take a breath,” Astra consoled. Elyse was unresponsive.

Outside, four of the Eyes of Sanskra marched past Cassian’s door. He was able to see out of the smallest crack, but they hurried past. At the end of the corner, they kicked in a door to a different building. Two guards moved in, and thirty seconds later, they headed down into the mist. “We’re wrapping this up soon,” Cassian hissed.

“I don’t think we’ve got time,” Astra pressed the sorcerer. “We need to keep moving.”

Renard turned to interrogate the dragonborn. “If we leave right now, what will you do?”

She shrugged. “Gather my men. Make my way back to Arakhis.”

“I think that would be for the best.”

“I don’t suppose that I can convince you that they shouldn’t be in prison because that object did not belong to you or your city,” Elyse tried.

“I guess you can make your way to the Magister and have the conversation with them. I execute their whim. I'm no jury.”

“This is not the person to argue this with, Elyse,” Renard cautioned.

“I know.”

“We need to  _ go." _

“We’re running out of time,” Astra worried.

Elyse pressed a shaking hand to her head, unable to stop the tears from streaming down her face. “Okay, okay, we’re going, but,” she looked back to the guard, trying her best to keep the venom and anger back. “You should tell your superiors that my crew, they shouldn’t be, they don’t deserve to be in prison for taking back something that was stolen from us, from me. It doesn't, it should have always belonged to me, it wasn't stealing, we were just taking back something that was stolen from us. And we didn't mean, we didn't mean for any of this, we didn't kill anyone, we didn't hurt anyone in the college, we just wanted to get in and get the artifact and leave. I don't know what happened, but they shouldn't be there.”

Kenrah leaned against the post. “I'll pass on the message. I look forward to meeting again.”

The venom seeped back into Elyse’s face, but she started to walk away.

“Before, before you go,” the guard called. “Where am I? Am I in the city?”

“You’re still in Sanskra,” Astra told her.

“What did you do to her?” Elyse whispered to Renard. “Is it permanent?”

He wrung his hands. “I… I don’t know.”

“What spell was that?”

“I can’t see,” the dragonborn continued. “Nothing more than shapes and shadows. I’ll have my revenge. Don’t worry.”

“I don’t know, let’s just go,” Renard urged.

“Don’t think I didn’t recognize you before you burned down my house,” the guard continued.

Elyse was much more confused, glancing at Renard. “Is she talking about me, or...?”

“Let’s just go!” he repeated.

“Don’t worry, they’re not really burnt out,” the guard called. “I’ll go easy on you.”

Renard swallowed. “I'm sure they'll get better.” 

The dragonborn only chuckled defeatedly to herself, pulling at the chains. Renard approached, taking out his dagger. He stared at her for a minute.

“Ren?” Elyse prompted.

“What are you about to do, buddy?” Boblem called, concerned.

He bent, and put the dagger at her feet. She turned her head at the sound. “Should you need it when you get out,” he explained. Without looking back, he walked over to the balcony. Arriving at the back of the warehouse, there was a ladder leading up to a mezzanine. He climbed up the side near the counterweight crane. It seemed like this was where the finer work was done, many pots of paint and paintbrushes alongside detailing tools.

There was a small door. He couldn’t see out through the frosted glass, but there was dim light coming in. Trying the door, it opened out. Peering over, he saw he was on a low roof level, with a small walkway over to the next roof. He could make out the edge of the city just before it disappeared into the mist, a hundred meters or so off. He looked around for any boats, but it was difficult to see in the mist. There were dark lines coming up from the area around the docks, potentially masts.

Elyse hovered over the dragonborn, giving the guard one last look before she left. She was very nervous, very torn, and the guard was simply slumped over, given up. Cassian walked up beside Elyse, studying the captive for a moment. In an instant, his form shifted to match the dragonborn form of Captain Kenrah.

“I didn’t mean for any of this,” the sorcerer repeated. “You should know.”

“Fate has a funny way of dancing her dance,” the guard mumbled back.

“Whatever.”

Elyse turned to leave, Cassian following.

Astra leaned back to the guard. “I’m so sorry, it wasn’t… you attacked us, in all fairness.” A bit more healing energy passed over and into their prisoner. “My friends are good people.”

She took a deep breath, reacting to the mist of golden energy that came from Astra’s hand as he cast. She looked up in the bard’s direction, nostrils flaring, and gave a nod.

Renard pushed through the door, the others following. The rest of the group, able to see in the dark, stepped out onto the balcony. They could make out the shapes of the city and the buildings, leading down to the docks. Mist crept in at the edges, with sounds of the guards in the distance, though the alarm bells had stopped.

“We should go, quickly, quietly,” Elyse urged.

“Do you think we should disguise ourselves in any other shape?” Boblem suggested.

“I can’t, I’ve got nothing left.”

“I can’t do that,” Renard answered.

Cassian gave a small shrug. “You’re all just my prisoners, for now.”

“Yeah, so if you wanna manhandle me or whatever, it’s fine,” Elyse nodded.

Renard brainstormed. “If we can get to the docks, and find a boat…”

“Yes, I agree. Last resort is you,” she glanced at Cassian.

“There has to be another way out,” Renard continued. “Sanskra can’t only be accessible by a swamp…”

“There will be a boat, I’m sure.”

“And there will be another way out, to the north. There has to be.”

“North?”

He shrugged. “It’s the closest part to the nearest city.”

“It’s worth a shot,” the wizard agreed.

Elyse looked down across the city of Sanskra. “Okay, let’s do it.”

It took about forty minutes to move quietly and silently to the edge of the docks. When they saw patrols of guards moving by, they stopped and waited for them to pass. Cassian held Elyse with her hands behind her back, assuming that everyone else would be in tow. Astra walked beside Sariel, his tail sort of curved around her perimeter.

Desperate, Elyse concentrated on a picture of Xander in her head. Whispering in Fulgan, she called out to him under her breath. “I don’t know if this is going to work, but if you're here, if you can hear me... I have to leave the city. I’m heading north. Please come and find me.” She focused on the spell, casting it out, desperately waiting for a response. There was nothing.

But there was a tiny flutter above her. She looked up into the overarching eaves of a nearby building. There was a familiar figure, a fruit bat, with glittery wings and a little snout. It looked eagerly at her with two beady black eyes, hanging upside down. It squeaked at her, flying near, and grabbing onto her underarm. She recognized it as one of Xander’s bats.

It opened its mouth, and Xander’s voice spoke. The bat itself wasn’t speaking, but the sound echoed out, barely more than a whisper. “Elyse, I‘ve been keeping eyes on you. Get out of the city now. I’ll find you eventually. The others are alive, don’t worry. Stay safe.”

The bat nestled into the crook of her arm. Elyse took her hands back from Cassian and hugged it. The wizard gave a look of disgust as she kissed its head.  _ "Zizi," _ she cried in relief, holding it as the bat nestled into her before fluttering out, spiraling around them and disappearing off into the night. It seemed that perhaps, this one had been following her for awhile.

She was still nervous and tired, but she looked more comforted than before. Everything that had happened was incredibly draining, but now, there was a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

“We need to keep moving,” the wizard urged, grabbing her arms behind her once more.

“I know, I know.”

They were forty feet from the edge of the docks, silent and black. Beyond the shape of the docks themselves, the horizon disappeared into a wall of mist that was impossible to see through. In front of them was an array of boats, fishing vessels, and all sort of odd little river runners. There was a barge that seemed easy enough to sail, with simple oars on the sides. The boats with sails would be harder to maneuver, and much noisier.

“We don’t want to take a boat with a sail right now,” Renard advised.

Elyse gestured to the barge. “This one, let’s go.”

“We can do it.”

“Right,” Cassian nodded, leading them forward.

“I know everyone’s tired,” she apologized, “But I feel like we can power through this.”

“It’s fine,” Renard assured her, unlashing the ropes from the dock to hold it steady. Elyse jumped on, Boblem following close behind.

“I’ll start,” he offered, beginning to move the water underneath them with the same spell he used in the swamps. They pushed the barge silently off from the city, peeling off, and gliding out over the black, featureless waters. They disappeared into the fog. The shape of Sanskra dimmed into silhouettes, into a shadow, and then, into nothing. Renard took out his compass, keeping them due north. Cassian dropped the disguise, sending out a small blue light to the front of their boat.

They moved through the mist with no change but the lap of the water. After a while, another dark shadow manifested out of the mist, all encompassing. Breaking through, leaving the cloud of mist behind them, their clothes, the boat, and every surface was dripping in condensation. Leaving the mist behind them, they saw a cliff wall of black granite, going up as far as they could see, and circling them. The wall might completely enclose Sanskra.

“Slow it down,” Renard ordered.

“Can anybody climb that?” Astra suggested.

“Not in this state, I can’t.”

Elyse grimaced. “I mean, I might be able to, but I’m exhausted. I don’t know if I’d have the strength.

“There’s got to be another way,” Renard protested. “Where would they take these boats? They can’t take them through the swamps.”

“Just keep making our way around the edge,” Cassian advised.

Elyse agreed. “Yeah, we’ll just keep going around, we must... we have to hit land eventually, right?”

They moved close to the cliff wall, starting to follow it around. After an hour of travelling alongside the featureless black rock, they began to hear the sound of rushing water. They pressed through, and shortly came to what appeared to their ears first, and then their eyes. A huge, crashing waterfall, coming down in front of them.

They must be in a wide lagoon, the radius twice the size of Sanskra. The waterfall came down with intensity, suggesting a large river to the far north of the city. Renard pulled out the map of Caldera, checking for rivers north of the Flooded Hills. There did seem to be a very thin line coming down from Lakeside, through the forests, towards Sanskra. But it had no name.

They emerged through another patch of mist, looking up at the waterfall. It was about fifteen feet wide, disappearing as high as they could see into the mist.

“Any ideas?” Elyse surveyed the group.

Renard glanced up from the map. “I mean, there could be a cave behind it that we could at least rest in, if nothing else.”

“Yeah, we can at least check.”

“We’ve seen nothing for at least two hours, so.”

“Worth a try,” Cassian agreed.

The water was coming down with intensity. If they tried to pass through like this, the water would knock them down. Boblem and Elyse discussed for a moment, conjoining their magic to part the waters. Boblem did his best to shape the water, while Elyse sent gusts of wind to beat it back. They were able to see a small, dark tunnel, leading into the rock.

“Looks like something,” Elyse shrugged.

“There’s a tunnel,” Boblem agreed.

“Everyone go, I’ve got this.”

Boblem and Elyse were the last to leave as the rest of the group moved through and into the tunnel. Renard wrapped his rope around the two of them as a precaution, ready to pull them in if the waterfall knocked them back. Astra grabbed on as well.

“One at a time, let’s go,” Renard urged. It was a bit of a mission to push the boat close enough, each person stepping under the archway and ducking into the tunnel. They landed precariously on the rock, able to push themselves in. Boblem and Elyse jumped, the rope assisting them as the group pulled. The empty boat swayed back, blasted into matchsticks under the power of the water. Shards of it flew off as it sank beneath the waves.

“Oh boy,” Boblem gasped.

Renard sighed. “So we’re not going back that way.”

“I don’t think we want to anyway, do we?” Elyse surveyed.

Astra gulped. “Just have to hope that this has a way out.”

The cave was about five feet wide, six or seven feet tall. The walls were black, almost smooth, but occasional cracks ran through it like marble or granite. The surfaces were slick and wet. Around their feet, a bioluminescent moss shone. It was not the same as what they had seen in the swamps, but Elyse and Boblem bent to collect some anyway. It dimmed slightly when they took it, but retained light. Sariel looked over it with caution. It didn’t seem to be inherently magical, but she recognized it as a component for some potions. They squeezed the water out of some piles, wrapping bits away for later use.

“Cassian,” Renard turned to the wizard, “Could you send lights further down the tunnel?”

The man glanced at him before sending three blue orbs drifting down, illuminating the tunnel. They followed the light, and after twenty feet, it widened to a small cave. There were a few crates arranged inside, some makeshift sleeping arrangements, and a wall that angled up in the back. There seemed to be some sort of contraption further in as well.

Elyse stepped forward, and she felt her foot catch on something. A wire.

Three projectiles dug into her side. The wire snapped out of place, and glancing up, she saw three small holes drilled in the rock.

“Elyse, are you okay?” Renard called behind her.

“Hold on,” she called back, searching for more traps. She didn’t see anything, but couldn’t be sure.

“Boblem?” Renard turned to the boy.

He was already shaking his head. “I don’t have any spells left…”

“That’s okay. We can be careful.”

They examined the arch and the doorway, looking around. The wire was hidden under dust and debris, but it was now tripped, unable to reload.

Elyse crouched down, shaking a bit, a few sparks snapping off her. She sent a gust of wind into the room. The blankets and sparse pillows moved through the air. A few crates toppled over, opening. Something blue and glimmery spilled out all across the campsite floor.

“Subtle,” Renard chided.

“I already set off the trap,” she shot back.”Wanted to see if there were any more.”

Boblem bent down to her. “You okay?”

“Need healing?” Astra followed.

“I’m fine, I’m fine for now,” she brushed them off. “I don’t think there’s any more there, I think it’s safe now. But we should check any of the entrances before we go out of them.”

Renard stepped into the cave, checking through what had spilled. Elyse glanced around the crates as well, rubbing her wound. There were spearheads made of copper, steel, and bronze arrayed out across the floor. They were very similar to the ones in Turquoid’s quarters. Little inlets cut into them, almost like eyes.

Where the chests had slightly broken, they appeared to have false bottoms. Underneath where the spearheads were, another hatch opened up. Something spilled out. It looked like strands of seaweed, with a faint blue residual light. They were covered in a crystalline powder, like sugar or salt. Renard touched one with a gloved hand. They didn’t feel floppy or wet, the way seaweed would feel. They were strangely dry.

They hadn’t seen anything like it before, but the color was the same tint as Astra’s new armour. Cassian pocketed a bit. The seaweed was well trimmed, clearly harvested with care. At least two kilograms were spread over the floor.

“Why were they hiding this?” Boblem wondered.

“Turquoid was cleary smuggling, or something,” Renard concluded.

Elyse tilted her head. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure this is where she hides her stash.”

“Smuggling seaweed?” Boblem pressed, confused.

Renard continued to look around. Propped up behind one of the sleeping arrangements was a pack full of rations, torches, rope, and climbing gear. He took some torches, and Elyse grabbed a new rope. There was a small vial of dark, smoked black glass, which seemed to have a rose at the bottom. It was corked with a dark and ruby red liquid inside. He held up the potion, and Elyse took it. They found an oilskin cloak, and a javelin propped up behind as well. The javelin looked different from the other spearheads, clearly older. The black wood handle had lightning bolts inscribed on it, the head glowing with a slight light.

“It’s beautiful,” Elyse observed.

Renard passed it to her. “I dunno, looks magical.”

He continued to look through, breaking an unopened crate. It was much the same, spearheads or crossbow heads, and digging further, another false bottom underneath hiding dried, crystallized seaweed, packed in tightly “This is definitely Turquoid’s stash, looks like the weapons she had on her barge.”

“Don’t you think she’d know if we started selling off her stuff?” Sariel warned.

The group nodded in agreement. “In any case,” Renard continued, “I think we’re okay to rest here for now, but I wouldn’t want to stay here for long in case they come back by.”

“We’ll just rest for as short a time as we can,” Elyse agreed.

Boblem glanced around the cave. “There are beds here, so I imagine somebody’s staying here.”

Elyse surveyed the rest of the space. There was a stair near the back that seemed to curve up and around a corner. There was also something that seemed to be a shaft leading straight up, and some contraption at the back. Going up to it and looking at the lever, she saw small platforms, some cogs, and some ropes leaning up the shaft. It was about the same size as some of the crates, so it seemed like a dumbwaiter. Pulling the lever, the boxes raised.

She looked around for more traps, and she found one with her foot. Three more projectiles shot into her. “For fuck’s sake!” she called.

“You alright?” the bard called.

“They got the other side of my neck that time, so…”

Sariel came over, checking the wounds. They weren’t more than pinpricks, though they certainly would hurt. They didn’t seem to be poisonous.

Elyse sat on the floor. “I think I’m gonna stop trying to do shit today, because clearly my brain is not all there right now.”

“We should rest,” Cassian agreed.

Renard rolled his shoulders. “Yes, I don’t think I can stand up for much longer.”

“I’ll take watch,” Astra offered. He headed over to the edge of the waterfall entrance, sitting with his back up against the wall.

“If no one else is, then I’ll take watch at the other end,” Renard followed.

“Astra, wake me when you’re done,” Cassian called. “I’ll take second watch.”

Elyse tried to sleep, but found she couldn’t. Images of dragonborn ran through her mind. She sat back up, taking out the potion, the javelin, and the seaweed.

“Elyse, why don’t you come sit with me?” Astra offered.

She shook her head. “I’m just gonna… this will take my mind off things.” She began to identify the objects. She found the weapon to be a Javelin of Lightning. When thrown, it had the ability to transform into a bolt of lightning once a day, before changing back into the javelin. The potion was a Black Rose potion, allowing someone to see through magical darkness for ten minutes. A very valuable, very rare potion.

Astra plucked mindlessly at his lute, not really playing anything. He tuned it a little, distracting himself, and then set about his journalling.

Elyse sat, chin resting on her knees, staring dead ahead. Eventually, she dragged herself over to the bard, sitting silently. Astra leaned against her, carrying on. Completely exhausted, Elyse slipped into sleep on Astra’s shoulder.

The night passed uneventfully, and though no light came into the cave, they all rose in the morning to a grumbling in their stomachs. The sound of the water was continually crashing down. They awoke, battered and bruised, but rested and recovered.

Renard woke with a huge stretch, looking for breakfast.

“We found some rations,” Boblem suggested, looking to the bag they had found.

“I wish we didn’t have to eat rations,” Renard sighed, wistful. “I would give anything for that breakfast from yesterday.”

Elyse rose groggily awake, sat in her corner as she held her arcane focus tightly to her. She was quiet, picking a bit at her rations.

“I’d be grateful if we could find a way out of here,” Sariel piped up.

“Onwards and upwards it seems,” Cassian agreed.

“Okay, well, I’m feeling myself again,” Renard made his way to the dumbwaiter. “I’m gonna check out what’s up there.”

“I’ll do the same,” Astra followed.

Boblem, now well rested, set out a spell to search for traps. He didn’t find anymore, they had all been triggered. “Well good news is, it looks like you set off all the traps that already were here!” the boy grinned. “So thank you for that.”

Elyse didn’t respond. Renard and Astra climbed the stairs for at least five minutes, walking through the carved stone. Rounding the last spiral, where the roof would be, was a wooden trap door of thick and dark wood.

“I suppose we should try it?” Renard suggested.

Astra pushed up against it. It was heavy, but it did move. Renard helped, pushing the door up an inch as dirt and leaves began to trickle in. “Filthy,” Astra noted. They pushed more, and it swung open, thudding on the ground.

Light and greenery and fresh air burst in. More dirt and leaves, arranged around the perimeter, cascaded in, brushing off their shoulders and chests to settle around their feet. Taking a deep breath, smelling the smells and hearing the sounds, they were clearly in a forest. It was a temperate rainforest of some sort, and they heard birds shrieking and calling to each other. In the distance was the sound of the waterfall, and the river. Twigs and leaves crunched and broke. They were half under a huge, ancient log, a tree that had fallen over with decay. The trapdoor was inside of it, the tree’s radius almost ten feet. There was a patch in the tree above them where light was streaming through.

Astra scrambled out, sitting inside the log. He lied down in the grass, breathing a sigh of relief, so very happy. One chapter was behind them, but who knew what would come forward?


	18. Howl, Episode Sixteen

Hiding in the shade of the tree, they could see through a few patches where the wood had fully decayed. Beams of light crisscrossed through. Astra was lying in a patch of sun.

“I have never been so happy to see a forest,” Renard sighed. It was a similar temperature to the swamps, warm and muggy, thought not as moist. The ground was solid beneath them. They filed out, Elyse last, still looking despondent. Noticing the temperature, she undid her headscarf, taking off some of her new outfit. Sanskra was definitely cooler, with the mist surrounding everything away from the sun. It was still the height of summer, but the pocket that Sanskra hid away in was somehow isolated from the heat.

Renard took out his map. The rushing and crashing of water came from the east. He laid the map on the leaves and mulch. “If we can find that river, I can find our bearing.”

Cassian peered over the map. “Right.”

“I can have a look for it,” Astra volunteered.

Boblem scratched his head. “Do we know where we’re going?”

“Away,” Cassian frowned.

Elyse stepped out of the hollow tree, now wearing the long sleeved tunic over her trousers, with the blue wraps around her arms. She stuffed her things back into her bag, and turned to the group.

“I need to say something…”

Renard nodded, encouraging. “Spit it out, then.”

“I just wanted to say that I’m incredibly grateful that you all helped me back there,” she looked to Renard, “Especially you. I don’t know whether to call it brave or stupid, but incredibly  _ something _ for me. And um, you can all now see, hopefully, why I tried to give you the opportunity to get out, and away from me, and why I wanted to do things on my own- ”

“Elyse, I’m gonna stop you there. We said we'd stick by you before we knew any of that, and I think we've proved that now.”

“You're our friend,” Astra nodded.

Boblem piped up too. “That thing with the... artifact that you have, you said that they stole it from you?”

She sighed. “Not them, specifically, but…”

“Arakhis stole it from you,” Renard guessed.

“Not Arakhis, I don’t think, whoever gave it to them maybe, I don't know… it’s a lot.”

“It’s yours now,” Cassian shrugged.

“It’s mine now. Like it should have been.”

“How do you know it should have been?” Boblem pressed.

“I said before, it belonged to my mother. My whole family has passed it down, and then, it was taken from her when it should have been kept and passed down to me.”

Cassian studied her. “I've seen the way it dances around you during battle, so, it seems to want to be with you.”

“Yes. And I don't think it would actually even… work, for anyone else, so…”

“So it's yours, and that's settled,” Renard agreed.

“So it’s mine. I just... thank you. And I didn't mean for you guys to end up getting hurt, or in danger, or kicked out of a very cool city that I really wish I could have stayed in for much longer.”

“We did have three extra days paid for,” Astra laughed, “But that’s no problem.”

“I suppose it solves our problem of deciding whether we want to work for Lady Turquoid or not, anyway.”

Renard blinked, realizing the opportunity for information had indeed passed. “Yes.”

“It's okay. You didn’t plan for this,” Boblem consoled.

She shook her head. “I was trying to. The second I found out there were dragonborn in the city I did absolutely everything I should have done, and it still wasn’t good enough. But it’s done now.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself!”

Renard waved the boy off. “It doesn’t matter, we can’t change anything that’s happened.”

She sighed. “I know.”

“We’ll just move past it.”

“And I have some information, which is what I was trying to find. That's something at least.”

“And you have a promise from a friend,” Cassian reminded her.

“At least you now they’re safe,” Boblem agreed. “Well, that friend, at least.”

“Yeah,” she thought. “And I don’t think they’d... I mean, I’m assuming she’s telling the truth. I don’t think they’d execute any of them, at least not until they find the artifact, which I didn't use in front of her. So she doesn't necessarily know that I have it.”

“Why do they want it so bad if it wouldn't even work for them?”

“Power,” Sariel guessed.

“Study,” Cassian suggested.

“That leaves us the question of where we're heading next,” Renard continued. “I know where I'm going.”

She looked over to him. “Well, I said I would help you, and it seems only fair given that you were about to do something either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid for me,” she reapeated. “So... but there's also things I still need to find and learn and, I don't know these lands at all. And you guys seem to, or at least,” another glance to Renard, “You seem to.”

“I know a fair amount.”

“What's the nearest city to here?”

“Lakeside, it's north of here. We could follow the river, we could find the lake.”

“How big is that town?”

“It's a trade hub, it's very large.”

“Would they have... do they have a mage college, or a temple, or something?”

“They should have a temple. I don't believe they have a college.”

She considered. “Okay. Okay, that works, I think.”

“I unfortunately didn't get any information that I needed in Sanskra, so I have to move a little faster,” he frowned.

“Your thing is, I'm assuming, time sensitive?”

“It's something. We should find a river.”

Renard began to stroll in the direction of the sound of water. Astra trailed behind, calling, “I can help you!” 

It took a few minutes, but they found marks of people passing through. Not a clear path, but snapped twigs, old indents of footprints, and slightly trodden mud. They followed the trees eastward for a hundred meters before exiting the treeline. They saw a river, spanning forty or fifty meters across, and churning fast. It moved abruptly over the sheer edge of a cliff, chunks of rock poking up out of the edge. Looking out over to the waterfall from where they stood, they could see a cloud of mist. It was hard to see far down past the falls at all. There was a large flat rock right by them, which jutted out over the river, sitting out over five feet or so. 

“Well, that’ll be Sanskra down in the mist,” Renard motioned, sitting on the rock. “And this river,” he laid out the map, quickly marking the waterfall. “If we follow this river, follow north, we can see the lake at the top. It’s called Lake Felrik, and then we’ll find a few towns in Lakeside further north of that.”

“There’s other towns before Lakeside?” Elyse clarified.

He nodded. “Small ones.”

“Is Lakeside the one you need to get to?” Astra wondered.

“Will you find information there, do you think?” Elyse followed.

“Not necessarily, but, I’m gonna find more information there than I am in a jungle,” he shrugged.

“Do you think… I know Sanskra seems like it’s very insular, and keeps to itself, but do you think they might have any contact there? That the dragonborn might also be looking for me there? In Lakeside or, those other towns, if they had contact?”

“Elyse, I can’t say. I don’t imagine Sanskra specifically would contact them, but, I’m sure Arakhis and Lakeside have some communication.”

Astra nodded. “And also, if your dragonborn friends are still in Sanskra- ”

“Not friends,” she interjected.

“Just a term of speech. Then maybe, they haven’t made it that far- ”

“But they could have sent other people to places- ”

“Well, it’s gonna be a risk we have to take everywhere we go,” Renard pointed out.

“I know, I know, I just…. Like I said, I’m not familiar with anywhere, so. Just asking questions because I like to know as much as I can. And I feel like I’m lacking in that, right now.”

“Chin up and head down,” Astra consoled her. “We’ll be alright.”

“You don’t have to be so hard on yourself, you know that?” Boblem repeated. She gave him a small smile.

Sitting on the rock, there was plenty of space. It was at least ten feet across. Boblem put his hands down to support himself, and his fingers found a small crack. He felt something smooth in a hole on the side of the surface. His nails slid into the fissure, and he touched something inside. He moved off, peering down the crack. Light glimmered off it, but he wasn’t able to fully make it out. Following the crack to the other side of the rock, he figured he could reach his hand down into the fissure.

“What are you doing?” Renard asked, watching him.

“There’s something in the rock, I think.”

Astra looked up at him. “There’s something in the rock?”

“I don’t know. It’s like, smooth rock?”

“I could try and get my hands into it,” Sariel offered.

“I can just use Mage Hand to pull it out, so you don’t have to touch it,” Elyse volunteered. “In case it’s something… weird.”

“Yeah actually, that might be a better idea than putting my hand in,” Boblem agreed, peeking down the hole.

Elyse hopped off the rock, a ghostly projection of her hand travelling down the fissure. She made contact with something, and there was a hissing noise.

“I don’t like that,” Renard warned.

A gas began to fizzle out. Renard pulled his scarf over his mouth, protecting himself from the poison, but the gas hit straight into the three elves, knocking them heavily back. Astra and Elyse were coughing a bit as well, and the sorcerer stepped back to cast a gust of wind, blowing the gas away. A bottle slipped out of the crack. It would have definitely been worse if they had their faces up close to it. They were probably lucky.

Elyse grabbed the bottle with the third hand. “And that’s what mage hand is for,” she grinned, catching her breath. It was a small, clear bottle, about five inches long. There seemed to be a model of a ship inside.

“What is that?” Renard approached.

Cassian waved a hand in front of his face. “And why was it poisoned?”

Elyse rotated it in the hand. It was a single masted narrow ship. A small cutter.

“Is there any magic coming off of this?” Boblem wondered.

“I can identify it, give me some time,” Elyse offered.

Astra looked over the elves. “Is everyone alright from that?”

“Not particularly,” Cassian admitted.

“Feeling very faint after that,” Boblem replied, Sariel nodding her agreement.

“You guys sit down for a moment,” Renard advised. “I’m just going to take a stroll a few minutes upriver, have a look around.”

“I think someone should go with him,” Elyse turned to the group.

Astra was quick to volunteer. “You want a hand?”

Renard seemed hesitant. “If you want to…”

“We need to watch each other's back,” Astra continued.

Elyse pressed him further. “We’ve learned from Sanskra- ”

“Okay, yes!” Renard relented, seeming a bit irritated before walking off with the tiefling.

Elyse sat on the rock, beginning to trace in chalk and incense the components for her identification ritual. She sat overlooking the waterfall, the sounds of the forest and river allowing her to easily slip into the trance.

Further upriver, Renard and Astra heard the sounds of wildlife, although they didn’t see much more than large insects flittering around, big aphids, centipedes scurrying across, and a couple of fish jumping out of the water. There were a few frogs on the other bank. Renard sighed.

“Are you alright?” the bard asked.

“I’m a little frustrated.”

“At everything? Or just nothing?”

“Mostly at the Arakhian captain knowing who I was. I don’t know, I have a time limit on what I’m trying to do, and now I’m starting to feel the burden of it.”

“And how are you holding up after what you did to her eyes last night?”

Renard froze for a moment. “Um, I don’t feel great about it, I’ll be honest. Rather wish I hadn’t.”

“You acted on impulse. It happens.”

“I acted like an idiot. I should do better than that.”

Astra chuckled, softly. “We’ve all acted like idiots at some point. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

“Yes, well, I should do better than that.”

Astra looked over the river. “Prince or not, you’re still a person.”

“We just have to keep on going, don’t we. No point dwelling on it.”

“Nope. I’ve got your back. Let’s get back to the others.”

They headed back, Renard trying to use the map to gauge the distance from Jennick’s Village to the waterfall, and the distance from their position to Lakeside. He would guess they had travelled about 200 miles so far. It was probably just as far, if not farther, to reach Lakeside.

Back at the rock, Cassian turned to Sariel. “Care to scout with me the other way for a moment?”

“Of course,” she responded with a small nod.

The two walked off back into the treeline. When they were out of earshot of the others, Cassian spoke to Sariel once more.

“You may think this strange for me to say, I’m not always one to pry, however...” he took a long pause, forming his thoughts. “I… can’t help but notice your reactions to certain things we have encountered in our travels thus far. And I’m not going to ask you why, and I’m not going to get you to… spill your secrets to me. I just... want to check that you’re alright. And that if you need a hand with anything, you can just ask.”

She considered his words for a bit. “I really do appreciate that. Especially coming from you.”

Cassian sighed at the addendum. “I’m not as cold hearted as people expect, I’m just… practical. And I feel like you are a survivalist, Sariel.”

“You could say that.”

“And I would like to be able to survive with someone that I might be able to… genuinely call a friend.” He looked down at her.

She met his eyes. “You can genuinely call me your friend.”

He gave a short nod. “We’ll see. But for now, are you okay?”

She took a moment to think about it. “There’s something I need to do tonight which will hopefully help.”

“Well, if you need a hand, or you just need privacy, I’m your man.”

Back on the rock, Elyse was in a bit of a mood after Renard had snapped at her. Slightly unfocused, she completed the ritual. The rest of the group watched as the boat spiralled up in her blue mist, the smoke drifting off in little archways and arms. Breathing in, she put out her hands, and the object floated down.

It was a real ship in the bottle. If she was to smash the bottle, it would grow. Kept within the ship was another empty bottle, and if uncorked, the ship would return to that bottle. Anything still living on it would be shunted off. It was… reality bending, something Elyse had never encountered in her life.

Elyse was speechless, staring at the bottle in awe and wonder, trying to think of anything like this. It was very high level magic. This brightened her mood right back up.

Boblem plopped down next to her. “What did you find?”

“Boblem,” she smiled.  _ "Boblem. _ I don’t even know how to describe this, it’s amazing,” she laughed. “I’ve never seen anything like it in my life!”

“A ship?”

She shook her head as the rest of the group congregated. “If I were to open this bottle right now, the ship in here would become… a real, life sized ship.”

“What?” Boblem and Renard echoed, Cassian blinking rapidly in surprise.

“Yes! And then inside, we would find another bottle, and then we close the bottle, the ship would go back in that bottle, so essentially, we have a transportable, infinite, ship.”

Renard was stunned. “That’s incredible.”

“That’s so cool!” Boblem grinned.

Elyse laughed. “I think this is worth breathing in a little poisonous gas when I need, at some point, to get to Arakhis.” 

“But why was there gas in there in the first place?” Astra pressed. The group chorused back with theories about storing it, trapping it, or keeping it safe.

“Well, I was coming back to tell you I’ve looked at the map,” Renard began. “It’s a little further to Lakeside than it was from Jennick’s Village to Sanskra, about 250 miles. But this will make it a lot faster, we can go straight across the lake. We could probably cover the ground in half the time.” 

“Can we work a ship that big with just six of us?” Astra worried.

“I can.”

“On your own?”

“My mother used to be a sailor,” the wizard offered.

Elyse nodded. “And I have some experience with airships, you might have assumed, so…”

“I can give instructions, I know what to do,” Renard assured them.

Astra blushed. “I’ve been on a boat once,” he admitted.

“On the one that took us here?” Boblem asked.

The tiefling nodded back with a grin.

Renard examined the bottle. “I can probably give enough instruction for us to sail this together.”

Elyse grinned. “Let’s fucking do it then.” Suddenly, she remembered the other items she had identified. “Wait! Before we go,” she took out the other items from her bag, the javelin and the potion, turning to Renard. “You’re the only one of us who uses weapons, so…” she handed him the javelin, but he shook his head in distrust.

“What’s it do?”

“This is, um, this is also incredibly cool. It’s a magical javelin, and when you hurl it and speak its command word, it turns into a bolt of lightning!”

Renard winced. “Do you know its command word?”

The word was inscribed on the handle, the word for “lightning” in Ouran. “Yeah, I can read it. It’s just the word for lightning.”

“So it’s magical.”

“Yeah, really useful. It’ll give you another option for ranged fighting, very powerful.”

Renard continued to hesitate. “Elyse is right, it looks really cool!” Astra smiled, encouraging.

“Imagine hurling a ball of lightning from your hand,” Elyse whispered excitedly. “Like I do!”

He sighed. “I don’t really want to… but I’ll take it for now.”

She looked at him. “Why do you seem so hesitant?”

“His highness doesn’t like magic,” Sariel explained, her soft voice echoing.

Renard bristled at her response. “Wow, okay.”

“You have expressed your distaste for the stuff before,” Cassian supported.

Elyse stared back at the masked man. “Is that what you were talking about? When we were talking back in the Flooded Hills?”

“I don’t- ” his face grew in irritation, “I think I’ve made it quite clear that I don’t like magic!”

“You used magic,” she countered. “We’ve all seen you. Sorry, I’m just trying to understand. I thought you’d be excited about this.”

Renard was tense, trying to form his argument. “Being able to… use magic, is not the same as wanting to. But I’ll take it,” he grabbed the weapon from Elyse, ending the conversation.

“Okay…”

Cassian raised a hand. “Also, are we all just choosing to ignore the prince thing but not talk about it, or?”

“The what thing?” Elyse glanced over to the wizard as Renard put his head in his hands.

Cassian returned the glance with a tight smile. “The prince thing.”

“Didn’t seem like he wanted to talk about it,” Boblem warned.

Elyse pointed a thumb to Renard’s hidden face, looking to Cassian. “Is that what all that kerfuffle was in the bathhouse?”

“Quite.”

The sorcerer rounded on the other man, delighted. “I knew you weren’t a fucking mercenary, I fucking knew it! I saw that signet ring in Mirrortail,” she laughed.

“Well it doesn’t matter out here anyway, does it, so,” Renard shrugged.

“I suppose not,” Cassian responded, still not sure how he felt.

Boblem tilted his head. “Is that related to the person you’re looking for?”

Renard let out a long breath. “I didn’t want to have this conversation right now…” he groaned.

“It’s fine, you don’t have to,” Elyse backed off.

“Let’s not have the conversation right now,” Cassian decided. “Let’s just keep moving.”

Elyse turned back to her bag. “So anyway, the other thing, the other item, moving on- ”

“Moving on,” Renard agreed.

“Sir,” she grinned. “There’s this potion, um, only one of us would be able to use it, but it lets you see in magical darkness. As opposed to regular darkness.”

“That seems cool,” Boblem smiled.

Renard shrugged. “Can’t see in any darkness, so.”

“I don’t really know who should keep hold of it,” Elyse thought. “It’s only good for one use, and even those of us who can see in the dark can benefit from it.”

“Let Astra take it,” Renard suggested. “You’re the most careful with your bag,” he explained, looking over to the bard. “I just feel like that’s something we shouldn’t lose.”

The sorcerer glanced over. “Wanna keep a hold of it?”

Astra nodded. “Sure.”

Renard shifted his weight on the rock. “We should get moving. I need to get to some other form of civilization as quickly as possible.”

“I do as well,” Elyse agreed. “So yes, let’s do this.”

“Is everyone else okay?”

“As long as we take it carefully,” Astra advised. “I think these ones are hurt a little bit from that gas,” he looked over the elves.

“Elyse, are you okay?” Boblem asked. “You seem quite shaken, through the whole thing. I, just sort of noticed you’ve been crying a lot? Through the whole fight? And it was a quite upsetting fight, but, I don’t feel like you’re okay.”

“Does it hurt when your skin...” Cassian motioned to her face, “Does that?”

“No…” she answered. “Um, that wasn’t why I was crying.”

“Sorry, I don't mean to pry,” Boblem retreated. “I just get worried.’

Elyse gave a nervous laugh. “I am not okay. I’ve not been okay for a very long time, in fact, I don't think I've been okay since even before I met all of you. And I... I destroyed the only home I ever had,” she threw her arms in the air with a pained smile. “It was my fault. So yeah, there’s that.”

“The airship,” Renard realized.

“Yes.”

“You don't remember exactly what happened…” Boblem thought.

“No.”

“So there’s no way to tell if what she was saying was the whole truth.”

“That’s true. And I don't know how much I do believe of it. She had no reason… I don’t know, I don’t know,” she put her hands over her face.

“But your friends are alive,” Astra reminded her.

“Yes. Well, assuming that she was telling the truth, my friends are alive.”

“I’m inclined to believe she was,” Renard assured her.

“And you had that really cute bat come and say hello,” the bard continued. “In an actual voice…” he furrowed his brow.

“He did speak,” Boblem nodded.

Cassian’s face scrunched up. “That was grotesque.”

“Zizi is adorable!” Elyse defended.

“No, when it spoke with a man’s voice,” he grimaced.

“Xander is also adorable, so,” she teased.

“Speak for yourself.”

She turned back to the others. “It just constantly feels like there’s… Like my mind is moving too fast and I can’t slow it down. There’s a million different things I have to think about at all times, and it’s too much.”

“Then just, choose the next step, and try to concentrate on it,” Renard advised.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do. That’s what I was trying to do, in Sanskra.”

“You want a temple?” he prompted.

“It would be potentially useful.”

“Then let’s stop sitting around.”

She shook herself to stand. “No one ever got anything done by sitting around moping, so.”

“Exactly.”

“I’ll be fine, I have to be fine. I don’t have a choice, so.”

“It’s okay to not be fine,” Boblem added. “We can just, lean on each other, you know? Take the weight off.”

“That’s what friends are for,” Astra smiled.

Elyse grew a genuine smile, though she kept it to herself. “Thank you.”

“It’s alright. Let’s get moving,” Astra stood. “Everyone good to go?”

“Yes.”

“Yes,” Renard followed.

Elyse held up the bottle with a grin. “Now?”

“Over the water,” Renard cautioned.

She walked up the stone, where it jutted out over the river. “Perfect, someone clearly left this here to be the spot.”

“A launch off point.”

Elyse threw the bottle down. It smashed, and they saw the glass hover in midair for a second before a shockwave emerged. The glass shards turned to dust in a flash of light so bright they had to turn their eyes away. There was a splash as the model dropped into the water. They opened their eyes to focus on the sound of wood creaking and groaning, watching the ship swell and grew, the waters rolling out in waves. It took about ten seconds before it stopped, and a ship seven or eight meters in length, two or three wide, with one single mast coming up, sat gently rocking the waves in the river before them.

It began to drift to the side with the current of the river. It was a light birchwood-silver color, well made, but completely unadorned. There was no decoration or revelry, no markings or name.

There was the main mast, and a prow mast coming out front. There was a slightly raised section at the rear of the ship, the aft, as well as a steering wheel. They could see the entrance to a cabin underneath, though it didn’t look particularly roomy.

Elyse had complete awe on her face.

“It’s not that I thought you were lying,” Astra began, looking up at the craft, “But I thought that sounded a bit too good to be true.”

“So did I,” she smiled.

“Somebody needs to grab the bowline before that thing goes over the waterfall,” Renard warned.

The bard sprung into action. “Right!”

“Do you think this boat might have belonged to the people who were smuggling?” Boblem asked.

“Turquoid? Quite possibly.”

“I don’t care,” Elyse took a running leap onto the craft, landing with a thud as it wobbled. She went to the front, locating a small anchor, and she unchained it to throw it off the side. It sank underneath the rock. Cassian jumped on after, and the rest of the party followed. Renard took a moment, reluctantly staring at the boat. Noticing this, Elyse offered a hand. After another moment, he took it, and climbed aboard.

He let out a nervous breath.

“It’s okay,” Elyse assured him.

With all of their weight, the boat did sink a little bit lower in the water. It was a fast ship, sleek and narrow, made for speed. It didn’t seem particularly sturdy, and had no weaponry onboard, but it would do. Renard undid the scarf that hid the lower part of his face, holding it up to check the wind. Northeast.

Elyse was still looking around in wonder.

“We should get this thing sailing,” Renard urged.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “I know airships, but I don’t know sailing ships.”

Renard began to give instructions for the group to unfurl the sail.

“This is a lot safer,” Astra grinned as the team worked.

“Very different from a farm,” Boblem agreed.

Renard wiped his brow. “If we want to raise the anchor again, we can get underway.”

Elyse went, pulling and winding the crank to take the line in. Pulling a rope from the rear, the sail snapped into place, the wind hitting it instantly. They were propelled forward, their knees buckling at the surge, but then, they steadied. Renard stood at the wheel, hands shaky at the helm, but he was able to begin cutting a zigzag up the river. As they crossed to each side, the boom swung around, catching the wind and crossing up. They stood in silence for a few minutes as they took it all in.

“This is gonna work,” Renard grinned.

Sariel made her way downstairs. There were long seats built into the sides of the hold below. It could probably accommodate all of them, though not comfortably. They could all sleep down there, but it was essentially one long room. There was a low table, and various sailing accomodations and supplies.

There also seemed to be a trapdoor, left half open. When she bent to close it, it dropped into place, sparkling, and the seam of wood disappeared completely. Only by knowing exactly where it was could someone open it.

“It’s like a hidden safety deposit box. We could hide things in there if we needed to,” she explained, turning to Astra, who was close behind.

“Is there anything hidden in there already?” he asked.

Sariel got down, looking inside. There were a number of pennants and flags, bearing different colors and insignias. There was one that she recognized as Lady Turquoid’s, the fist with the branch and the knife, but there were several others she did not recognize. There were a number of different nameplates; Sundew, Chance at Hope, Alcantara, The Duke of the Clouds, Callie. There were also gourds, or bladders, inflated with air and sealed. The material didn’t seem natural, but they were full of air. “Maybe for flotation?” she suggested.

“What do all these flags mean though?” Boblem asked, following behind with Elyse.

“It means we can be any ship, we can masquerade as anything.”

“We can be allied with anyone,” Elyse agreed. “People might let us through more easily, with certain ones. I don’t know what any of these are though.”

“I don’t know what any of these are either,” Boblem admitted.

Astra looked through the pile. “I assume you don’t recognize any of them either, Sariel?”

She shook her head. “No, just Turquoid’s.”

“Not sure if it’s a bad idea or not to have that one,” the bard considered.

“I think the ship is hers,” Boblem warned. “She’ll probably want it back.”

“I think she’ll be fine without one,” Elyse deflected. “Maybe Ren will know. He seems to know more about this area than any of us.”

“We can take them up,” Astra agreed.

But Renard didn’t recognize any of them either. There was a sun, a starry night sky, red chevrons, a horse’s front hindquarters with a fish’s rear- a kelpie.

“Would it be useful to fly any of these?” Elyse pressed.

“They don’t seem to be related to any towns that I know of,” he responded. “She… she was of Shadebourne, Lakeside and Shadebourne have a tested link. I don’t know whether this means anything to them,” he motioned to Lady Turquoid’s flag, “But at the moment, I’d suggest we don’t fly any of them.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“Probably used to get into different places, under different ship names, if she is smuggling.”

“Do you know what any of these are? Cities, or, groups?”

“They’re not cities to my knowledge, no. Different pendants, I suppose different groups, maybe.”

“Yeah. Interesting. Well I hope she doesn’t catch up with us, because I want to keep this,” she laughed.

“Well, we’ll just put it back in the bottle, back in your pocket, right?”

“Yeah.” She had seen the new empty bottle downstairs, in the alcove.

The group sat on the deck, resting as Astra played a bit of music, strength returning to them all as the magic flowed. Renard, heading the ship, turned their craft frequently to zigzag through the river. He shouted a few instructions to the group that was his crew, and anyone standing had to constantly duck underneath the boom, the large heavy beam swinging over their heads.

The wind caught from the other side, pushing them forward. They couldn’t move straight up the river, they had to crisscross to catch the best wind, but they found a rhythm. As their sea legs steadied, they saw schools of fish jumping out of the river, and the occasional call of a bird or reptile within the forest. The sun was just peeking over the treeline. Their captain kept an eye out, greenery stretching across on both sides.

“As beautiful as Sanskra was, I missed the sun,” the tiefling smiled.

Elyse nodded. “Good point.”

“It’s a lot more pleasant.”

“It’s nice to be able to see the sky again,” Sariel smiled.

“Agreed.”

“And feel the wind,” Elyse tilted back her head, basking in the feeling of her hair blowing freely in the breeze. It was quite familiar for her.

Cassian looked out over the boat. “I’ve missed this kind of water.”

Astra busied himself with his journal, and Sariel looked through her own bag to mentally note her belongings. Cassian planted himself at the back of the boat, watching the water.

  
  


The sorcerer sat herself on the prow. She took out her arcane focus, turning it in her hands. She toyed with it, trying to form a connection as she spoke again to it again in Fulgan. “Are you still watching over me?”

She felt the rocking of the peaks and troughs of the water, lulling her and comforting her in the hypnotic pattern. She swung the focus around her hand, the wind pushing past her. It felt like the wind pushed her  _ past _ something. The light that was streaming onto her closed eyes dimmed, and she felt clouds come in from the periphery of her vision, her sight darkening.

She opened her eyes, and she wasn’t on the prow of the ship anymore.

She was on the prow of a different ship, the wind now howling through her hair, and looking around, she saw familiar red sails, crimson and streaked with gold. Above her was an endless sky, and below, clouds of purple and black and blue wreathed across, twisting and cavorting and turning. Inside the clouds were silhouettes, and the black of shapes. Towers, buildings, people, movement, and sparks of combat.

She looked to the front and a familiar humanoid shape had coalesced out of the cloud, a head, shoulders, and torso, with two sparkling gems where its eyes would be. No mouth opened, but she heard a voice half in her head, half in rolling thunder.

“I see your pain, child. And I see you. With each day that passes. Each wielding of the storm soul, you grow more visible to me. I know you worry for your family. I hear you when you call to me through this gate. I see three, on a dragon’s rock in the ocean wide. Held in a hole, but alive and together. There are others who were with you that day. Hidden from my view under cloud, as you partially were.”

Elyse stood, drawn to it. She realized the ship was no longer underneath her. She was floating free in the air, wind still howling around her. She glanced at her hands. They shifted, shimmering from her normal skin tone to a purple-blue. She looked up. “Did you speak to the others as well? The ones who had it before me?

“No.”

“Why?”

“I am a being born of this plane. They call me Shah'rivar. Elyse, you are more than you think, but you are not all that you know. I saw you first, wreathed in chains of the storm, tearing open a gate to my world with your fury and fists. Not long ago, but I see a familiarity in you that I cannot place.”

Elyse was stunned into silence.

“My time is short,” the voice warned.

“Can you help me find them?”

“No, but you can find them. If you seek answers, look for worshippers of the Lady Kord. They know more than I can explain in this brief time. Help will not come to you so directly, but there is a path to be trod.”

“I’m used to having to do things myself.”

“You are.”

“But your presence is… strangely comforting. Like, even though I barely remember that day, I feel like I… when I saw you, I had always known you. Even though I’ve never seen you before. I don’t understand.”

It’s head bowed in a wordless nod. “I understand.”

“What happened? When I tore apart the ship… was it me? Was it you? Was it the soul? Are you... I have so many questions...”

“You reach for more than you can handle,” its form began to sputter, blowing away in the howling wind.

“Please, don’t go!” she called out.

“Until I see you again, child. Look for me above. I cannot always intervene, but I will be watching.”

With that, the wind blew away, streaks of blue sky appearing in between the clouds and shapes, and the rush of water again, firm wood beneath her hands. She gasped for breath, feeling the familiar air of electricity, and for a second her arms were washed in the purple-blue coloration. She pulled up her sleeve, watching it, before it dissipated to her warm brown skin tone. Peering into the water, she checked her face. The color was receding off her.

“Elyse?” Astra called, concerned.

She turned around. The group had seen nothing more than an hour of meditation, before the sorceress had gasped, color streaking quickly across her hands.

“Are you alright?” the bard repeated.

She continued to sit in silence.

“Elyse, keep us in the loop,” Renard pressed.

“I’m alright.”

“You sure?” Astra worried.

“Yes.”

Boblem tilted his head at her. “Does that happen a lot? WIth your skin changing color?”

“Um, it’s been happening more since I got this,” she gestured to her focus, still in her hands. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing. It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t feel bad, it feels... I don't know how to describe it.”

“As long as you're okay,” Renard nodded, satisfied.

“As long as it doesn’t hurt,” Boblem followed.

Elyse thought for another moment. “It feels right.”

By now, it was close to midday. Sariel made her way over to Renard. “You’ve mentioned that we’ll get to a lake. Now that we’ve got this boat, how long do you think that will take?”

He shrugged. “The wind stays like this, two or three days to the lake.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s okay. So, you trying to get to the lake?”

“It would have been nice. But, if we can’t get there in time, I’ll make do.”

He gave a slow nod. “If you need us to stop anywhere, just let me know.”

“It would be good to stop at some point, but, I can take care of it once we stop.”

“Just let me know.” It would probably be easier to stop at night, as he couldn’t see in the dark, and there were a few rocks. “I’m afraid I can’t sail this ship through the night, so we’ll have to stop anyway once it starts to get dark.”

“Well, that works out then.”

  
  


The day passed without much else of note. At some point, Boblem made his way over to Renard as well. Stuck at the helm of the ship, he couldn’t avoid any questions. He noticed the sunhat peek out from under the front of the wheel. “Boblem?”

“Hi buddy!” he popped up.

“Hi Bobby.”

Boblem’s eyes dimmed for a second, but he smiled through. “Wow, I haven’t heard that nickname in a long time.”

Renard gave an awkward nod, filing away the information.

“So,” the boy continued, “This is the first time I’ve ever met a prince! That’s very cool.”

Renard squirmed a bit. “I’m still exactly who I was yesterday.”

“Yeah, my grandparents are gonna be very impressed when I tell them I met a prince.” Renard chuckled a bit. “They always mention it in all their stories, when I was a child,” he continued.

“They did?”

“Oh, just princes, princesses, dragons, stuff like that you know?”

“I used to read a lot of books about dragons.”

“That’s cool!” Boblem turned his head, bending down. “But, you don’t seem particularly happy about being a prince, though. Like, when any of the others mention it, you just… drop.”

“It’s not that I’m not happy to speak about it, it’s just that things have been rather stressful for awhile.”

“How come you didn’t mention it to us before? I mean, it doesn’t really change anything. I dunno what you would be a prince of anyway, I only know of my farm.”

Renard turned the wheel. “I haven’t known who to trust for a while. And I suppose there are some people I didn’t want privy to the information. I’m not too worried about the guards of Sanskra, but, the guards of Arakhis… I don’t know what they’ll do with the information.”

Boblem looked nervous. “When you said this could be an act of war… have we actually started…?”

“No, no we haven’t…” he trailed off, smiling. “I was somewhat bluffing, I’m not gonna declare war on Arakhis.”

Boblem put up his hands. “I dunno, I’ve never met a prince, I dunno how war works.”

“There hasn’t been war for quite a long time. I’d like to keep it that way.”

“Sounds like a good plan.”

Renard took a deep breath. “When I said I'm looking for people, it's... I'm sorry that I told you it wasn't personal, but it somewhat is.”

“I kind of sensed it was. Didn’t want to push. It's okay, we all kind of keep things to ourselves, as we’ve learned.”

“If I don't find them soon there's gonna be a lot of trouble. And then maybe, there will be some wars.”

“This is somebody in your family?”

Renard tensed, not answering.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me. But we will help you, okay?”

The prince smiled. “Yeah. I missed a good opportunity back there with Lady Turquoid to get information. And now I don’t know where to start, all over again.”

“I mean, you said you didn’t know quite who to trust, she didn't seem like the right kind of lady to trust anyway.”

“I know.”

“Who’s to say she wouldn't have used this information against you?”

“Yes, that's why I didn't bring it up in the first place. I don't know. Lakeside… I don’t know how it stands at the moment. Allies, in the past, I don't know whether they'd be able to help. But I think heading there is my best shot.”

“We’ll have your back.”

“I'm starting to get that impression.”

Boblem smiled at him. “I’ll leave you to it. I get the feeling you don’t want to be bothered.”

“I don’t mind talking about it, I’m just not used to talking about it. It’s been a while.”

“What, talking about being a prince?”

He shrugged. “A while, yeah.”

“Huh. I always thought a prince would always be talking about being a prince.”

A small smile crept onto Renard’s face as he stared out, straight towards the river. Cassian was only a few feet behind him, staring in the opposite direction, looking out at the waves. He could have easily eavesdropped on the conversation, but the wizard was pointedly ignoring everyone, choosing to focus on the waves.

Elyse continued sketching, making notes on the day. Astra followed, drawing and adding to his own journal. No other ships passed.

Pressing on, the sun reached its peak, bearing warm onto the ship. They dished out rations, they had plenty, practically a feast. Renard looked very bored. “Rations again, huh?”

“You bought so many of them,” the wizard countered.

“It’s what we got,” Boblem shrugged.

Elyse glanced around the group. “I don’t suppose anyone had the time to go buy potions or potion ingredients? Because that was something I was going to do after I went back to the inn, which obviously…”

“No, that’s what we were on our way to when we got arrested,” Renard answered.

“Immediately arrested,” Boblem nodded.

She glanced back to Renard. “I’m assuming somewhere like Lakeside would have…?”

“Yes.”

“I mean if we’re stopping over for the night anyway, I can just check inside the treeline, see if I can find anything for you to use,” Astra suggested.

“Oh, I don’t mean right now,” she rescinded. “I just mean as a precaution.”

“Just in general, I can have a look then.”

“I can help you forage for some health potion ingredients,” Boblem offered.

“Sure, we can do that.”

“Okay, good,” Elyse shrugged.

Dusk was setting in. Renard looked for a pace to moor the boat. “Does anyone need anything off the ship before we cork it?” Elyse checked. “I feel like that would be the best thing to do.”

“We’re not going to sleep on the ship?” Astra wondered.

“I mean, it’s kind of just… right here.”

“Ugh, we’re going to sleep on the ground again?” Renard groaned.

Elyse shot him a look. “Gods, you really are a prince, aren’t you.” She turned back to the others. “See, this is one of the things that tipped me off, he doesn’t want to sleep out in the wild. What fucking mercenary has such an issue with sleeping out in the wild?” she teased.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever met one,” Astra replied.

“I haven’t either,” Boblem added.

“I’ve met plenty,” Elyse rolled her eyes, laughing. “And trust me, he’s not like any mercenary I’ve ever met- ”

“Okay, can you stop?” Renard interrupted, only slightly annoyed by the teasing.

“Maybe he was new at being a mercenary!” Boblem suggested. “You don’t know.”

“His first day at being a mercenary,” Astra grinned as Renard pouted.

Cassian raised a hand. “I’m a second for  _ ship is better than ground, _ so.”

“Thank you,” Renard agreed.

Elyse defended her position, but relented. “I just thought it might be a bit eye catching in case anyone approached. We’ll just have to be extra careful on watch.”

“We’ll have people on watch,” Astra assured her. “And we’ll be fine.”

“Okay.”

“And you can do your,” Renard circled a finger in the air, “Alarm thing.”

They agreed on the plan, and stopped the ship. Boblem and Astra went off to forage. The farm boy did his best to point out ingredients to Astra.

Before they had set off on their adventure, way back in Mirrortail, Cassian had offered Astra a seashell necklace. While foraging, he could have sworn he heard music from it. He put it to his ear. Maybe it was the sound of the sea, but it seemed like a harmonious melody. It was singing.

Astra tried to match it, whistling along. He caught the tune, and after a few bars, it repeated, softly. There was wind once more, and then nothing else. Boblem had given him a strange look, but hadn’t said anything.

After two hours, they came back with an armful of plants, weeds from the river, berries, roots, and leaves. They didn't have to travel too far into the treeline, and they dropped their piles onto the deck of the ship in triumph. They began to prepare the ingredients, snipping leaves, crushing berries, and powdering roots. They toasted a few of them with some fire magic, squeezing out pulp and peeling bark. They could probably make four potions out of the stash.

Astra was on cloud nine from his time spent in the forest. It was a different kind than what he was used to, but it was very much alive, vines creeping over things and water dripping from the plants. A lot of the ground was a mulchy mass caused by decades of falling leaves and grass. It was spongey, bouncing a bit underfoot. After two days of unpleasant time in the city, it felt wonderful.

Elyse walked the perimeter of the ship, holding her research journal as she traced a line of static in the air. Renard triple checked all of the ropes, making sure the boat was secure before going to sit on the bow of the ship by himself.

Cassian hopped off the ship, walking up a little way down the shore. He popped off his boots, rolled up his trousers, and dipped his feet in the river. “We should have a chat again soon,” he mumbled. “I quite miss your company at the moment. But, maybe not, right now.”

He felt a hand lingering on his shoulder, and he brought his own up to feel the invisible pressure. “I’d like that,” a voice whispered back. 

  
  


Elyse was trying her best to concentrate on the names she had been given. Shah'rivar and Kord. She had heard of Kord before, the god of storm and battle. There was an association with lightning there, but she didn’t know much more than that.

She made her way to Renard. “Hey.”

“Hi.”

“Are… are you annoyed with me?”

“Annoyed with you? Why would I be annoyed with you?”

“‘Cuz I kinda… it’s my fault we were kicked out of Sanskra, and I know you were there for information, and…”

He nodded. “I wouldn’t say I’m annoyed with you. I’m just starting to…”

“Regret something?”

“Feel the weight of things I haven’t done, and the time ticking away.”

“That’s fair.”

“I wish we didn’t have to stop in the dark, but, it’s fine.”

“Well, if we hadn't found this thing, imagine how much longer it would take.”

“We’d still be walking through the jungle, yes, and that would be much, much worse.”

She sat down. “Um, completely unrelated, I had a question for you.”

“Yeah?”

“I know that you pray, and you’re like, religious, right?”

“Mhm,” he squinted a bit at her.

“Do you know anything about Lady Kord?”

“...Some things.” He had seen many depictions of Lady Kord, a blue-gray skinned woman with long flowing black hair, sometimes pictured with two arms, sometimes four, sometimes six, each hand with different weapons and always clad in blue-black armor. She was often depicted standing on battlefields, and occasionally standing on piles of bodies, victorious and glorious. She was always wearing a crested helmet with black horse hair, two stubby horns coming out of her head. Many of her weapons bore motifs of lightning and storm, bearing her symbols or simply made of pure lightning. She was often reefed in storm clouds, using them as a weapon, a cloak, or a method of travel.

He recanted all of this to her. “She's not one of the Gods that I worship, so I don't know that much.” The Goddess was stoic, wise, firm, and didn’t take shit. She was often depicted in oral stories, leading armies. Armies and sailors in stormy weather would pray to her to look after them. It was tradition on some ocean faring voyages to organize a brawl during a storm, in the hopes that she would part the lightning for them if she enjoyed the show. Though of course, it would just involve throwing a couple punches and roughhousing, not necessarily a lethal battle.

Renard explained all of this, a slightly nostalgic look in his eye. He fiddled with something around his neck, under his shirt.

“Wow, she sounds really cool,” Elyse grinned.

“I’m a fan,” Renard laughed.

“Me too, and I just found out about her.”

“Is there something specific you wanted to know?”

“Is she… someone there would be a temple to? Somewhere?”

Renard knew that Lakeside was almost entirely built on fishing, the lake itself huge, way bigger than the lagoon that housed Sanskra. There were hundreds and thousands of people all around the lake who fished. Storms would manifest there, and people would need to pray to her. “As a sailing trade town, I’d say it’s extremely likely they have a temple there for Kord.” Elyse’s eyes lit up for a moment. “You suddenly seem particularly interested in religion,” he continued, “Miss Skim-A-Little-From-The-Religious-Offering-Pot.”

“Those people weren’t using the money,” she defended. “You think the God is gonna care about two gold coins?”

“It isn’t about the Gods.”

Renard considered what else he knew about the sea. There was Melora of course, concerned with the nature and wildlife of the sea, while Kord was connected to the threat and tempest of the sea. Avandra was another, concerned with travel over sea. He passed all of this onto Elyse.

“Interesting… okay. Thank you.”

“No problem,” he gave her a confused look as she pulled out her journal, scribbling down notes.

“And by the way,” she looked up again. “I don’t normally make a habit of… just taking money out of offering baskets. I had  _ no _ money when I met you, so, you know. Just to clear that up.”

“That’s fine, just... if you’re gonna steal, please don’t steal from the poorest part of town.”

“I… didn’t know that. They weren’t using the money though, it was just going to sit there.”

“It would probably go to the temple.”

“Is that how it works?”

“It can be.”

She looked down. “Okay. Well, now I know that.”

“I don’t mind you stealing from the rich so much,” he grinned, lightening the mood.

She gave a small smile. “Are you okay with… travelling with me, still? I have to ask...”

He looked at the sky. “Well, yes. I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t be.”

“Okay.”

“As long as you’re going to have our backs the same way we had yours.”

“Yes.”

“Then there’s nothing to worry about, is there,” he looked her in the eye.

She met his gaze. “No.”

“I don’t have a problem with you being a so-called thief, Elyse. It sounds very much like you did… steal… your arcane focus, but, I mean, people who collect artifacts have a long history throughout the ages of stealing them to collect them, don’t they. So, I believe you. I do have some concerns about the manner in which you stole it, I have no idea how you did, or what sort of reception that might receive us in Arakhis.”

“The problem is that I don’t either,” she apologized.

“I was getting that impression. They were allies of mine, but I’m not sure where that will stand after… all that.”

Elyse grimaced. “Sorry, I guess?”

“We will cross that bridge when we get to it.”

“Yeah. And you know, hopefully… I don’t know. But um, I know that you all think I’m probably… I’ve just been trying to get away from you, and just doing my own thing, but I'm used to working in a team. I’ve been doing it my entire life, and my survival was dependent on it. I know how,” she finished, voice cracking slightly. “I’m just used to working with a very particular group of people who know each other inside and out, and working with people I barely know is very different. I’ve been trying, I hope you can see that.”

“I can. I’m seeing that we do good teamwork, all of us.”

“Me too.”

“Just, allow yourself to be more open to being a team with us, moving forward. Seeing as that seems to be what we’re stuck on doing now.”

She smiled. “I guess you’re stuck with us.”

“Apparently so.”

“Sir. Your Highness.”

“Oh, don’t you dare,” he brushed her off with a grin.

“My Liege,” she pressed.

“I’m going to hit you,” he warned.

She laughed. “I would hit you back. I’m not above hitting a prince.”

He glanced back at her. “That’s fine. Don’t worry about that.”

  
  


The rest of the group busied themselves. Cassian kept his eyes closed in the river, shooting only Sariel a cursory glance as she passed.

The smaller elf moved about fifty meters away from the ship, sitting and waiting as she meditated. She breathed, finding the rhythm of the water in her. The comforting sounds of the forest and wildlife began to set in, the hoots in the distance of owls, and the howls of canines. Clouds parted, and the silvery light of the moon reflected over the water. It was almost perfectly framed. Looking upriver, it peaked between the trees. It was about ten o’clock.

She spent some time acclimating to the area, meditating, and calming herself. She checked her surroundings. Definitely no one had followed her. Nobody was on the bank of the river, and she was fairly sure there was nobody behind her. There were only the sounds of wildlife, and a small lizard who popped its head up next to her for a minute before retreating.

“You can stay if you like,” she smiled at it.

The lizard’s head turned towards her, looking at her quizzically before shuffling a bit further away, though still in sight. After another minute, it stood on two legs and sprinted across the surface of the water. Sariel watched it in surprise. “Very talented.”

She took out her bag and her staff. It was four feet long, made of silver birchwood, with a misty, purple-pink crystal at its top. She took a few bits of incense from her bag, lighting them, giving off a soporific heady lavender smell. She took out a pouch of white pebbles, varied in size, and organized them in front of her. She spoke lowly to herself, “On this night, we honor thee. On this night, we pledge to thee. On this night, as all nights, we cherish thee.”

She slipped off her shoes, and rolled up her trousers, revealing the scars on her ankles and climbing up towards her knees. She walked out into the water. Wading out to knee height, the water was biting cold, though refreshing. The pace of the water has slowed considerably, no longer able to drag her under, but she could still feel the current. She felt the water pushing past her, and found the connection between the water, the moon, and herself. A trifecta of balance, a harmony of nature, reflected in her.

As she walked, level, luminous white flowers appeared on the surface of the water. She began to sing in an unknown language. It was like the silvery peel of bells, resonating over the water. It was almost as if there was more than one voice singing. Even when she took a breath, the song echoed on for a few bars- not an exact copy, but a mirror. Somehow, she was singing the harmony, not the melody. She moved her staff over the water, making various symbols, twirling it in a dance on the surface of the water, tracing circular patterns. She spent fifteen minutes on the ritual, feeling the tug of connection with the moon, and to the moon mother, Sehanine. She basked in the silvery light, a familiar feeling, until suddenly, it pulled away.

She felt her head guided to the side of the bank, into the woods. It was a strong tug, and exactly where she was looking out, the howl of a wolf pierced through. She felt a call towards it. Her head darted in the direction of the noise.

The hunt was on.

“Never done this before,” she whispered. There was no response but the pull into the woods, and another howl.

She stepped out of the water, putting her things back in her bag. She shifted her form to a huge, silvery timber wolf, standing on the banks of the river. She howled, and it echoed, two or three other howls calling back.

She started to head in that direction, lifting her snout to the sky. As the breeze blew out from the trees and over the river, she picked up on the scent of three more wolves, and prey. She burst out of the bank and into the treeline, the branches and trees and bushes breaking apart under her as she did. Careening through, her paws were barely padding on the ground. She was silent, she was death, she was the hunt, stalking through the night. It was almost as if some of the branches curled away from her in the wind as she moved through. She skidded to a stop for a second, picking the track up again, and she ran for another five minutes, feeling the smell get closer. Another howl, but this one cut off into a gurgle. She wasn’t far.

She pushed through the dense foliage. There were shattered trees everywhere, the leaves all pushed to one side. She took a sniff- blood marks, scraps of fur in the trees and torn off. Definitely from a wolf, but not the wolf she was tracking. She continued to follow, and it opened to a path. Where there would be a clearing, there were sticks everywhere, gouges in the mud. Signs of a struggle.

On the sides of trees, smears of blood. She howled again. No response.

She felt something dripping on the back of her neck before something came from behind. She turned just in time to see a stinger arc through the air where her neck had been. She looked up to see a bulbous, swollen body, with eight enormous legs curling around, pulling down from a tree on a sinewy silvery wire. A cluster of eyes, misshapen and yellow, were stuck at the head of the colossal spider.

She ducked out of the way and snarled at the behemoth dangling down next to her. Glancing up, she saw the remains of another wolf strewn across a tree branch, a decent size chunk taken from it, the start of webbing wound around it. She snapped at the creature, but it reeled back up, out of the way. It aimed its abdomen at her, a silvery white liquid shooting out and hitting, binding her limbs like glue.

She struggled to escape, but in this form, it was difficult. It saw her squirm, and it scuttled across the trees, out of her vision. She heard something drop to the ground behind her.

Two fangs sunk into her hindquarters, poison seeping into her. It hurt too much to keep up the form of the wolf. She found herself crouched on the floor, staff in hand, baring her teeth. Her senses were on fire. She was no longer restricted by the webbing, but she was crouched in front of the spider.

She reached out to the moon, her staff raised to the sky. The clouds parted with a burning pillar of white light, stronger and more intense than she had ever seen it. It connected with the spider, which let out a horrible scream, skittering away up the trees. She could now see the monstrosity of its face, clusters of eyes unevenly perched around its head, huge glittering fangs shining in the moonlight.

It reared back, abdomen coming forward to shoot another burst of webbing at her. She ducked, and it stuck to the tree behind her. It climbed back up the tree, away from the moonbeam. She could still hear the bells from before echoing in her mind.

“Please, grant me your grace this time,” she called, hurling a knife of ice as the air hardened and formed in her hand. The knife shot just past it, sticking into a tree.

She lost sight of the spider for a second, but whipping around, she found eight glimmering yellow eyes reflected off the moonlight. She conjured the ice knife once more, but it dodged.

She spent a few seconds with her heart pounding, looking to the left, the right, and back. Suddenly, it was right there next to her. Two poisonous fangs sunk into her shoulder once more. She moved the wrath of the moonbeam towards it. She panted, heart beating like a drum inside her as the spell burned the spider. Its legs curled in, shrieking as its legs split, and the entire abdomen burst before it crumpled to the ground.

The beam of moonlight opened, slackening as warmth washed over her. The hunt was done.

She looked up towards the moon. “Tell me this was for a purpose,” she whispered. A breeze washed over her, and she felt a sense of reassurance, though nothing responded. She had a feeling the call of the hunt would beckon her once more, in another month.

She looked for the other wolves, and found three in the trees, killed, and brought up. There were five or six pods, wrapped in silvery wire thread, dangling as stark reminders of mortality. One of the branches, weakened by the moonbeam burning through it, groaned and snapped. A pod fell to the ground, spilling out, revealing a glint of something within.

She went towards it, pulling it open. A wave of decay and mulch slid out, carrying a distinctly humanoid shape. All the flesh was dissolved around the skeleton, but there were a few items remaining. There was a fine, silver bladed, ivory handled sickle, with beautiful sculptures carved in it. As the remains of the corpse rolled out, she saw a cloak of a shimmering, blue-grey material. She inspected it, finding it rough and leathery. She ran her hand across it to find it was smooth one way, but like sandpaper the other way, microscopic little teeth preventing her from moving her hand the other way.

She pushed her hand into the muck, pulling the cloak out and shaking it off. The ichor sloughed off it, leaving it completely clean and unscarred. It had a hood, the blue shifting down to grey. The hood had the markings of eyes on it, almost like a half poncho. Down the back, there was a marking of a fin. The bottom of it seemed to curve into a thin tail.

She put it on, and it shrank to her size. She took the sickle, and looked up once more at the wolves. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t help you. I’m sorry…”

But it was nothing more than the natural order of life. There was nothing evil here. They were prey, and that was a predator. She understood the cycle of nature, and the cycle of the moon, though she couldn't help the personal connection to the wolves.

She began to make her way back. Their bodies would be given to the jungle.

She emerged on the banks. The five others saw the silhouette of Sariel, now slightly altered by the cape across her shoulders, sickle glinting at her side in one hand, and the staff in the other.


	19. The Giant & The Snake, Episode Seventeen

Sariel made her way back to camp, looking rough. The others watched the shape emerge as she made to stand near the boat.

Elyse was perched on the mast, reading her book. Deep in thought, she hadn’t seen Sariel yet, but the others did.

Boblem noticed her immediately, “Oh my gosh! You’re injured!”

“I’m alright,” she responded.

He wasn’t convinced. “You okay?”

“There’s spiders in the woods.”

“What happened?”

“Why’d you go alone, little one?” Astra joined in.

The elf shrugged. “Something in me… had to go.”

Renard looked at her, confused. “...Okay.”

“Come, come, sit down,” Astra beckoned her over to them. “Why were you out there on your own?”

She sat. “I heard something calling to me, and I had to follow it.”

“Hopefully not more fey creatures,” Renard bristled.

“No, not fey creatures.”

“And none of us could have kept watch?” Boblem pressed.

“I wasn’t really thinking at the time.”

Astra glanced at her cloak. “And you got… a new outfit?”

“It’s quite becoming,” Cassian nodded.

Sariel looked over to the sorcerer, who had joined them upon hearing the noise of conversation. “I was wondering Elyse, if you could see what these things were?”

“Yeah, I can see what they are. Are you okay though?”

“I’ll live. I’ve had worse.” She handed over the sickle, and took off the cloak.

“Like I said, you’re a survivalist,” the wizard gave another nod to the smaller elf.

Elyse cast her ritual on the objects. She found that the sickle was not magical, though finely made, and probably expensive. The other item was a Cloak of the Manta Ray. It allowed the wearer to breath underwater when the hood was pulled up, increasing their swimming speed. Elyse’s face lit up with the realization. “The sickle isn’t magical, but the cloak will let you breath underwater, and swim faster.”

“That’s exciting, thank you,” she took the items back. The cloak was a bit heavy, and a bit like skin on one side, with lining on the other.

“Where did you find these?”

“Um, there’s a spider’s nest, in the woods.”

“Did you find anything else in there?”

“No, I didn’t really look too much.”

Boblem swallowed. “That’s where you were attacked, wasn’t it? Oh boy…”

“Do you think anything could follow us back here?” Elyse worried.

“I don’t know… Not now.”

“You took the spider by yourself?” the wizard clarified.

“Yes.”

“Excellent.”

“As long as you’re okay,” Elyse continued. “That’s all.”

“I’ll be alright. Like I said, I’ve had worse.”

Cassian glanced over to the sorcerer. “She’s perfectly capable.”

Elyse held up a hand in defense. “I know.”

“I left my things down by the river,” Sariel remembered.

“Want me to come with you?” Astra smiled. “We can go grab them.”

“If you’d like.”

“Sure, let’s go.”

They walked down under the moonlight, softly treading in the water as it lapped at their feet. It was cold, but the cloak kept Sariel warm. They found her things easily, undisturbed. She bent to gather them up.

“You walked quite aways,” the bard observed.

“Wasn’t that far. Just wanted a bit of privacy.”

“That’s fair. But if you ever do want company, let me know.”

Sariel felt a bit of familiar healing magic press gently into her. She looked up at the moon again, speaking in a language Astra did not understand. “Moon Mother Sehanine, may we be worthy of your radiance, and may your grace light our darkest days.”

She felt relief as the ritual closed. “Okay, we can go.”

“Sure,” the tiefling grinned. “That’s a very pretty language.”

“It’s elvish.”

“Oh! I suppose the other’s don’t really speak it that much around.”

“I think Cassian understands it. Boblem would too. But, no need to speak in other languages when everyone speaks Common.”

“I’m sure he would,” Astra reflected. “I suppose you’re right. Come on, let’s head back then. You got your shoes?”

“Yes.”

When she slipped them back on, Astra saw her scar covered ankles. As they walked back, his tail wrapped around her perimeter again.

  
  


They walked back to the ship. Renard glanced over at the others. “If nobody minds, I’m going to go below deck and sleep.”

“Go for it, I was going to offer to take first watch,” Elyse agreed.

Cassian glanced over to the prince. “Might I have a word before you tuck in for the night?”

He looked back, wary. “I suppose so.”

The wizard gave a pleasant smile. “I can follow you down.”

Boblem seemed like he was about to go down as well. “I guess we’ll wait here then?”

“We can go elsewhere,” Cassian shrugged.

Elyse and Boblem didn’t respond, and they sat together on the deck. It was a bit cold. There was a brazier they could fill with coals by the mast, and Elyse lit it.

Renard was still eyeing the wizard with suspicion. “Do we need privacy for this conversation, or…?”

“Privacy would be nice.”

“Fine.” He stepped off the ship. “A light, if you don’t mind?”

A single dancing light appeared by the pair as Cassian led them out into the darkness.

Elyse leaned over to Boblem conspiratorially. “Boblem, should I turn invisible and follow them?”

“Wouldn’t that be spying on them?”

She nodded with a mischievous smile. “I’m so curious.”

“I dunno if they’d appreciate that… you do you. I don’t think they’d appreciate being spied on, but...”

She relented. “Okay, I was just joking, I’m not going to do it.”

She flicked through her book on arcane foci, looking for mentions of Kord or Shah'rivar. Nothing. She put the book away.

“You alright? You don’t seem quite happy,” Boblem pressed.

“Um... I don’t really know how to answer that. Sorry.”

“It’s okay if you’re not alright. It’s okay if you’re not happy.”

“It’s weird. Having like, the worst things happen to you, but then, finding these strange little slivers of something… that might be something you’ve been looking for your entire life? I don’t know. It’s kind of tumultuous.”

“Sounds like mixed feelings. Can be confusing.”

“Yeah, it is. But, from when I spoke to Ren earlier, it sounds like I might be able to find some information in Lakeside that might be useful.”

“About your friends?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“It will be fine. I’d like to meet them,” the boy smiled.

“Oh, I’d love you to meet them. All of you.”

“Do they all own bats?”

She laughed. “Just Xander.”

“I really wanna meet Xander then!”

“I think you, and Astra, and him, would have a lot to speak about.”

“Bats!”

She grinned. “Yeah. He has spent a lot of time out in nature as well, and appreciates… the cycle of nature, and creatures, and speaks with animals…”

“Oh! Like me! That sounds lovely,” Boblem smiled.

“Yeah, they’re a mixed bunch.”

“How did you meet them?”

“Well, I met Xander, four years ago now? Most of them I’ve known a lot longer. We just hired him, and then he stuck around,” she grinned. “He said he stuck around because his bats liked me so much. I really miss him.”

“I can’t imagine, you must be very lucky to have so many friends.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“So many people you care for, that care for you. We’re gonna find them.”

“I’m sure we will.”

“Yeah, we’ll help you,” Boblem smiled.

She sighed, letting out her stress. She was going to have to free some of them from Arakhis. “I’m going to save them.”

“I’m sure you will. And if we’re around we can help with that. Well, can’t make promises for the others, but...”

“If you want to, you’re welcome to help. I know that I have to... well, Xander said he would find me, and I’m hoping that he’s with Amara. That’s the woman, who you also saw on the poster. And maybe some others, I don’t know. But I’m not… I know I need them with me before we can do that.”

“We’ll find them. Rest assured,” he bumped her shoulder.

“Thank you. You’re very sweet, you know?”

“Aw, thank you! You’re very sweet as well. Very strong!”

She crumbled in surprise. “Really?”

“Yeah, I mean, you have your own way of being sweet though.”

“What do you mean by that?”

He thought. “Like, you really care for Astra, it’s really sweet.”

“Yeah, he’s a good person.”

“And you noticed that he wanted to go into that temple. You really were willing to go there for him.”

“Even though I knew it was a terrible idea,” she sighed.

He shrugged. “I mean, I was also willing to go there, so.”

“I knew better, but I’m not one to abandon people to do things on their own. I know that sounds ironic…”

“That’s really sweet! You see? But you’re quite hard on yourself. You shouldn't be.”

“What do you mean?”

“I dunno, you always say  _ I should have been more like this, _ or  _ I should have been more like that, I should be stronger. _ You know? And I think you’re plenty of those things.”

She scratched her head. “I mean, everyone… has room for improvement.”

“Of course, but you know,” he scrunched his face in thought, “People are kind of like trees. Kind of like a plant. So here’s how I see it. When a plant is not really growing, or if its decaying, you don’t get angry at the plant and say, why don’t you grow? You try to feed it back into health, you know? And I think it’s the same with people. Instead of getting angry at yourself, or things you might not like about you, you should try to nourish yourself… back into health. Does that make sense?”

Elyse looked incredibly confused at first, but as she listened, her expression shifted, becoming more thoughtful. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Sometimes, for some people.”

“Good! I like to think about it that way, at least.”

“Yeah, you have a good point.”

“Thank you!”

  
  


Renard and Cassian stopped at the treeline. The prince pulled his arms around himself, protectively. “Yes?”

Cassian leaned against a tree. “Contrary to what you might believe, this changes nothing. I will not apologize for anything I have said to you leading up to this…” he rolled his eyes, “Whatever you want to call it,  _ reveal. _ And I will not apologize for any future actions. I will speak my mind. I am  _ sick _ of sucking up to rich people, so, you will be treated as I see fit. And that doesn’t mean I look down on you in any way, but I certainly won’t be looking up at you in an ivory tower.”

Renard glared at him. “Good to know that you’re still spineless regardless of my status. Was that all? Did this really require us to walk this far away from the ship?”

Cassian’s smirk warped into a frown.

The little blue light went out.

Renard couldn’t see at all.

“Okay, very funny,” he spoke into the blackness. “And what are you hoping to achieve with this?”

There was no verbal response, but the wizard’s voice echoed inside his head.  _ "Just calm down Renard. I’m sure we can get a better… allyship out of this. If we just, talk about our feelings a little bit more." _

Renard heard the sound of footsteps walking away. After a minute, the light reappeared, moving back towards the ship.

Renard didn’t follow. He sat down against the back of the tree, facing the woods, hidden from the view of the ship. He hugged his arms around his legs, resting his chin on his arms. He sat in the darkness for well over thirty minutes before he fell asleep.

Cassian didn’t return to the boat. Instead, he took his bedroll over to the side of the river, a little ways upstream, lying where he could listen to the sounds of the river.

  
  


After a while, Boblem glanced over the side of the ship in concern. “Shouldn’t they have been back by now?”

“Cassian went that way,” Astra pointed. “And his light was back over there for a minute. I’m assuming Renard was having a moment there.”

Elyse sighed. “Okay, what’s he done to piss him off now?” She glanced at the treeline. “Should we go check just to see if he murdered Ren or something?”

“Oh, that would not be good…” Boblem worried.

“Someone wanna go check on Cassian, someone wanna go check on Ren?”

“Yeah, I’ll go check on Renard.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“I’ll look after the ship,” Astra volunteered.

Elyse glanced at him. “Someone needs to go see if Cassian’s okay.”

The bard looked over to the other elf. “Sariel, would you mind?”

“Of course, that’s fine,” she agreed.

Elyse and Boblem found Renard easily enough based on where Cassian’s light had been. They found him curled up and snoozing against the back of a tree.

The sorcerer tilted her head, looking down. “Is he asleep or is he dead? Hard to tell with the mask on,” she grinned.

“I think he’s asleep,” Boblem assured her. “Do you think he would be offended if I carried him back? I don’t wanna wake him… And he doesn’t quite like to be touched, so.”

“I don’t think you should touch him without his permission when he’s not even awake,” she agreed. She crouched down to him. “Renard?”

He stirred, lifting his head.

“You okay?”

He blinked, unable to focus his eyes in the dark. “I literally can’t see you.”

“Oh, um, I don’t have a light spell…” she dug in her bag for her arcane focus. Sending a bit of energy into it, the object glowed enough to illuminate a small space as it floated above her hand. “Are you alright?”

“...Suppose so.”

“Um… everything okay with Cassian?”

“Yeah, he’s just an asshole, as per usual.”

“What did he say to you? You seem quite upset,” Boblem worried.

Renard sighed. “It’s not really anything he said. It’s just, I… um…” he trailed off. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to- ”

“It’s okay,” the other two chorused.

“You wanna go sleep on the ship?” Boblem offered. “You did say you were tired of sleeping on the ground. This… is the ground.”

“The man makes a good point,” Elyse grinned.

“Thank you Boblem,” Renard stood. “Yeah, I suppose.”

“Come on, let’s go. I’ll take first watch,” she offered.

“Okay.”

“Yeah, I can take first watch with you,” Boblem smiled.

“Sure,” Elyse nodded back. She lit the way with her focus, Renard trailing slightly behind the other two.

As they walked, Boblem glanced around at the trees. The moonlight reflected off a cluster of eyes, about ten feet above where Renard had been sitting.

“Eyes!” he called.

Elyse turned “What?”

“Sorry, what?” Renard raised a brow.

“Sorry, a lot of eyes!” he repeated. “Um, um, maybe we should hurry, I think there were a bunch of eyes right where you were!”

At the noise, the figure above silently moved back into the canopy of the tree. If Renard had been asleep, he would have had no defense. He gulped. “This is their habitat Elyse, just leave it.”

Elyse looked up and saw a huge, huge spider, slinking away. Glancing around, there were at least two or three more. They had been surrounding Renard, primed to strike.

Elyse quickly retreated out of the treeline to meet with the other two. “Um, those spiders Sariel mentioned, I think there might be more of them. Let’s just get to the ship.”

They hurried back, though nothing followed. Renard was silent, heading under the deck. There were bunks around the side, like sofas, wide enough to lie on. He sat, facing the steps. He grabbed his writing paper, propping his bag on his legs, and began to write.

  
  


Sariel found Cassian with his arms crossed, staring up at the sky in anger. Sariel laid herself down next to him. “Did you two get in an argument again?”

“I suppose you could call it that. I am...  _ frustrated, _ Sariel.”

“You’re frustrated a lot of the time.”

He paused for a moment. “More so than usual. I don’t usually have the best social graces outside of work practices, because I am usually lying to people. Truth is hard, and harsh, and sometimes, you try and tell the truth, and then, people insult you, and you act brashley, and you’re not happy with any sort of outcome so you just want to be alone!” he finished, voice growing in volume as he ranted.

“Do you want me to leave?”

“You’re fine. It’s not that I don’t think that you’re here, but, out of all the people in this… group, you are… fine. And good company.”

“I’ll take that.”

He shifted the conversation. “How was your night out?”

“Unexpected.”

“Interesting.”

“Killed a spider?”

“I did. Don’t normally do that. Not with these rituals.”

He turned his head to face her. “You’ve done this before?”

“Yeah, every month.”

“Every month…” he nodded, thinking.

“It’s a bit different now.”

“Not usually spider killing, then?”

“No.”

“Hm. Full moon sort of deal?”

“Yes. I’ve done it for a very, very long time. It feels strange to not do it now.”

“That’s understandable. Some of us… follow strange powers.”

“Some people need that support in their lives. Something to believe in.”

“I suppose so. If your religion gives you comfort, that’s fine with me.”

She considered. “I don’t know if it’s necessarily the religion anymore, it’s…”

“The drive?”

“The habit. I do it for those that can’t.”

“Those who you have lost?”

She was quiet.

“It’s okay,” he softened.

“Those I’ve lost, and those who… find themselves unable.”

“A noble sentiment.”

“I wouldn’t call it noble. It’s the least I can do.”

“Well I suppose someone has to do it, so.”

She nodded. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Any… rituals you undertake, to bring yourself comfort?”

“Not in particular. Work was fine for awhile. Now, not so much. I still enjoy sewing, embroidery, but… when it was a constant chore, it was not fun. You understand.”

“So, you told me you were looking for adventure? Something new?”

“Something new is more accurate. I’m just… sick of what my life ended up being,” he admitted.

Sariel looked back to the sky. “Well, we’re lucky to live so long, to have the time to change that.”

Cassian grimaced. “I’d rather not.” He glanced back at her. “You don’t have to stay out here if you don’t wish.”

“No. I like watching Her at night.”

“She’s quite a sight to marvel at,” he agreed. “I just like the sound of the running water.”

“I agree.”

“Goodnight Sariel.”

“Goodnight Cassian.”

Sleep took them under the stars. The others in the cabin took turns resting and watching. Nothing presented itself in the night, and the spiders didn’t leave the trees. Dawn came with the shriek of toucans and parrots in the forest.

  
  


Renard was straight up at first light, shedding the leather coat in the heat of the day, revealing his shirt and chainmail. He started preparing the ship and checking the lines. Elyse changed from her Sanskran outfit back into her usual red clothes, up and ready to help with the ship. Cassian and Sariel made their way back.

“Let’s get moving,” Renard urged. Astra patted his pockets, and finding what he was looking for, threw their captain a coin purse. Renard grabbed it from the air.

“That’s your 25 gold. Told you I’d pay you back,” the bard smiled.

He grinned. “Thank you. You haven’t left yourself with nothing, have you?”

“No problem. And no, don’t worry about me. You saw, I can make money quickly.”

Renard glanced down at the bag. “Do you want your… coin purse?”

Astra reddened. “Yes please. I just thought it looked fun to do that.”

The prince grinned, emptying the coins into his own bag before handing back the coin purse. “Alright, who’s taking the lines today?” he called to the others.

“I’ll do it,” Cassian answered.

He glanced at the wizard for a moment. “Fine.”

Before they set off, Elyse approached the bard. “At some point, when we have a break, would you mind taking a look at my back again?” she whispered. “I’d rather I ask you first, before you heal without saying anything.”

He grinned at her. “Sure, of course I can. Just say when.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Renard pulled up the anchor, and they set sail. They cut through, the wind not as strong, but in a more favorable direction. He kept his eyes on the surroundings. Four hours in, they saw nothing much of consequence. At one point, they saw the ruined remains of a fishing cog, battered and broken, stuck up against the tree. Roots had grown over it. It was likely damaged upstream, later floating down.

Past lunchtime, something broke out of the river ahead. They couldn’t make it out at the distance, and pressed forward. As they grew closer, they realized it looked like a skull in the river. Long and drawn out, it had the yellowish brown color of bone that had been decaying for a long, long time. As they grew closer and closer, they realized the size of it. It must have been as large as their ship. “Cassian, release the sails,” Renard called. 

The wizard complied, and the boat slowed. The skull was just on the edge of the water. “Should I take the boat over?” Renard surveyed.

“Should we check this out?” Elyse followed, staring at the skull. “It looks interesting, right?”

“Maybe not go there ourselves,” Boblem warned. “If you want, I could call upon an animal. Try to see if there’s anything inside?”

“Sure,” the other two agreed. Boblem reached out, feeling the wave of natural energy. Even though he didn’t hear it, he felt it. A fey spirit, somewhere out there, stepped through the boundary to their world, forming here. For a second, he could see through its eyes and feel through its senses before it began to take form, an amorphous energy. Boblem glanced above, and as the others followed his gaze, the hummingbird appeared around the top of the mast. Pea green and turquoise with a bright purple belly, Boblem put out his finger, and it sat on his hand.

Renard watched it with caution. “Okay…”

“You can take a closer look for me, friend,” Boblem smiled at it. Suddenly, Boblem’s eyes shifted to those of the hummingbird, completely black, his mouth falling slightly slack, though still breathing. The hummingbird leapt off his finger, circling around everyone before darting off to the skull.

Renard was quite disturbed by the sight. “It’ll be okay,” Sariel assured them all. She was familiar with this kind of magic.

“What’s happening, then?” Astra pressed.

“He’s okay, don’t worry,” Elyse repeated.

Sariel gave a nod. “He’s looking through the hummingbird’s eyes.”

Renard looked up and down at Boblem’s slack form. “Can he hear us?”

“Not at the moment.”

“His senses are with the bird, but his body is here,” Elyse explained. “He’ll be fine.”

Boblem looked down at himself, his face a bit droopy, the rest of the party looking confused and concerned. His consciousness in the hummingbird, he zipped off, watching through its eyes. He circled the ship one before soaring over to the skull. It was hard to get a sense from up top, so he took two minutes to circle it, looking up close. It was just a head, with no body. He found a fang, a good meter long, cresting out of its mouth. It might be a snake of some sort, but colossal. The skull was half embedded in the mud, half poking out, with chunks taken out of it. Above the eye socket, there was a big gouge in the bone. It was old, yellow and stained, with no flesh left. There were patches of moss growing on it, and a family of toads who had made their home in the eye socket. One threw a tongue at him, but he swiftly dodged.

He zoomed back, senses returning to his own form. He blinked his eyes, and the hummingbird landed back on him. “Thank you for the help,” he smiled at it.

“What did you see?” Sariel asked.

“I saw a big, big skull… it looked like a snake.”

“Anyone ever heard of giant snakes?” Elyse wondered..

Renard shrugged. “We saw that giant gator.”

“Some chunks of the skull were missing,” Boblem continued. “Though the skull did look quite old. So I don’t know if that means we’re safe or not.”

“Definitely snake, not a dragon or anything?”

Boblem shrugged. “There was a family of toads living in it.”

“Okay…”

“One tried to eat me.”

Elyse frowned. “I mean, did it look as though we might be able to find anything useful in there? Or should we just sail around it?”

“Just toads,” Cassian repeated.

“Yeah, I just saw a family of toads,” Boblem nodded. “Unless you want to take a look at the skull, the giant fangs. But I don’t know if I would recommend that.”

Elyse perked up. “Maybe they could be worth something.”

“Well the last time we went wandering around in wreckage, manticores attacked us,” Cassian reminded them.

“So we sail past?” Renard surveyed the group. He looked to the map. Probably another day’s sail until they arrived. He marked off the skull.

“I wonder what could have killed something that big,” Sariel commented.

Boblem fiddled with the strap of his overalls. “Yeah, I wonder if it’s still around.”

Elyse and Boblem looked out over to the skull. Looking near it, the trees were slightly thinner, and patchy. “You see that too, right?” she leaned over to the boy. “You have any idea what that might mean?”

It looked like the head rolled down a while ago. He shared his hypothesis with her.

“So there might be something up there,” she finished, “Either dangerous or interesting.”

“Could you send your hummingbird to look?” Renard prompted, hearing this.

The boy nodded. “Yeah, I guess I could.” He sent it off for about five minutes before it perched back on his shoulder. The visions flashed into his mind. The bird had soared over the skull and through the forest, up the slight bank. Once it crested over the bank, it came to the remains of the snake. A titanic creature, fifty meters in length, its rib cages each easily twice as high as a human. It curved around another corpse, half embedded in the mulch soil. Another skeleton, just as old, but enormous. Sticking out of the mulch where the neck ended, was the hilt of an ancient sword or stone, incredibly large. It was hard to gauge scale, but there seemed to have been a fight between a giant of old and an enormous snake. Much of the giant’s corpse was completely overgrown with greenery, fungi, plants, and trees growing through the ribcage. Where it sat, there were patches of stone underneath, pushing through, as if the giant had fallen on top of them. Looking beyond, there was a hill rising out of the greenery. At the top, just in the distance, was something glittering gold and catching in the sunlight. Boblem did his best to relay the information to the group.

“I would very much like to go and have a look,” Renard admitted, curious.

Elyse looked at him in surprise, having been fully prepared to argue with him about it. “Yeah, me too.”

“There are very few things that I’m particularly interested in changing the course for, but… something that old, I’m very interested in.”

“Yeah, absolutely.”

“If everyone’s okay with that.”

“Yes,” Sariel and Astra answered in tandem.

Boblem grinned. “I don’t mind.”

Cassian crossed his arms. “I see no reason not to.”

“Just make sure to take the ship with us!” Boblem suggested.

Renard hurriedly pulled in the sails, docking the ship. They stepped off, holding the bottle, not sure what would happen. Elyse held the bottle away from her, undoing the cork. They heard a cracking noise of suction as the ship folded into itself in ways that were impossible to comprehend. It hurt their eyes, and they found themselves looking away from it as it defied physics and everything they understood, their heads pounding. Suddenly, a tiny ship was rocking on the waves in the bottle. The water washed out, lapping over their feet. The bottle had disappeared from Elyse’s hand, and she went to pick it up.

Renard gazed at the ship in awe. “Wow. That’s one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen.”

Elyse gripped the bottle with excitement. “Oh my gosh, I know so many people who would lose their fucking  _ minds _ over this, myself included.”

“So do I. Let’s go.”

There was a sharp citric smell in the air. Elyse put the bottle in her bag, and they took off up the hill. They walked up to the skull, and through the thinned trees past it. It was a two minute walk up the bank, almost like a path. The trees there were smaller and skinnier than the other ones around. Boblem checked the surroundings, and he saw signs of wildlife, small birds and bugs.

There was a piglike looking creature in the treeline, with a long snout protruding from blue and red fur. It peaked out of the undergrowth before retreating back. Suddenly, three, four, five more appeared, snuffling. There was a thudding noise as one, four times larger than the others, appeared at the treeline, staring at them. It seemed like a pig with an elephant’s trunk, and two serrated tusks. It snuffled at them before heading back into the undergrowth. Other than that, there were no threats.

Walking up the hill, they crested over a bank that seemed to dip slightly in the middle. About 150 meters away, there was a hill with vegetation, and something rectangular and flat poking out the top. As they stepped over, the light caught a glimmer of gold in the distance.

Before them were two skeletons wrapped in the dance of death from hundreds of years ago. It was hard to gain perspective, but from where they stood they saw the head of the giant, wrapped up in the body of the snake, limbs everywhere, contorted and twisted. The end of the snake stopped abruptly at the top of the hill. Looking to the side was the hilt of an ancient, enormous sword, sticking out of the mulch and grass. It was ten feet high, and three feet wide. Going all the way down to the pommel, it was inscribed with ancient, intricate detailed runes. Though most of them were grown over with moss and worn down, it was still clear to see. They looked over to see the entirety of the two beings. Perhaps the giant lost its life as it managed to behead the creature, the skull rolling down the hill.

Elyse took out her journal, sketching over a double page as they walked around. The blade of the sword had rotted away, but the hilt, handle, and pommel were still there, in blue-grey stone.

Renard, who had still yet to replace the scarf that covered the lower half of his face, looked genuinely excited. He passed Astra with a skip in his step, giving the bard’s tail a friendly tug as he passed. “Let’s check it out!”

Astra let out a surprised giggle, grabbing his tail back, but Renard was still moving forward. Elyse leaned over to the bard. “Is he okay?” she laughed, looking after the other man.

Cassian continued forward as well, but instead, followed the direction of the gold glimmer.

They walked around the head, which was humanoid in shape, but colossal. Each eye socket was about a meter wide, and past that, through the collarbone, they found the ribs. Half buried, they walked through like an overarching chapel made from beams of bone, covered in moss and lichen with trees and roots growing through. Their steps found firm patches and soft patches, stepping over mulch, vegetation, and patches of white stonework, square and in line to each other.

Cassian eyed the stone, an idea coming to him. He stepped out of the skeleton for a second, climbing up the wrist. He stood on it, looking out, and tracing a few lines. This could be the remnants of a town, underneath the bones. Maybe this battle happened hundreds of years ago on a village, and the patches of stonework were the tops of buildings. Over the years, the bracken and mulch and leaves and vegetation had grown completely over it. Glancing back up at the glimmer on the hill, he realized it was probably part of the town as well. There were chimney tops, the corners of stone facades, and streets, though all shattered and broken, completely overgrown. “You might want to get a view from up here,” he called down.

Renard followed straight away, Elyse close behind. “What have you seen?” Renard smiled brightly as he looked around, tapping his fingers in excitement.

“These two titans have fallen on top of a town. I can see where the rooftops and chimneys used to be.”

“That’s very sad,” Boblem frowned from below, but those above were intrigued. Elyse climbed further, up onto the ribcage. They pulled each other higher, on the remains of the giant, the snake winding around it, throttling its neck. They had read about giants and mythic snakes, but they had heard no particular story of a battle.

“This is beautiful,” Astra marvelled.

“It’s tragic,” Cassian countered.

Boblem nodded. “Very tragic.”

“But look at the way nature reclaimed everything back,” Astra pressed. “It’s stunning.”

They saw the remains of a belt buckle and patches of armour, each of the huge metal segments grown over and decayed, but still fairly visible. There were the remnants of what was probably once a satchel, similar in design to theirs, but they could have fit inside it like a hanging tent. Elyse pointed it out to the group. “Should we see if there’s anything still inside it?” she grinned.

“Giant rations,” Renard joked.

“Yeah, you want more rations?” she teased.

Cassian rolled his eyes with a grin. “Ancient, giant rations.”

“I want to see what’s left of the town,” Renard continued, “If we can look in any of it.”

The town was submerged, grown over by years and years of plant growth, but there was still something peeking from the other hill. Elyse turned to Boblem with an idea. “Um, when you made that hut for us in the swamp, that spell you used, do you think you could use it to dig so we can see what’s inside the buried buildings?”

“I can try,” he agreed.

Elyse balanced on the ribs, jumping from one to the next to reach the bag at the waist. It was mostly overgrown, and digging through, moving chunks of root and plants out of the way, she found quite a bit of decayed and rotten matter. There was one large crystal, teardrop shaped, a bit bigger than her fist. She took it. There were the remnants of two or three people as well, nothing more than bones. On one of the bodies, there was an ear cuff inscribed with different looking runes. She took that. On another corpse, there were armbands inscribed with snakes, made of copper. She took them. Finally, there was a bit of currency, each coin the size of a small plate with a hole punched through, and bronze, with more runes. They seemed fragile, much thinner than she would expect. She definitely took those.

Renard headed to the other hill, walking over the firm stone and mulchy ground. At the bottom of the hill, he judged the next peak to be about twenty meters high, a fairly gentle slope. He began to climb, Cassian following. Elyse used her mage hand to let a skull she took float next to her, waiting for someone to notice. Astra walked behind, taking everything in, running his hand across the bones.

Renard turned to Cassian with glee, radiating with excitement. “Are you gonna come inside?”

Cassian gave him a strange look. “...Sure.”

The prince raced up the hill.

If Renard was racing, Cassian was definitely going to race. The wizard dashed behind, but he wasn’t as athletic as the swordsman. That was fine. As soon as Renard pulled ahead, the wizard disappeared into mist, reappearing well in front of his opponent.

“I’ve only got short legs!” Sariel called from the back, the rest of their group making the journey upwards.

They scrambled up the hill, and a chunk of vine fell off to reveal stone underneath. They glanced at the patch in amazement, continuing the climb. They made it over the natural dome of the hill. There was a four foot lip of stone they hopped over, everyone panting as they arrived.

Cassian was already at the top, leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed.

“That’s cheating,” Renard grinned.

“Use what skills you have,” he shrugged, looking cocky.

“He’s right,” Elyse smiled.

Cassian nodded to the sorcerer. “Elyse can fly.”

She glanced over to Renard, skull still hovering next to her. “Do you like my new friend?”

“Very classy,” he grimaced.

Cassian played along. “What’s his name?”

“Yorrick,” Sariel offered. Boblem gave her a confused look. “I don’t know, it just came to me,” she shrugged.

The group had a good laugh. Renard began to climb inside the building, the happiest he had been in a while. He stood on the lip of stone, an indent below. It was thirty feet across, square. It was sunk in a few feet, made from the same color stone. In the middle was a raised cross. There were piles and piles of foliage and leaf and vine all around the edges. They covered the lip, and Renard started clearing them, pulling them away. Moving one last leaf, something flew out from underneath, zooming past them like a powerful magnet and sticking to the cross.

Their heads snapped around, and a football sized orb of gold now stuck to the cross, held perfectly in the bracket. An enourmous shockwave blasted off. All of them were knocked over with the force of the blast. Cassian, Sariel, Boblem, and Astra were stunned for a moment on the ground, Elyse and Renard scrambling straight back up. Putting a hand back over the stone lip, they felt resistance. The vines had been thrown clear off the entire building, as if the wave came from within.

They looked down at a stepped pyramid, the building surrounding it, vines blown away. Many of the bones of the two titans had been shattered and turned to dust up to the knees. They could now see the remnants of streets, pillars, houses, and all sorts of buildings in white stone stained green and brown. They tried to look and lean over, but where the pyramid stepped up, the stone seemed to continue with an invisible wall of force. Pushing against it, it could not be broken.

Elyse went about studying the wall while Renard helped the others up. It seemed to be a high level spell. Where some of the vines had been, a door was exposed, leading down to stairs to enter the building. Looking at the cross, the ball on top of it was turning ever so slowly, humming with arcane energy.

“What the hell was that?” Astra glanced around, fearful.

“I don’t think I need to say this, but, this is extremely high level magic,” Elyse gulped. “Far beyond me, and I’m pretty sure, any of us. Though it sure looks interesting as hell.”

“Are we trapped?”

“I can’t think of a way to dispel this, but there is a doorway.”

“So down we go,” Cassian nodded.

“I would say…” Boblem began, nervous, “I can cast to find traps? Before we run into that?”

“Please,” Elyse agreed. “I was about to say.”

“No more getting crossbow bolts stuck in you Elyse,” the wizard followed.

Boblem sent out the spell. He found one 60 feet below them, and another about 80 feet deep inside the building. As he relayed this, fire ignited from the stairway below, brackets on the sides illuminating the way with torches.

“That’s interesting…” Astra worried.

Cassian raised a brow. “Well the welcome committee is rolling out for us.”

“Oh boy,” Boblem shuddered.

Astra used his magic to snuff out the nearest bit of flame. After a few seconds, it began to smolder again, burning and igniting. “Well that’s interesting. You can’t put the flames out again.”

“Then we have to go down, because we’re trapped up here,” Renard grinned.

Astra eyed him. “You seem excited about this.”

“I didn’t think you of all people would be excited about this,” Elyse agreed.

Renard bristled, defensive. “Well there’s a lot of things you don’t know about me.”

“You just refused to take an arcane weapon from me and now you’re all excited about this magical room,” she countered, but Renard was already walking down the stairs. Sariel was a bit wary. It wasn’t exactly subterranean, but it was still downwards.

“Just remember there’s a trap!” Boblem called down the stairs.

At the bottom, Renard pushed the door open with the end of his javelin. A flurry of dust spread into the room. As they entered, more lights burst into flame. The room curved around, the desks spanning the width of the wall and covered in an inch of dust, and on them, reams and reams of papers and books, scrolls and parchments, the backs of the walls with even more bookcases stamped with dozens and dozens of tomes and writings, posters and scrawlings, maps and notes, all plastered across the walls. To the right, the chamber opened up, the same stone floor but completely unmarked and untouched, with centuries of dust buildup. In the middle of the room was a long desk underneath more dust and cobwebs.

There were strange, fantastical instruments, devices, and machines. Some looked slightly like telescopes, some like planetary models, some like rulers and measuring devices and scales, and some they didn’t recognize at all. There were hints of brass and copper underneath the dust, and looking up to the roof, the ceiling was painted in a dark blue black, hundreds and thousands of marks scrawled across, each with tiny bits of lettering. Sections of them were joined, forming pictures, signs, and signals. It looked like a star map, but not one that they had seen. It was almost like sections were folding against each other, and overlapping where they knew they shouldn’t.

“This is incredible,” Elyse gasped.

Renard called back over his shoulder. “Boblem, there were no traps on this level, right?”

Elyse glanced back. “You said they were further down I think?”

The half-elf nodded. “Further down,”

“So this should be safe… but we should still be careful,” Elyse decided.

Renard shrugged. “Perhaps the traps were stopping people from getting up here, but we’ve come in through the top.”

The pair went to investigate the desks. Renard shifted through the papers on the center desk, though there weren’t as many there as on the sides. A few edges crumbled to dust as he touched them, but the majority were intact. The wind moved slightly, blowing the dust away. He saw copper banding of brass tubes, and clear lenses at the ends of telescopes, scales with seven different axes at different points, and machines that he couldn’t comprehend the meaning of at all. There was a dish held up with two prongs coming out the center, holding a ring in the middle, but with two bands parallel to each other, kind of forming a sphere. They were joined by tiny screws, and on them, tiny tiny tiny inscriptions. Different members of the party recognized fragments of Elvish and Infernal, but the writing was too small to read.

Elyse took it to inspect further, brushing off the dust. It folded on itself, becoming one full ring. Tapping it again, they all spun around, now revealing eight bands that revolved around each other freely. She pocketed it.

Boblem checked the bookshelves. He recognized a bit of Common in the array of languages. He pulled some scrolls out, but the ones that did not instantly turn to dust were bound in leather scrolls. There were writings and writings on gates, travelling, the planes, and connections. There were notes and annotations on the main bodies of text. It was hard to get a full comprehension of it all. Working his way around the room, the left side seemed to be older, the right side newer. The older side was orderly, alphabetized and categorized. The other side was busier, with stacks and stacks of paper, things stuck to the walls with daggers or wedged in stone, lines drawn over the wall itself from one document to another, to a scroll down on a table. In the more recent ones, the writing was janky and large and out of form, switching and becoming spiker, darker, shifting in style and language.

“Does anyone know what any of this is?” Renard surveyed the group. “I mean, it looks like a research- ”

“A laboratory of some kind?” Elyse hypothesized.

Cassian checked around the edges, looking for anything hidden from view. In the middle, on the other side of the chamber, he spotted an onyx ball wrapped in copper bands. It was cracked, lying on the middle of the ground. On the other side, there were more desks, looking just as disorderly.

He walked towards the ball, Renard following. As they passed the middle section of doors, they heard a rumble coming from the stone below them. The orb dropped into the ground, sinking into the stone below. In its place, a head rose, made of stone, clay, brick, rock, and mud. Its broad shoulders were five feet wide, the torso going down into a column of stone that writhed out of the ground. Two dull green lights burned where its eyes would be, and two heavy clublike arms formed at the sides as it began moving towards them.

Immediately, Sariel reached out to cast a spell, but the thing was so alien that her magic fizzled away. “What is that?”

Moving quickly, Renard pulled Cassian behind him, switching their places. He whipped out his sword, and it sank into the creature, moving through the clay, slightly stuck in place. He yanked it back out, but the creature didn’t seem to be very hurt. Frustrated, he kicked at it, but his foot simply bounced off rock. Landing backwards, he braced himself for a counterattack.

Elyse looked over the creature. It probably wouldn’t take any damage from non-magical attacks. She vaulted over the table to get a clear shot, sliding over as an instrument clattered to the floor. “I don’t think weapon attacks are going to work on this thing! It has to be hit with something arcane!”

“You’re telling me!” Renard shot back, scrambling to his feet. Elyse lobbed a firebolt at it. The bolt slammed into the center of its chest, growling at her as angry eyebrows formed in the rock. Boblem turned around to cast a moonbeam, silvery light opening up in the star map above them. It burned down over it, little chunks sizzling off.

Recovering from being thrown back by Renard, Cassian pointed his wand, setting off an invisible explosion behind it. It rocked the creature, swaying forward as chunks of boulder fell off. Cracks formed in it, causing a lot more damage than he expected. “Thanks for the range, Renard!”

Astra sent out magic of his own, sending his voice into its head, but the spell didn’t take. The creature heard the bard taunt in its mind, calling it ugly, but it didn’t seem affected other than further angry eyebrows.

The creature dropped below the ground, melding into the stone itself. It reappeared by the wizard, the stone cracking and forming around it as it sent Cassian into shadow.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” the elf grumbled.

Two titanic fists made of stone slammed into him, battering him down and slamming him into the wall with immense force. Blood poured out of his nose and ears as he slumped, falling limp to the floor.

Sariel ran over to him, casting her healing magic. Cassian felt her cold hand on him, pushing out a warmth that spread through his body. With a gasp, he opened his eyes from the ground, his head ringing. “Are you okay?” she asked. He gave her a pained smile, blood trickling down his face.

Seeing Cassian go down so suddenly, Renard went for the javelin. He stepped back, breathing in, and launched the weapon. He screamed the command word, and the second it left his hands it split into a bolt of lightning five feet wide. It slammed into the creature, hitting it with a blinding flash of light before they saw the javelin sticking out of it one more. In fury, both of Renard’s gloves lit up as he stared in anger, baring his teeth.

“I told you it would be useful!” Elyse yelled. She hopped back onto the table, setting off another firebolt. This one merely dissipated into sparks across its chest.

Boblem moved the moonbeam back to the creature’s new position, brightening it in intensity. Parts of it sparkled like uncut gemstones, creating a dazzling rainbow effect across the star map on the ceiling.

Cassian scrambled up from the ground, running to a corner. “Thanks for the help, everyone!” he called behind, panicked, his hair coming loose as he settled himself far away from the creature.

“We’ve got your back, don’t worry!” Astra responded, sending a bit of his own healing magic over. He tried to send his voice into the creature again, but had no luck.

Their opponent moved away from the moonbeam, setting its sights on Astra and Sariel. Two fists hammered down on them both. It was considerably less damage than Cassian had endured, but it knocked both of them rather harshly. Sariel tried to retaliate with a spell, frost building up on its sides, but as it moved, the ice flaked off.

Renard moved himself between Cassian and the creature. “Whatever you did before, do it again!” he called over his shoulder.

The wizard was not feeling quite up to the task. Head pounding, he shot out a bolt of arcane energy instead. It went straight into the ceiling, a chunk of masonry falling from the starmap. He spat a bit of blood onto the floor. “Sorry…” he groaned.

Elyse wrapped the chain of her focus around her hand, sparks of lightning spitting from it. She cast a chromatic orb of fire at it, hitting its shoulder and burning some bits off as she used her magic to fly back. Boblem shifted the moonbeam once more, following the creature as it retreated.

Cassian tried again, and this time his spell hit. There was an explosion of sea foam on the impact, and it was pushed backwards to the wood door behind it, which splintered under its weight.

Giving it a third try, Astra yelled at the creature, letting his magic push his voice towards it. Feeling stressed, he spoke in Infernal. “Stay the fuck back, you ugly bugger!”

“Astra!” Cassian called, scandalized by the swear, and the only one of the group who understood the insult.

The creature disappeared into the ground, reappearing on the other side. A fist slammed into Astra’s space, the bard barely jumping out of the way to dodge. The second fist knocked into Sariel, and she crumpled to the floor.

Renard ran forward to Sariel, crouching down and tearing off his gloves. Cupping her face with glowing hands, Sariel seemed to regain her full strength. “Elyse, hit that thing!” he called from the floor.

She sent out another firebolt, but it smoldered off its shoulder. “Fuck!”

Its head fully rotated around to her. She sent another firebolt, hitting it directly in the chest. Seeing the blow connect, she retreated, running down the desks. It was looking rough, patches of it falling off.

Boblem continued to move the moonbeam, light shining through where cracks appeared. An arm fell away, but the other swelled in size, smashing through the table and putting crater sized holes in the walls.

Cassian made his way around the staircase, shooting another bolt at it. Astra began to play his music, sending his healing magic to Cassian, Sariel, and Renard. He was sure to send a bit extra Sariel’s way.

The creature brought up a fist to slam down once more, and Boblem reached towards the power of the moon with his staff, shining the light down. The fist swelled to the size of Sariel, about to careen down once more before a heavenly crackle burned, white light flooding through it. The column of light expanded, burning it up, and turning it to a dust that covered Sariel in an orange hue. There was a solid thunk as the ball of onyx stone dropped to the floor, nearly split apart.

“Don’t touch it yet!” Elyse warned.

Astra hurried over to Sariel as Renard helped her up, still with one hand on her face. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Thank you,” her quiet voice replied.

“We’ve got you,” Astra nodded.

Sariel looked around at the others. “Is everyone okay?”

There was agreement all around. “Are you okay, Cassian?” Boblem pressed.

“Much better,” the wizard nodded.

Renard stepped back, sliding his gloves back on. Elyse hopped off the desk, cautiously approaching the orb. The dust settled, and as she approached, it didn’t reactivate. There were a few chunks of pebbles and rocks on the floor, mostly clay. The orb was definitely magical, but the dirt wasn’t.

Cassian began to clean Sariel of the dust, using his magic to draw the dirt from her. The sorceress checked around the room for any other danger, and when none appeared, she sat to identify the sphere. She found it was an Orb of Earth Elemental Control. It seemed to have one more use left before it would break. Moving past a certain point in the room had triggered it. She turned it over, looking for the command word. Inscribed on the side was the Taron word for “Guard me.”

Renard collected the javelin and backed away from the group, staring at his hands.

Sariel took the small rings from Elyse, and set it under a magnifying glass on the table. Popping it into place, she could read the runes much more clearly. She recognized a few words, “Tara, Igna, Aqua.” In Common, “Materia,” and “The Gates of Sigil.” In Elvish, “The Summer Courts of the Fey.”

Astra peeked over. He glimpsed a word in Infernal. “The Hells.” The tiefling grimaced, looking uncomfortable before stepping away.

Writing overlapped on every surface, and there were many languages they didn’t recognize. “I wonder if each of these rings represents a plane,” she thought.

“That’s what I think,” Elyse agreed.

Boblem looked over. “Planes?”

“Seems to be something to do with the planes of existence,” the sorcerer explained. “And, this orb, we could potentially use it to summon one of those things to fight for us.”

Renard grimaced.

“Did someone say something about travel earlier?” Cassian recalled. “Would these people be, perhaps, trying to gain access to the different planes?”

Elyse continued to study the object. Nothing could have written that small, it had to have been arcane.

Renard set about examining the room, trying to learn how long it had been empty, and if it had been abandoned rather than left. Looking at the dates on the papers, the place seemed untouched for about four hundred years. Earlier papers had dates, but newer ones were just scrawlings and scribbles with no dates. Over time, the writing became less cohesive. He pointed this out to the others as he walked around. “I think they started finding something important. That’s what this says to me. And they started working on it frantically, and maybe, it consumed them.”

There seemed to be a thirty to forty year gap between the old and new sections. Looking over the more scrawled ones, some torn down, there was a bit of a pattern. Pushing some papers together, they found a semi torn apart drawing. A circle, and a howling face scrawled over the top in a brown paint, or mud. Or blood.

Elyse came out of her identification trance, sweat beading on her forehead and eyes wide. The ring was a map of the planes itself. Moirenia’s Map of the Inner and Outer Planes. The ring, when activated, would float in the air and project a vision of the planes across the wall. Studying it would allow someone to determine when the next planar gate would appear on the mortal plane. However, studying it would be extremely difficult. The ring’s map showed the ever moving, changing, and chaotic nature of the planes. The intended purpose was to lock in the planes, finding the points where they would connect, to discover where and when a planar gate would appear.

Looking through the studies, there were notes and writings of planar gates, mostly in unknown languages, but annotated in Common. The second author wrote of coincidences where planes overlapped. The plane of water might open in a waterfall on the material plane, or a Hellmouth may appear in a site of great duress, like a battlefield. 

Cassian wandered over to the door that the elemental had smashed into. It seemed to lead further down, widening slightly. “This is our way further in, when we go,” he called.

Elyse stared down at the ring. “So this thing… It kind of has multiple functions? It’s basically… a map of the inner and outer planes of existence. And, it can project that map, like for all of us to see. But if anyone spends enough time studying it, you can actually use it to find points where planes connect, and gates open up, potentially traveling to other planes.” She looked both terrified, excited, and enthralled all at the same time, overwhelmed. It was probably a very simple map, as how the planes conjoined was too much for mortal minds to comprehend. It was basically a three dimensional diagram of the map of stars.

“Fascinating,” Cassian nodded.

Looking up at the ceiling, they realized it was probably not a map of just their world, but several others overlapping each other. They recognized many constellations, but there were new ones as well. Where Sariel saw the three headed dog constellation, behind it and off kilter was the bear constellation. Elyse stared up at the ceiling, glancing at the two objects in her hands. It was all too much.

“I hate to be the killjoy, but we need to get out of here somehow,” Renard began. “There could be more to explore.”

“There’s no point spending all our time in this one room,” the wizard agreed.

“I know, this is just…” Elyse trailed off, still in awe. “This is something I’ve been studying for a very long time, and I’ve never found anywhere like this before.”

Renard unrolled the map of Caldera. “Well, here.” He pointed at his previous mark of the snake skull, “We can find it again. Okay? You can come back when we’re not trapped inside this pyramid.”

She smiled.

“Maybe you could take with you, some of the books?” Boblem offered. “If they don’t crumble.”

There were hundreds and hundreds of books.

“Elyse, you can come back,” Renard urged.

Sariel nodded. “This isn’t going to go anywhere.”

Cassian began to make his way through the doors as Elyse gathered her things. Renard, noticing how much she already had on her, offered to help. “I can take that or something else, I’m barely carrying anything.”

“Are you okay to carry the orb?”

“Sure.” He put it in his bag.

Cassian took a step down the stairs, pushing through the double doors. He stopped for a second, swearing he heard something move on the level below.


	20. Into The Pyramid, Episode Eighteen

There were heavy footsteps, and something dragging, muffled from behind the doorway. Looking down the stairway, there were doors on the left and right, with stone frames and wooden boards covered in dust and cobwebs.

Hearing the noses, Elyse turned to Boblem. “Think we should send the hummingbird down?”

“Zip!” he called, and the bird landed on his finger. “His name is Zip, by the way,” the boy grinned. “Go on, Zip!”

The bird flew down, but the doors were closed, so it fluttered by a keyhole. It could see through, but it was dark.

Sending a bit of magic down, Astra coaxed the doors to creak open. Cassian continued on, checking the door to the right, while Zip entered the door to the left. It flitted through the gap, seeing a darkened room. In the corner were boxes and crates piled on top of each other, most of them orderly and stacked, but a few broken or fallen off. Piles of something, sand or rocks, had spilled from some of them. It was hard to determine color in the dark. There were a number of statues surrounding the room as well, humanoid. Circling the room, Zip found another door on the other side of the left room.

The crates were heavy and wooden, with forty or fifty in total. Dozens and dozens of small stones had spilled across the floor, ranging from one centimeter long to three or four. The statues were pretty realistic, four or five made of a blue-grey stone, flecked with deeper blue. Some of the faces didn’t appear fully human. They had slitted, folded over faces, fangs coming from up high. Their pupils were slitted. A second one didn’t have traditional arms, but a snake coming out from each side. The third had a full snake's head. Each wore a thin circlet with a small gem at the front, some kind of headband.

As Boblem relayed this to the group, Cassian looked through the other door. There seemed to be huge wooden bobbins, with coils of copper and wire in three or four foot tall reels stacked in the corner. There were two more statues as well.

“There’s only two of those things in here,” he reported back.

Astra dropped his guard. “Okay, well statues can’t be bad.”

“Can you see the source of the noise?” Elyse called down.

“Don’t hear any noise,” Cassian responded.

Elyse and Renard made their way down the stairs. Renard peeked into the room, but it was too dark for him to make anything out. He stood next to Cassian. “Do the statues look like they were built there, or...? I’m just suspicious about there being no remains of people here.”

There didn’t seem to be any footsteps, but there were large swaths carved through the dust. Something had moved here, very recently. “Something has definitely been through here,” the wizard observed, “But I don’t know if these are lively statues or if it’s… something else.”

“If they’re just statues,” Astra shrugged, convinced.

Renard turned to Cassian in the dark. “Could you cast a light?”

A small dancing light appeared, illuminating the statues. Renard stepped to the doorway, sweeping out his sword to check for traps or wires. Nothing. He entered, the rest of the group following behind as Zip flew back to Boblem. The door swung shut behind them. Sariel glanced up at the expressions on the statues. Most of them looked scared, or hurt. Elyse and Renard went to investigate the copper coils. They were huge, and tightly wound, four or five centimeters in diameter. Some pieces were sheared off, or burnt off by magic.

Boblem, Renard, and Sariel heard a noise from beyond the other door. It was a heavy slithering, something dragging across the ground. “Everyone quiet,” Renard ordered, putting up a hand.

“What?” the bard glanced over.

“Do you hear that?”

There was definitely something moving beyond. Elyse put down the copper.

“I don’t want to scare anyone,” he began, “But straight away, I’m looking at the marks on the floor. And the statues, that look like people frozen in place. And the sound of something dragging. Has anyone heard of gorgons?”

Astra looked back to the statues. “What, you think that these were people?”

“What’s a gorgon?” Boblem worried

“I’ve read about them in stories,” Renard explained. A few of them had heard tales of mythical women with snakes for hair, living in isolation.

Astra went to a statue, investigating one. This one had a full snake head, and though it was hard to read the expression of a non-human, the face was definitely pulled back in fear. It’s lips were up, exposing fangs that reared away. The headband was a thin circlet going all the way around their head, a gem inset, but now turned to stone. “You think these were people? This is a snake with a human body. Like the centaur we met.”

“There are stories of creatures called Gorgons, and perhaps other things, that can turn- ”

“People into stone.” Elyse finished.

He nodded. “People into stone. I’m just speculating.”

“It’s a good educated guess.”

Cassian rubbed his chin in thought. There were certainly spells that turned people to stone. Looking over the statues, examining them, he stepped down onto the broken arm of one. Glancing down, he could see the remains of another statue. It almost looked like it had been chewed away, or eroded and broken down. Very uncomfortable, he pointed out the find to the others.

“Ew,” Renard offered.

Astra’s face pulled into confusion. “It looks like something’s been... eating the stone?”

“Does anyone know of anything that eats stone?”

Sariel and Boblem discussed. There were giant worms that burrowed through stone, but this didn’t seem to fit their situation. They didn’t know of anything that turned organic material to stone. Elyse couldn’t offer anything from the arcane realm, either.

Renard cautiously approached the other door, listening through it. Something big and heavy was moving about, shuffling as items broke under it. Elyse checked over the statues. They didn’t seem similar at all to the bodies she had found in the giant’s bag. None had ear cuffs, in fact, many had only slits for ears.

“Do you think this might be a good time for our new friend we made upstairs?” Astra wondered.

“The Stone Elemental? Maybe not yet,” Renard whispered.

“Yeah, this seems to require subtlety more than a big strong thing,” Elyse agreed.

“I would suggest, maybe we go try the other door?”

They made their way to the room with more statues, but heard the same sounds against this door as well. “So it’s one big room?” the bard suggested.

“Maybe, yeah.”

Cassian shrugged. “It’s a pyramid, so it’s all going down to the same place, right?”

“Leading to the same room,” Sariel agreed.

“Like a spiral,” Elyse suggested. “Going down.”

The six of them were rather crowded in the room with the boxes and the four statues. It was very disconcerting to have the frozen faces just in the corner of their eyes. There were piles of stones on the floor now illuminated by Cassian’s light, some a transparent green, some black. Boblem and Astra bent to take a handful.

“I suggest we back away from one of the doors, I mage hand it open, and we send the hummingbird in so Boblem can look through its eyes,” Elyse whispered. “I’d open it just enough for the hummingbird to go in. Rather than us entering.”

“Yeah, I’d say that’s a good idea,” Renard agreed, looking to Boblem.

“Yeah, that’s a good plan,” the boy grinned.

Astra nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

“I’d like to add to that,” Renard whispered, “I know I’m probably being overly suspicious, but, from what I know of these stories of creatures that can turn you into stone… don’t look them in the eye. Don’t look at them directly.”

“If you are okay with that, Boblem? Using the hummingbird?” Elyse probed.

“Yeah yeah, I think Zip will be fine,” the boy grinned, the bird cooing on his finger once more, nuzzling against him before taking flight.

“Everybody else, eyes down,” Renard warned, the group doing their best to back up into the corner. “Ready yourselves.”

A spectral hand floated off from Elyse, opening the door slightly. Zip followed, the hand tickling it for a second before it flew through. The room was definitely connected to the other door, and there were a few more statues. Around a corner was another stairway leading down, and as the bird flew past, it saw two large reptilian creatures, lizardlike and stomping about in the corner. They were blue-grey, with rocky protrusions on their backs like scales. A row of spikes spread over their back, cresting over their heads. There were six legs on each, very big, and very heavy. One looked to be chewing on something while the other made a nest. They didn’t seem to notice Zip, and Boblem did his best to relay what he saw, speaking to them from his own slack body. Zip kept towards the ceiling, and after checking the room, flew back.

Elyse considered the news. “So two creatures- ”

“Making a home,” Astra finished, pointedly.

“Astra,” she sighed.

“Astra, I’m with you on leaving creatures alone when they’re making their home,” Renard mediated, “But this place was buried, and concealed with magic. I don’t think these are creatures that snuck in and decided to live here.”

“And also, they’re blocking our only exit,” Elyse continued.

“We could try and stealth past them,” Cassian suggested. “Just get to the stairs.”

“I can only turn one person invisible at a time.”

Renard eyes flicked to the smaller elf. “Sariel’s got a spell.”

“I can disguise us,” she agreed.

“Elyse, if you could throw some of those stones to the other side of the room with your mage hand as we are passing? Distract them, and then we could go down the stairs quickly.”

“Yeah, sure,” she shrugged, unconvinced. “That’s not to say they won’t follow us.”

He turned back to Boblem. “Can you send the hummingbird down the stairs to see if there’s something worse at the bottom? I think that would be a smart idea first.”

“Yeah, we can try,” the boy agreed. Zip flew down the stairs. There were carvings of similar serpentine faces with open mouths on the stair wall. At the bottom was another door. Nothing could be heard beyond.

“Silence at the bottom of a door is better than getting eaten by lizards,” Renard decided.

Elyse grimaced. “If the door is locked, I could potentially open it, but that spell is very loud. Which would alert the creatures.”

“I’m sure we can figure out another way to unlock it, if it is. I can take the back, at the top of the stairs, while you guys figure out if it’s locked.”

“Okay, let’s try it.”

Sariel cast the spell, and they stepped forward. Zip was still hanging at the bottom of the stairs, near the wall carvings. The creaked open the door. Elyse entered first, then Astra with Sariel and the others as Renard took the back.

They stepped in as quietly and softly as they could. Something snapped underfoot, another hand made of stone. A lizard reared its head and Elyse threw the pile of stones against the other wall, but it wasn’t fooled. As it looked at her, she saw a huge lizardlike face with stony tusks coming out, almost forming a beard, and burning blue eyes widening as it opened its mouth, a purplish tongue lolling out. It grinned at her, and she felt pins and needles spread over her body before she quickly looked away, shaking off the feeling.

It hadn’t noticed the rest of them yet. Sariel snuck through, up against the statues. She watched the shadow of one on the wall, heavy shoulders turning around the corner, poking its tongue out with curiosity. She didn’t want to attack just yet, but she readied a spell just in case. Cassian made his way towards the stairs as well, readying his own spell, and averting his gaze as Renard had advised. Next came Boblem, moving to the stairs with eyes down, holding his magic at the ready.

As they moved past, Astra placed the illusion of another large crate in the room, blocking him from their line of sight as he ducked behind it, Elyse following. She grabbed another rock from her pocket, throwing it to the far wall once more. Renard, watching this from the back, froze in place as he prepared to dash to the stairs.

The first creature stepped forward, seeing Boblem and Cassian. It came towards them, and Boblem released his spell, causing the paving stones to rupture and break in front of them. It grunted in surprise, but managed to climb over the uneven surface. The other one, deceived by Elyse’s second attempt at distraction, went to investigate the far wall.

Sariel ran for the stairs, passing the creature before hiding behind the wall. She kept her eyes on the floor, noticing its legs right near her as she passed. Cassian moved to follow, rushing to the bottom of the stairs. As he stepped on the bottom stair, it sunk into the ground, and he had only a second to look before the faces on the side of the wall belched fire at him. There was the first trap. Thoroughly toasted from both sides, he went immediately to the floor for the second time in only a few minutes.

Renard dashed to the stairs as Boblem used his magic to create a hole in the ground, the front half of the creature falling in as its back legs scrambled to keep it upright. Four muscular legs wiggled, stuck in the hole. Boblem ran around it in time to see the flames smolder from the holes in the side of the staircase as Cassian fell.

Following the rest of the group, Astra rushed down the stairs to heal the wizard. The bard pulled Cassian’s body up and into his arms. “Now who’s being absolutely brash?” he chided as the elf’s eyes blinked open. A fair amount of his hair was singed off, and his clothes were scorched and burned. He put a hand to his scalp in horror. “I think it suits you!” Astra consoled. “We can fix this!”

Cassian did not respond, glaring daggers at the doorway.

Elyse was next to follow, averting her gaze. It was getting crowded in the doorway, and she readied her mage hand to open the door. The first lizard was still struggling to escape the hole, but the second one was beginning to approach.

Sariel called down the stairway. “Can you get the door open?”

“I will in a minute,” Astra replied. “Cassian needs a second.”

Sariel squirmed past, pushing through and opening the door, almost falling through it. There was a wide room open before them, a long table in the middle with benches on the sides. Some destroyed with age, every surface was covered in dust and cobwebs. There was another stairway going back up to the previous room, and looking up, she saw the head of the lizard creature peeking through the ceiling, scrambling in the hole.

As the group stumbled forward, skeletal figures pulled themselves out from under the table. Clinking and cracking their bones into place, they began to shuffle towards them. Several of them did not have regular limbs, with snakelike arms that reached towards them of their own accord.

Renard moved down the stairs, swinging towards one of the skeletons. The mouth of a snaked arm grabbed his sword. The skeletons were wearing scraps of fabric and rags, thin circlets around their skulls as well. He pulled the sword from the mouth’s grip, slamming down onto it again. The arm fell, the entire skeleton shattering to dust as he swiped across another’s torso. The second one shattered into dust as well. He laughed as the blows hit, the bones seemed incredibly fragile.

“What the hell are they?” Astra called over.

Renard prepared his next strike. “No idea! Zombies, I think!”

“What’s that!?” The bard shouted back, sending his own magic to one of the creatures. The circlet around its head ripped and teared as a thorny crown of oak appeared, small leaves growing from the branch. The spell would cause it to slip under Astra’s control, forcing it to attack its counterparts.

Elyse moved next, running out into the room to send out a wave of thunder that slammed five of them back. They fell against the wall, blowing dust and spider webs everywhere. Satisfied, she flew back to the rest of the group, next to Sariel.

The skeleton with the crown of thorns swiped at one of the others, slashing a leg off before shambling over to Renard. Astra did not look incredibly happy, unsure how to feel about killing what was already dead. As the spell wore off and the thorns fell away, the creature reached up towards its head. Not finding the circlet anymore, it dropped lifelessly to the floor.

Cassian sidestepped Elyse, firing off a bolt of energy at another skeleton, shattering a chunk of its ribs into dust. Sariel followed, sending a moonbeam into the pile of scrambling bones. All four of them evaporated into dust, leaving only a few left.

One of the skeletons slipped past, a snaked arm reaching out to bite Cassian, latching onto his collarbone. Boblem countered with a spell of his own, snow and ice forming around the bones, but it was unheeded. The lizard creature was still struggling to free itself from the hole in the ceiling above.

Renard smashed another one to pieces. “This is fun!” he called back with a grin.

“What do you mean, it’s fun?” Astra shot back, scandalized.

Cassian did not look like he was having fun either. “I keep dying!” he shouted back. Renard only quirked a brow at him.

The bard whipped out his lute, his body shining as magic coursed through him. Without thinking, he began to play the song he had heard from the shell back in the forest. The magic reached out to Sariel, Elyse, and Cassian, healing some of their wounds and urging them to move. The wizard made his way over the table to the opposite side of the room, avoiding the moonbeam.

Elyse vaulted over the table, skidding past as she whipped around her arcane focus to launch another firebolt. The skeleton smoldered to blackened bones, a circlet clattering to the floor. “This is kind of fun, actually,” she grinned.

One of the remaining skeletons landed a swipe on Renard as the wizard launched another bolt. The energy soared through the skeletal ribs, hitting the wall behind. Cassian was having a bad day.

Angling the moonbeam, Sariel burned through another creature. Boblem followed close behind, this time succeeding in damaging one with his frost spell. The lizard thing in the ceiling finally managed to free itself, pulling up and out of the hole as stones and loose dirt clattered to the ground. Thankfully, the creatures wouldn’t be able to fit through the door to pursue them.

Renard dealt a final blow to the last skeleton, shattering its head clean off.

“That was kinda fun,” Boblem chuckled, seeing the danger gone.

“Nice work Renard,” Elyse smiled over.

Renard glanced at the others. “Is everyone okay?”

“Cassian, are you okay?” Sariel pressed. The wizard only frowned.

“Your new haircut is nice,” Boblem smiled, trying to be genuine.

“Quiet,” he shot back.

Elyse grinned at him. “I have a friend who has a haircut like that.”

“Shut up.”

“Doesn’t suit you as much.”

“No.”

Renard silenced Elyse with a hand, surveying the wizard. “Seriously, are you alright?”

Cassian looked to the floor. “I should be fine after some rest.”

“We should rest,” Renard agreed. “Should we check if this room is secure?”

“Should we shut that door?” Elyse glanced back up the stairway, but Astra had already flicked it closed with his tail.

There were a few old benches with some broken spots, accomodations for about twenty people. They were completely destroyed with age, and everything was covered with cobwebs and dust, most of which had been kicked up by the battle. The corpses were just shattered remnants of bone with silver circlets around them, a green gem in the center. The bodies varied between fanged humanoids, humanoids with snake heads and muscular shoulders, and humanoids with snakes for arms.

They couldn’t tell the exact spell that was in use, but the circlets were likely controlling the bodies. The inscription seemed similar to that of the magnetic ball that stuck to the cross on the roof. Elyse grabbed a circlet with her mage hand, inspecting the item before slipping it in her bag.

Renard checked the perimeter of the room, finding two doors at either end of the far wall. Listening to each, with Boblem behind, he couldn’t hear anything. The doors didn’t seem locked.

On the tables were remnants of old plates, cutlery, silverware, and candlesticks, anything biological long rotted away. There didn’t seem to be evidence of a previous fight, the table set normally, a few utensils on plates or to the side. Elyse picked up one of the candlesticks, dusting it off to reveal well made copper. She took it.

As the others explored, Cassian pulled out his mirror, doing his best to tidy his singed ends. He began mending and stitching his outfit back together, taking off the vest to fix it.

“Should we have the hummingbird investigate through those doors before we rest here?” Elyse suggested.

“I think we’re relatively safe enough, and there could be anything through them,” Renard advised.

Boblem agreed. “I’d say let’s identify what you have first, and then send him.”

She agreed, sitting on the floor with all the items around her. The teardrop crystal, the copper bracelets, and the green stones were not magical. She took twenty minutes to identify the other two items. The ear cuff from the giant’s bag was an Ear Cuff of the Dwarf, allowing the wearer to learn Dwarvish. The circlet headbands were tied to the workings of the pyramid, keeping anyone who wore one under the control of the pyramid. Someone created them, binding everyone there to this control. The enchantment continued even past death.

Elyse relayed the news to the others. “I guess, if we find anything else wearing anything that looks similar to this, our main aim should be to get it off them, rather than wasting time trying to kill them another way.”

“That makes sense,” Renard agreed.

Astra looked uncomfortable. “They were all dead already though, right?”

“Yes, definitely. They were skeletons, Astra.” Deep in thought, the bard plucked at his lute, staring at where the circlets were. Renard continued to press. “Astra, are you okay? That thing you did there, I haven’t seen you do it before.”

“I’ve never done it before.”

“They were definitely dead already. And that was great, you did wonderfully.”

Boblem was petting Zip in the corner. “Probably for the best that we released them from the eternal command. Even in death they couldn’t rest.”

“They were imprisoned, in a way,” Elyse considered.

Astra nodded, slowly. “Yeah, you’re right. Yeah. That’s a good point.”

Elyse sat over by the bard, fiddling with the ear cuff. “I think we should send the hummingbird into those other rooms, while we’re here, just as a precaution. How long do you have left on Zip?”

“About an hour,” Boblem smiled.

“I can mage hand the doors for you one by one again. Just as a precaution.”

“Yeah, just slightly.”

“If you’ve only got an hour on the hummingbird, I’d say it’s a good idea,” Renard approved.

“But if not, I can call him back again, once more.”

“I’m just worried that if we open one of those doors, we’re going to be pulled into another fight.”

“I’m feeling a bit exhausted,” Astra admitted.

“Can we rest first?”

“Sure, yeah,” Elyse relented. “I just thought we might feel safer if we knew what was in there.”

“We could have a look, and just be sure to close it quickly?” the bard offered.

Elyse waved a hand. “Let’s just rest for now. I’ll keep on watch.”

The lizards upstairs snuffled a bit at the hole, but made no move to attack. Boblem used his spell to seal the spot back up. It wasn’t very structurally stable, but it would do for now.

The group sat to rest for a while. Eventually, Sariel shuffled over to whisper to Renard. “I just wanted to say thank you, for getting me back up earlier.” She avoided his eye. It was easy, with the mask.

“Sure, of course. I’m just glad you’re safe.”

“Well, I appreciate it. Thank you.”

“You feeling okay now?”

“I’ll be alright. Just… running low on magic.”

“Yeah,” Renard sighed. “I’ve got a feeling we might end up resting in here longer than we expected. If you need anything, just let me know.”

“Thank you. You too, I suppose.”

“And, I just wanted to say thank you, for looking after my bag and not asking any questions. I realize there’s been... I don’t know, I wouldn’t say tension between us, but… I just appreciate it a lot.”

“I respect people’s rights to have secrets.”

“As do I. And if I ever gave you the impression otherwise, I’m sorry.”

A small smile crossed her face. “Like when you asked me,  _ tell me all your secrets?" _

He chuckled. “I wasn’t being serious. But okay, fine. I won’t ask you again.”

“I appreciate it. And I won’t ask you.”

He nodded, and she walked off.

Boblem worked more on the health potions, and after a while, they were ready to move again.

“So um, distance, mage hand, hummingbird, maybe a couple of people ready if something jumps out,” Elyse summarized.

“Start on the far left?” Renard suggested, readying his sword.

“Yeah, let’s do this.”

The first door creaked open, and Zip flew through. The room had old and broken tables and chairs. There were a bunch of bodies, about fourteen, slumped over them. Some were standing and shuffling around very slowly, a few in corners gnawing on something with a slightly different form. Broken bottles littered the floor. On the far side was a wide set of stairs, leading down.

Circling around the top, one seemed to cock its head, but they didn’t attack. They all wore circlets. Some were a bit more fleshy than others. Boblem relayed the information, and Elyse let the bird into the second door.

Flying through, Zip saw a long room with rows of beds, 25 to 30 in total. There were a few locked boxes and chests, still covered in dust, cobwebs strung from ceiling to floor. On the beds were corpses, held together by bandages, almost mummified. As the bird passed, they twitched a bit. He noticed that this room connected to one of the doors at the farther end. Relaying that information, there was no need to check the third door.

Entering the fourth and final door, the bird found what seemed to be a dried out bathroom, with a large wide bath cracked and full of stone and debris. Abandoned and empty, there were a few stone benches to the side, and a few more corpses. There was another set of wide stairs going down. All of the skeletons wore circlets, some in more of a decayed state than others.

Elyse was conflicted. “If there’s locked boxes and chests in that central room, there might be something valuable in there, but also there’s no reason to go in there…”

“If none of them could move, we could sweep through. You said they were bandaged up and couldn’t move?” Renard glanced to Boblem.

“I would say they would still move,” he countered.

“Just not well,” Cassian added.

“You know when you use that hand that moves on its own?” Boblem turned to Elyse. “Would that remove any circlets?”

“It would definitely be able to lift it, it’s a matter of whether I can get it off their heads. But possibly.”

“It’s worth a try,” Astra nodded.

Elyse pointed out that there were only three bodies in the center room. “That's not that many to take down. They went down pretty easily.”

“Let me go in, I’ve got the best armour,” Renard offered. “They went down easily with a weapon attack.”

“I mean, I could attempt to take one off one circlet, and if it doesn’t work, we can stab. Rather than using up our strength.”

“I’ll get in there, and you stand at the door to try to remove one.”

“Of all our spells, you did that sweeping thing,” Sariel mentioned.

He grinned. “Yeah, I can definitely pull out one of those.”

“Just get them to come towards you.”

Elyse and Renard approached one of the doors while Boblem and Sariel watched over the other. Opening the door with the mage hand, the sorcerer slipped inside. Creeping in, they looked around the corner to what Boblem had described. The one they thought was going to be on the bed wasn’t there. They scanned around for it, and there was a figure in Elyse’s periphery.

It reached towards her with a blinding speed she didn’t expect.


	21. Marked For Death, Episode Nineteen

Elyse saw a mummified corpse, standing about six feet tall, patches of flesh and bone visible underneath where it was wrapped in dry and dusty bandages. There was a bump underneath the bandages, the circlet, but she wouldn’t be able to take it off if it was covered. The figure was humanoid, but she couldn’t make out any features. The rest of the group heard Elyse let out a noise of surprise.

Sariel, peeking through the other door, saw movement at the other side. Using her druidic abilities, she conjured the sound of a fox cry at the other end of the room to distract the creature. All three of the mummies sat up, looking over at the sound, two in the beds and one by Elyse.

The sorceress reached for the corpse, grabbing its face and casting electricity into the body. Its head caved slightly, its jaw hanging off. Where the bandage flapped over the eye, the empty socket lit up with sparks.

Boblem, seeing this, stepped in by Sariel. Aiming at one, he cast another frostbite attack. Renard moved up to the same one, directly in front of it, and swung his sword. It hacked in, but it didn’t seem to do as much damage as he had hoped. Hand grasping the pommel of the sword, his blade lit up to illuminate the room. There were the remains of corpses on other beds, half sprawled on them or underneath, but most of them were torn to pieces.

Cassian hurried over to the doorway near Elyse, pulling out a grotty clamshell and spraying poison towards one. It didn’t seem to have any effect at all.

The mummy turned to the sorceress, and its eyes ignited with blue fire. A wave of fear washed over her, but steeling herself, she shook off the feeling. Its fist came up, smacking down on her, but she managed to bat it out of the way with her focus.

Another got out of the bed, lumbering over to Renard to pummel him from behind. It struck into the back of his chainmail. The third one gave him the same glare. As it rose up in front of him, its jaw fell off as it howled, a long, paper thin tongue falling out. Its eyes burned with baleful light. Fear stricken, Renard backed up into the corpse behind him before the one in front reached out to deliver a punch. The blow glanced off, but the mummy’s glare had managed to terrify him.

Astra went for the other doorway by Boblem and Sariel. Peeking down the hall, he saw Renard flanked by two of the creatures in linen bandages, Cassian and Elyse in a squabble with the other. Expecting to come in with a sword and kill a few skeletons, Renard had gone pale faced between the mummies.

Astra began to play a familiar tune, one of his mother’s songs, though he wasn’t feeling up to lyrics. The magic of the melody invigorated Renard in a rush of adrenaline. Sariel moved forward, calling “Hey, over here!” as another fox noise echoed through the room.

Giving Cassian a look after his failed poison attack, Elyse let go of the mummy and punched it before casting another shock towards it. Though it was fast at first, it couldn't get out of her way in time, dry and crumbling. A bolt of lightning flashed inside its head as her eyes lit.

Boblem sent out a second frostbite spell, but this one didn’t seem to take. Renard swung his sword out towards the one that had scared the hell out of him before backing away towards Sariel. As he backed away, a fist smacked him across the face. He felt something linger, like a hand still stuck on his face. Somehow, he knew, this wouldn’t be healed so easily. He screamed.

Cassian ran to the beds, firing a double attack at one. It was pushed back, but the usual sea foam expelled from his wand didn’t eat into the creature the way it normally would.

Another mummy swung for Elyse, and she skillfully dodged. Cassian ducked past another attack soon after, but the creature fixed him with another terrible glare. Filled with fear, he went stiff. The third mummy glared at Sariel to an even worse effect. She was so stiffened by the fear, she could not move at all. Renard dodged another attack as Astra moved further into the room. Lifting a cot, he tried to throw it at the one attacking Renard, but it just flopped over.

Having heard Renard’s scream, Elyse tensed, glancing around before punching the one near her again. It seemed to have no impact at all.

Cassian glanced around as he backed away in fear, noticing how dry the creatures were. “Light ‘em up, Elyse!” he called.

She cast a firebolt at the one by Renard, just barely hitting. The ball of fire spread across its back, setting its shoulders on fire as it began to burn. Boblem ran next to Renard, casting a thunderwave to knock two of them back. An arm flew off.

Renard stared at the flaming mummy, dumbstruck for a moment before calling to Elyse, clear panic in his voice. “Hit it again with fire! Hit it again with fire!!”

She threw another, whipping her other hand around and swinging the arcane focus as a lasso of flame spewed at it. Its whole body now ignited, the mummy was looking rough. Renard ran to the back of the room, scrambling over the cots in fear, and plastering himself against the wall.

Cassian, also frightened, pulled out his crossbow. Shakily loading it, he fired into the flaming one. It was still up. Another mummy turned its glare on Boblem, paralyzing him as well.

Cassian dodged an attack as another hit Elyse. As she was hit, she felt like a hand was gripping around her throat. Backing away, the feeling of the hand remained. It felt hard for Elyse to breathe, and Renard could still feel a hand pushing against his own face.

Astra used his magic to swell the fire, holding out his hands to control the flame. The mummy stalked Cassian for a moment before completely crumbling to the ground. By now, Sariel, Cassian, and Renard had recovered from the fearful spell of the mummy’s glare.

Sariel’s form shifted slightly as she raked extended nails into the nearest one, acid burning through the paper coverings. Feeling the pressure on her throat, Elyse flew out of range before sending an orb of fire at a different one. Spinning the sphere in her hand, it seared out, hitting the mummy in the chest and engulfing it in flame. She backed up to Cassian.

Boblem was still frozen in fear, unable to move. Renard put his hands on his head, frantically watching the battle unfold. “Elyse, please, the one in front of the others!”

She shot another firebolt, hitting the remaining corpse. It incinerated against the wall as she growled at it. Renard dropped to the floor, holding his face in his hands.

Seeing what Astra had done, Cassian moved to the center of the room to expand the flame on the final mummy. It was just barely standing, and as it shabled forward, it burned to pieces. Even as the corpses melted away, Renard and Elyse still felt the hands pressing on them.

With a gasp, Boblem found himself able to move again. “Are you guys okay?”

Elyse turned around, punching the wall with her hand as sparks flew from her fist.

“Not okay,” the boy whispered.

Renard got up and began to root through the boxes, Elyse following. They found a total of thirty gold pieces, though they didn’t recognize the currency. There were two small gems, rubies, and seven pieces of various jewelry, earrings, necklaces, and wristbands made of burnished copper. None of them were magical.

Renard shook his head. “That wasn’t worth it.”

“Nope. I thought they were going to be the same things there were out there,” Elyse sighed.

“Not really having fun anymore. How are we going to get out of here?”

“Keep pressing down,” Cassian offered, cautiously. “Be careful.”

“Be careful,” Elyse repeated.

Renard bit his fist. “Boblem, what was in the other rooms?”

“Uh, more.”

“Like that, or like the other ones?”

“Like the other ones. Skeletons.”

“Those were much easier to defeat, but...” Elyse trailed off.

“Does one way look better than the other?” Renard pressed.

“About the same,” the boy apologized.

“And how’s everyone holding up? I know we’ve all pretty much exhausted ourselves.”

“I’m still relatively okay.”

“Astra?”

The bard was quiet for a moment. “Could use a break.”

“At least we can close these doors, and fortify ourselves,” Sariel suggested.

“Drag some beds through to the other room,” Cassian nodded.

Renard swallowed. “We need to rest. Fine.” He stood up and began dragging beds back through the doors.

“Why are we moving them to the other room?” the bard looked up, worried.

Cassian glanced at him. “Do you want to sleep in the corpse room?”

“Do you want to sleep in the room where lizards can come down?” he argued.

“Either room has corpses in it from the bones,” Boblem shrugged.

Renard sighed. “I’d rather sleep with the bones than the bodies.”

“Agreed,” Cassian nodded.

They dragged their things into the other room. Boblem set about making two potions. Elyse’s jaw was set in a look of forced concentration as she examined her throat. It was definitely a curse of some sort. This might get worse as time went on, and it would not be something that potions could help.

Astra sat on a bed, facing away from the group. They used a few beds to rest, and a few to barricade the doors behind them. Elyse went to her journal, looking dejected and tired as she slowly flipped through the pages. Every now and then, anger flashed on her face before she buried it away. Renard made his way aggressively around the room, kicking over stools and smashing plates.

They remained in the room for well over seven hours, resting themselves before they tried again. “Which of the rooms had the least in it?” Renard asked again.

“I think they both had about the same,” Boblem lifted a vial, “And I want one of you to take this potion I just finished making.”

“Hang onto it for now Boblem. You’ll make the best use of it, you’re our fastest healer.”

“Okay, I’ll keep it. If anybody needs it, just know it’s here.”

“I’m hoping this place might have something that can deal with this,” Elyse touched her throat. “I figure, you keep a poison and a cure in the same place, right?” she glanced to Renard.

“Okay,” he nodded. “Left or right?”

“Boblem, you’re the one who scouted,” she turned to the boy.

“Left or right?” Renard repeated.

Boblem still looked unsure.

“Right,” Cassian decided.

Renard glanced towards him. “Right?”

“Right.”

“Let’s do it.”

They prepared themselves outside the door. Standing back, Elyse used her mage hand to open the door again. It creaked open, and a few of them readied their spells. Shadowy figures creaked around, beginning to shuffle towards them.

Cassian hit one with a bolt, forcing it backwards. Sariel and Boblem set off frostbite attacks, but only Boblem’s landed. Elyse followed with a flame spell, firing into another. Astra hadn’t spoken since before their rest, standing near the back and appearing deep in thought as he watched the battle.

Renard took out the javelin, throwing it into the fray. The lightning ability wouldn’t work again until tomorrow, but it was still a weapon. The javelin pierced through the first skeleton’s ribcage, and it crumpled to the floor.

Stepping forward, Sariel cast a thunderwave, knocking back two of them into the pit of the bath. Elyse sent a firebolt over Sariel’s shoulder, hitting another before she backed away further. Boblem cast his own thunderwave, moving further down the hallway to knock four over, two of which were blasted to pieces.

Astra moved to the door, sending his own spell into the hall, hitting another. One of the skeletons moved forward, a snaked arm reaching out towards Boblem as the mouth clamped down on him. Cassian moved to the boy, sending out an explosion that set a high ringing noise echoing off the stone as a skeleton was ripped apart.

Another one shambled around the corner, this one a bit more fleshy. Chunks of scaled hide peeled off as it came towards them. It slammed a fist into Cassian. In the corner, one of the zombies that had blown to pieces began to pull itself together, standing up.

Renard moved through the crowded doorway. “You can do better than that,” he encouraged the wizard, sending a crossbow bolt into the one that had attacked Cassian. Its head fell off, and it did not reanimate.

Sariel made another attempt at her frostbite spell, this one hitting its mark. Elyse, properly spooked, hung by the door with her mage hand. Boblem moved towards Renard, swinging at the closest skeleton with his staff. He thunked it on the side of the head, leaving it barely standing. Astra glared at it, sending a short but accurate insult into its mind.  _ "Stupid." _

With that, the gem popped out of the circlet, and it went crumbling to the floor. Seeing Boblem whack the skeleton, Renard let out a small laugh.

Cassian was still bristling at Renard’s comment. “Better?”

With that, the wizard disappeared in a flash of smoke. He reappeared further down the hall, dagger in hand, doing his best to jam the circlet off the twice reanimated corpse. Jamming the knife into the side of it, the creature hacked and frothed. Yanking out the blade, a chunk of its head fell off as he lobotomized it.

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Renard called down. Cassian raised a brow at him, twirling the circlet on his blade before taking a step back. There were two left on the other side of a low half wall behind the bath. Renard’s voice echoed down the hall. “Impressive, do it again!”

“Sure thing,” he mumbled, firing off a crossbow bolt. It made a direct hit, killing one instantly. The wizard wasn’t even looking. As he fired, he was just staring back at Renard, mixed emotions on his face as the prince nodded in approval. Cassian made a small sound of disgust at the other man’s expression, rolling his eyes.

Sariel and Boblem sent another pair of frostbite attacks towards the remaining creature. This time, only Sariel’s landed. Elyse cautiously entered the hall, sending a firebolt at it. Astra was the last to follow. This time, the insult he sent was a bit more personal.  _ "You’re a mockery to the living." _

Cassian went for it with his dagger, jamming in the knife from the top and pulling. The circlet tinged to the floor as the zombie crumpled to a pile of flesh and bone.

As the bodies fell to the floor, Renard looked to the farm boy with caution. “There was one more trap, right Boblem?”

“Yeah, I think it would be towards the bottom of the stairs. Let me just try out something.” He used his magic to gather a chunk of stone about five feet wide, pulling it off of walls like a meteor. He threw it down the stairs, bursting open the door. As it hit the third stair from the bottom, something clicked. Rows of darts fired out on the stairwell, now covered in muck, rock, and stone. “Now we know, I guess.”

“Third step from the bottom,” Sariel noted.

Renard cleared his throat. “Then let’s get moving.” Passing by Cassian, he murmured venomously in the wizard’s ear. “We make a good team, huh?”

Cassian tensed, visibly uncomfortable as Renard passed.

  
  


At the bottom of the stairs, they found themselves in another room that lit itself as they entered. With polished white stone, it looked like an entrance hall, still dusty, but a bit smoother. At the bottom of the stairs was a door to their right. At the end of the room, another. Turning around, there was a third one, central and much larger, seemingly made of raw copper and brass. There were inscriptions of snakes encircling it. Before the door was a plinth with a large brass bowl, filled with something. A number of smaller bowls protrude out from the center door. The floor in front of this door was also made of the same copper material, rather than stone.

There was another set of stairs as well, leading back up to the other room they had skipped above. The entryway had four marble pillars with serpents spiraling around, holding the structure up. Peeking in the big bowl, they saw dozens and dozens of copper beads, each about a centimeter in diameter. Sariel picked one up. They were fairly heavy, pretty dense.

“Okay… something’s gotta go on that plinth, and something’s gotta go in those bowls, maybe?” Renard guessed.

Sariel grabbed a few more, and placed one into one of the bowls on the door. There were seven bowls left to right. As she put one in the first bowl, she heard something click. In the mechanisms of the door, something rumbled into place.

“Sariel, maybe not all of them yet,” Renard warned.

“Okay,” she nodded. She gently placed one more in the next bowl. No sound this time.

“Something to do with weight, and pulling the mechanism around,” Elyse offered.

“That looks like the important door,” Renard observed, glancing down the hall. “Should we have a look at the other doors?” The others agreed, nodding their heads in assent. “I’m still not feeling myself, even after resting that long. Do you mind if I stand back?” he asked.

“Same,” Elyse added.

“Astra, how are you keeping up?” Boblem surveyed. “You’ve been… you seem like you’re kind of, off?”

He was silent for a moment. “It’s all fine, should we check out that door?” he deflected.

“Okay. Should I call Zip again?”

“Perhaps that’d be helpful,” Renard nodded. “Elyse, you could mage hand the door open?”

She summoned the hand, giving Astra a worried glance.

A green mist entertwined with purple, swirling around to form in the palm of Boblem’s hand as Zip appeared. The hand unlocked one of the smaller doors, and a draft came through as the bird buzzed in. There was a long empty hallway, pillared all the way down. The bird zoomed in, and saw at the end of the hallway a huge corpse, twice the size of a normal person. Gross and swollen, it was humanoid, but where its legs would be was a snake’s body. All of it was covered in armour, a longbow at its side. Its weapons and armour were grown over with all sorts of decay. The head was separated from the rest of the skeleton, and it gripped a circlet in one hand. Perhaps it had taken its own life, centuries ago. There was another door at the end.

Horrified, Boblem relayed the information to the group.

“Almost like it didn’t want to be controlled,” Astra observed, voice flat.

“Yeah, none of them did,” Boblem frowned. “It’s very sad.”

“What are the chances that thing’s gonna get up if it’s not wearing the circlet on its head?” Renard worried.

Elyse shrugged. “Well, it seems that once the circlet is removed from the head, they crumble. So I don’t think it’s gonna…”

“Should we look in the other?”

“Yeah,” Boblem and Elyse chorused.

“Worth a shot,” Cassian added.

Zip flew into the other room. It was a similarly sized room, and the bird ducked past pillars, flying high in the eaves. At the end of the door was a similar titanic shape, but this time, the serpentine coil was wrapped on the floor to keep the body upright. As Zip moved past, the skeletal abomination moved. Something pulled back, and an arrow the length of a man let loose, embedding itself in the roof above the hummingbird, narrowly missing him. There was movement at the base of it, four more skeletal, humanoid corpses standing. 

“Close that door,” Boblem advised, relaying the scouted information.

“Close that door. Looks like the other one could be safe to go into,” Renard decided.

“A safer bet.”

Elyse stared up at the third option. “What about this copper door though?”

“We’ll need to figure that out,” Renard admitted, “But I don’t know, I don’t want to activate anything. You said you’ve done… tombs and such before? Surely you know that might be dangerous.”

She looked annoyed with herself. “I have, but, on a different continent, and I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

“You guys have any ideas?” Renard posited to the others

Cassian investigated, finding wires connecting the door to the baseplate underneath the doorframe and under the plinth. “There’s cabling connecting it, so… perhaps the coiling upstairs was what they used to build this.”

“Let’s just check out the one that’s safe,” Elyse sighed. “See if we can find any hints.”

“Maybe we don’t have all the pieces to this puzzle just yet.”

As they discussed, Renard turned to speak with the bard. “Astra, you are unusually quiet. You’ve been fighting with us today for the first time. Is that what it is?”

His eyes were dull. “Do we have time for a conversation with those things coming towards us?”

“No, but, we need you in top form, because Elyse and I can’t be right now.”

“I’m aware.” The tiefling made his way through the door. Pushing through, he saw the long pillared hall. It lit up, casting shadows as the remains of the creature sat at the end. The rest of the group tentatively approached. Elyse sent out a mage hand, prodding the body. A chunk of bone and armour rolled off, clattering to the floor noisily. It didn’t stir.

“It’s dead,” Renard nodded.

“Just need to move it to get to the door,” Sariel considered.

There were more human remains in the chamber as well, but they were torn apart. Their skulls were smashed in, the circlets dented and destroyed.

“It would seem that this one… ended the suffering of the others before taking its own life,” Cassian concluded.

Elyse shook her head in disgust. “I wonder who imprisoned them like this.”

There was a glaive on the ground. It was heavy, but Renard took it. It seemed to be made of sharpened stone. Elyse checked over the corpse. There was a now useless longbow, and scaled plate armor covering the tail. Likely a high guard, money obviously poured into whatever it was protecting.

Boblem seemed quite saddened. “It must be terrible to be used like that.”

“So we could climb over it or around it, to try and get to the door,” Sariel suggested.

“Use Zip again?” Elyse prompted.

Renard nodded, touching the spot on his face where he still felt a hand. “I think that’s a good idea. If there’s anything in this place that can help you and I, I’d rather get to that before we face the other side.”

Zip peeked through a wide, nearly square room of the same construction. There was no movement in here, and it was softly illuminated by a strange, orangey glow, coming from the other side. There was a stone plinth, about twenty feet long, five feet deep, and five feet high. Floating above it, shedding soft orange light that cut through the dust as it spun, was a semicircular copper material. About a foot wide and an inch thick, it spun silently and slowly over the plinth.

“So there’s nothing in there that’s dangerous. We should go and look,” Astra suggested.

“Well we don’t know what that object is,” Elyse countered.

Cassian tilted his head in thought. “Don’t know what it does.”

“Boblem, any more traps?” 

“Just one by the copper door,” he answered.

“We should be cautious anyway,” she finished.

Renard nodded. “I think we should check it out.”

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

They stepped into the cavernous room, and they could almost feel the weight of the entire pyramid crushing down on them. The air was quite thin and stuffy. “Everyone stand back,” she cautioned, sending the mage hand out to touch the ball.

It bounced off the hand for a moment before slowly beginning to rotate the other way. She grabbed it, and it stopped in place. There was a bit of resistance, and she debated pulling it off.

“Elyse, it might be part of some sort of mechanism here,” the wizard warned.

“I’m thinking it might be something to do with that door.”

“It changed directions, so…”

Sariel examined the structure. She didn’t believe the ball was magic, but there could have been an enchantment on the plinth. As they moved closer, they saw sections of cogs and gears. The line of the semicircle wasn’t perfectly even, lines and crenulations appearing like a puzzle piece. Unfortunately, the copper looked a bit different than the coloration of the copper on the main door.

“Okay, what we’ve got here is… a room on this side, and what looks like, a piece of something?” Renard summarized. “And a room on the other side behind that snake creature- ”

“So we’re going to have to assume there’s something similar to this on that side,” Elyse finished.

“Something similar,” Sariel echoed.

Elyse set about identifying the plinth’s enchantment. Spending ten minutes on her ritual, she found it was nothing more than a simple flotation spell.

Renard took a deep breath. “So one piece here, one piece on the other side…”

“So we have to fight those things,” Elyse sighed.

“And a whole bowl full of bits of copper,” he reminded her. “Any ideas?”

“So, we do have to take it?” Boblem wondered.

Sariel furrowed her brow. “We can come back for it.”

“We can go see what’s going on over there, and come back for it,” Elyse echoed. “But, if there were no traps in this room… The only spell here is a flotation spell.”

“Why not take it,” Cassian finished.

Renard glanced at him. “Then take it.”

Sariel reached out to touch it. It was cold, and heavy when she lifted it. As she pulled it off, something dissipated.

“Okay,” Elyse nodded.

Renard stared at the copper. “One piece.”

“One piece,” Sariel nodded.

“Should we put that in somebody’s bag?” Boblem suggested.

“Put it back in the main room,” Cassian countered.

Sariel looked down at the piece. “I wonder if anything’s changed in the main room.”

“Let’s go have a look,” Elyse led the group back out. Nothing seemed to have changed.

“I’d say be careful,” the farm boy advised, “Kind of sense something around the door.”

“Thank you Boblem,” Renard nodded, investigating the mechanism. There didn’t seem to be a place that two halves would fit on the door.

“I’d assume that if the first bowl went down when you put one in, there has to be an order,” Astra suggested.

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking,” Elyse agreed.

“Or,” Sariel hypothesized, “A certain number you need to put in each one.”

“Yeah, something to do with counterbalancing, or…” she trailed off, looking down the hall. “Should we deal with…?” she pointed to the smaller door.

“We might have to at some point.”

“I don’t think we can proceed without it.”

“We did this before at the bandit camp, we can do this strategically,” Renard encouraged.

“Yeah. So there were four of the zombies, which we know are quite weak, and the snake person.”

“And it’s a corridor. We lure them down one at a time.”

“Yeah, just like we did upstairs.”

“Okay,” Cassian shrugged.

Boblem peeked at the far door. “What order?”

“Elyse, you’re not at your top form right now, so not in the front,” Astra’s quiet voice advised.

“You just found something that could keep you at distance, right?” Elyse glanced to Renard. “Or you could use the javelin?”

He nodded. “I can stay at the back with the crossbow. You can stand at the back with ranged spells.” He glanced back at the other four. “Somebody is going to need to be… bait. To draw them out.”

“You’ve already been hurt,” Astra glanced at the elves. “I’ll do it.”

“You sure?” Sariel worried.

“Mhm.”

“You know when you made that fox noise upstairs?” Boblem turned to the smaller elf. “Is that something you can do again?”

She looked up at him. “Yes.”

“Lure them towards the door, and maybe we can…” Elyse pounded a fist into her other hand.

“Before we even send anyone down there,” Renard nodded.

As everyone spoke, three more Astras appeared. The group glanced over in surprise. “I like it!” Renard smiled.

“You haven’t done that before,” Sariel commented, impressed. They couldn’t tell which one was the original, and they all moved in tandem with each other.

The four bards shrugged. “I told you, I can send myself down there.”

“That’s impressive,” Renard grinned, encouraging.

“Thank you. I’ve not done it before, so.”

“Can these other ones attack?” Elyse wondered.

“No.”

“Astra?” Renard met the eyes of each tiefling directly. “You’re doing amazing.”

All four of the Astras blushed.

“Right, so, Astra’s many Astras first,” he continued. “You can make a noise at the back,” he glanced to Sariel, “And… I had a thought upstairs, they’re clearly undead. I’ve got a feeling your moonbeams might do something useful. Maybe on the big one. It’s a thin corridor, maybe stick it in the middle.”

“We can try,” Sariel responded, glancing to Boblem.

“As a last ditch resort,” Elyse began, “I do have something that might protect us from undead. It’s just upstairs, after that experience, I kind of… was looking back through some old spells and thought it might be useful.”

Renard nodded in approval. “Okay. Do you want to cast it now on Astra before he baits them, or do you have to save it?”

“If it helps, I’m the one stood near the door,” the Astras chorused, all four of them putting their hands up in a wave.

Elyse put her hands out, holding one of the Astra faces. “Is this you? Is this the real you?”

“Yes.”

The sorcerer closed her eyes, not used to casting this type of magic. Gentle flecks of lightning coursed through her skin, eyes glowing as static energy flowed into Astra.

“Thank you,” he gave a soft smile.

“No problem.”

They took their positions. The Astras waved their hands and the door banged open, four bards piling through. The room burst into light, illuminating the pillars. The four skeletal creatures began to move, and behind it, rising up on the snake body, was a huge figure of bone and armour. Massive arms reached out, a longbow on its back, and another glaive dragging sparks on the ground.

Sariel cast another fox scream, distracting them for a moment. Elyse prepared a firebolt as Renard stepped forward. He fired off a crossbow straight to the head of the nearest skeleton before retreating back. “You got this Astra!” he called.

The four Astras looked down the tunnel. Looking to the snake, he tried to cast the same spell he had used on the previous skeletons. Willow vines surged out from the sides of the Yuan-Ti’s head, wrapping around as it cracked. Boblem set off a moonbeam near the first skeleton, the light burning with a new intensity. It seared the skeleton to dust. The rest of the skeletons moved forward, one of them directly into the moonbeam, crumbling instantly.

A snaked arm reached out, latching onto the real Astra as the copies reeled back with him. The willow crown on the snake creature snapped away, the circlet still in place. The final skeleton swung at a copy, not even managing to hit it.

The snake moved forward, moonlight burning it as it slithered. Slamming the glaive on the ground, it pulled around its longbow with a skeletal arm, grabbing blackened arrows from a quiver. The arrow pierced into one of Astra’s duplicates, bursting it to teal mist as it embedded itself in the rock behind. Another long arrow thudded out, hitting Boblem. He went down instantly, and it fired a second shot into the boy’s limp body. Astra watched him go down, an arrow in his shoulder and hip, each a meter long, as the moonbeam disappeared.

Cassian shot an arcane bolt, aiming to push off the circlet. It missed the jewel, but it did push the creature back a bit. Sariel followed, pushing back the two remaining skeletons with a thunderwave as she cast a new form of healing magic. A being of ghostly white hair appeared, jumping over Boblem and Astra. The boy stabilized as the spirit bounded beside him.

Melding with an Astra duplicate, Elyse squeezed into the hall to chuck a firebolt at one of the skeletons. It smashed to pieces as she shrieked in rage. Renard moved further into the hall, attacking the snake with his crossbow. He lobbed the javelin as well, which stuck out of the creature as it growled.

The Astras moved in front of the group, whipping around matching instruments to send his mother’s music directly into the snake’s mind, rapidly increasing in volume and forcing it back. Its tail carved through the dust as it turned and slithered away. Scrambling up, Boblem stood at the back, using his magic to steady himself.

A skeleton shambled forward, slamming into an Astra copy as the fake disappeared into mist. The snake shot another three arrows at Astra, all of them whizzing past the bard and his remaining duplicate.

Cassian walked through the remaining ghostly strands of Sariel’s healing magic, peeking through the final Astra duplicate as he aimed another bolt at the circlet. It missed the stone again, but it still hit the creature, pushing it back once more.

Sariel tried to attack again, but her spell fizzled away. Elyse stepped near the healing spirit, but the mummy’s curse prevented it from taking effect. Wrapping the chain of the arcane focus around her wrist, lightning surged from into her body. From the other arm, she threw an orb of electricity at it, taking a fair chunk off of it before retreating again.

Renard fired a crossbow bolt and missed. “Try and hit it off again!” he called to Cassian. The wizard complied, pops of explosions appearing on the snake’s face, but it seemed impossible to get the circlet off. Yet again, the creature was pushed back.

Astra tried to send out another spell to no avail. As he played, the magic in his music filled Elyse with adrenaline. Boblem sent out another moonbeam as the remaining skeleton slammed towards the final Astra clone, reducing it to mist.

The snake moved through the moonbeam, slightly burning as it approached. It readied the longbow again, shooting two arrows to Astra and one to Renard. Astra dodged one, but the other sank into him. The other soared into Renard. He was not looking good.

Cassian made a fourth attempt to knock off the circlet, but this bolt soared far past the snake’s head. The snake was looking damaged, but it still had fight in it. Sariel disappeared, taking a misty step forward to reappear in front of the snake for an attack. Astra shouted Sariel’s name as she disappeared. Sariel raked her claws into it, but they only grazed off the armour as it beared down on her.

Elyse hit the remaining zombie with a fireball that danced with electricity, smashing it to dust. “Ren, get back, please!” she yelled.

Renard fired another crossbow bolt at it before retreating out through the door. The bolt went wide again.

Astra hurried up to Sariel, and the snake heard Astra screaming in its mind. Putting an arm in front of the elf, the bard’s spell forced it backwards into the moonbeam. “Get back!”

Boblem kept the beam on the creature. Ghostly radiant white light illuminated the skeleton until the entire creature was consumed in it. Light built out in a column from above, dust spilling at the bottom. There was a clatter as its armour, circlet, and weapons fell to the floor. The moonbeam retreated, and the snake’s body fell into a pile of softly glittering dust, revealing the door behind.

There was a sigh as the dust rippled off. Having seen Renard retreat through the doorway, the wizard peeked back out to check on him as Elyse and Boblem went to investigate the room. The masked man was standing outside, hands on his head, breathing slowly.

“You quite alright there?” Cassian worried.

Renard’s hands were shaking. “I, I’m not getting better,” he stammered.

“...No.”

“In fact, I think I’ve gotten a lot worse,” he added, panic in his voice.

The wizard looked him up and down. “Well, maybe the rest of us are doing some protecting for once, yes?”

Renard nodded quickly. “That’d be helpful.”

“...Have your back,” Cassian mumbled, awkwardly jerking his head in a similar nod. The two eyed each other carefully as Cassian retreated back through the door. After a moment, Renard trailed after.

The glowing white strands appeared again in Sariel’s arms. Astra leaned down to her. “Are you alright, sapling?”

“I had it.”

“You did, that was very brave, but, you scared the hell out of me.”

“Sorry. You don’t always have to protect me, you know.”

“I know.”

Renard came down the corridor, immediately hugging Astra. The tiefling looked really shocked before hugging back, very tightly. Renard stiffened a bit under the touch, but kept hold. “You’re doing incredibly,” he encouraged.

“You were wonderful,” Sariel added.

Boblem grinned. “You really were.”

Renard released Astra, turning to Sariel. “And you.” He paused, unsure about if they were ready for a hug. She reached out a hand. He took it, squeezing it.

Elyse didn’t see any of this, looking through the armour and the glaive, forced concentration on her face. Sariel held the being of glowing strands out to Renard. “Is this not doing anything for you?”

He reached out to touch it. “Nothing.” Dropping the hand, he turned to the others. “You were all incredible.”

“So were you!” Boblem responded with a grin.

“I’m so... proud of all of you.” Most of them smiled at that, Cassian’s face contorting uncomfortably. A bit embarrassed by the admission, Renard hurried down to the next door. Investigating the room, they found nothing else but the corpses, the pillars, and the stonework.

  
  


The door at the end of the corridor creaked open as Renard pushed it. It was a mirror of the room on the other side, another stone plinth, and a semicircle rotating softly. He strode inside and took it, pulling it off. They returned to the main room.

“Sariel? We should put these pieces together, right?”

“I think so.”

“They aren’t magical, just mechanical.”

“Let’s try it then.”

They took the pieces, and they fit together, forming a complete circle. There was a pattern on one side, embossed in, a snake eating its tail. On the other side were the cogs and gears of the machinery. It still wouldn’t fit on the door, and it was too big for the bowls.

Astra put a second ball bearing into the second bowl. More gears moved. Elyse used her mage hand to place three into the next bowl. Nothing.

“I suppose just keep putting ball bearing in until it does something?” Sariel suggested.

“Until we hear something,” Renard nodded.

They all stood far back from the door to avoid any traps. Elyse put another into the third bowl. More grinding, the copperwork on the door shifting. She started placing them into the next bowl. It took eight. Doubling each time, they figured out the pattern. By the end, there was a boom, and the door split open.

There was a small antechamber before them. Boblem laid a bit of dirt on the copper plate with his spell, but nothing happened. Renard put the glaive onto the platform. It didn’t move. “Looks like we’re okay to stand on that,” he observed.

“Boblem, your thing doesn’t tell you what sort of trap it is, does it?” Elyse wondered.

“No, it just tells me if there’s something around the area.”

Nodding, she sent a mage hand into the chamber, letting it float around. It was a rectangular room with alcoves on the sides, cut out of the walls. There were items in the alcoves, not glowing, but reflecting off the light. There was another, heavier, thicker door in front of them, with a circular insert cut out.

“Maybe for our key,” Sariel guessed.

“Maybe,” Elyse nodded.

Cassian tilted his head. “I have… a little more vitality than I am used to at the moment, so…”

“So do I,” Sariel agreed.

“I don’t think anyone should be in there,” Elyse stopped them. “We know there’s a trap, we just haven’t seen it yet. We don’t know what it is, it could be much worse than crossbow bolts.”

“The druids, in your wildforms,” Renard thought, looking to Sariel and Boblem, “You can take attacks, right?”

“Well, I can become Octo-Boblem again,” the half-elf smiled. He approached the door, taking a closer look. Now that the door was opened, the cables running from the plate to the door visible as they moved underground, he realized that the trap was connected to the plate. But the chance for it to trigger had passed. It was probably set in the case of the door not being opened properly. The wrong combination might have set it off. He turned to the group. “I say, because we figured out the puzzle, this might not be set up.”

“Right, so, in theory,” Renard nodded, “We just walk through and put the key in the door.”

They proceeded forward, stepping over the plate just in case. In the alcoves, they saw gem encrusted goblets, candle holders, a small locked chest, and all sorts of gold and copper finery. They grabbed a handful of the items. Renard glanced at the sorcerer. “Elyse, could you open the chest?”

She crouched down, examining it. She was fairly certain there weren’t any traps on it. Using her mage hand, she tried to open it. It was locked. She used a spell to break the lock, and with a loud bang, it opened. The box was only the size of a shoebox, but reflecting off the flames behind them was a wealth of gold, gems scattered throughout. It was a lot. A cursory glance suggested a thousand, maybe two thousand gold.

“Oh my gosh…” Elyse stared down at the riches. 

Renard shook his head with disinterest, preceding to the door without another glance. Placing in the key, the door opened to reveal a long corridor with something at the end. The torches ignited, illuminating the entire hallway. In front of a huge, carved stone door, something was sitting. Seemingly made of stone, seated almost like a cat with wings furled, a head lifted up with a loud grind. A cobra’s head, hooded, pointed, and fanged. The figure looked up, gazing at them.

It took up about forty feet, wings packed in, nearly as high as the corridor. But it didn’t move towards them. “Does anyone know what that is?” Renard asked.

Elyse glanced up from the gold. “No idea.”

Where its eyes would be, light burned into ignition. It could clearly see them. Astra began to approach, putting his hands up as he walked towards it. “We’re just trying to leave.”

Its voice echoed back in a breathy rumble. “If you leave, you must answer one. The more you have taken, the more you leave behind. Answer carefully. You have but one.”

Its wings, with a creek of stone shifting, raked against the walls around it. Its head shifted, extending as it peered closer down the hallway.

“The more you’ve taken, the more you leave behind,” Cassian thought.

Astra turned back to the others. “The more steps you’ve taken, the more you leave behind?” he guessed.

“Not quite right,” Renard rubbed his chin.

They thought for a while. The answer could be a number of things, they couldn’t be sure. It could be distance, or time. Looking at their feet, they had carved paths of footsteps through the dust.

Elyse furrowed her brow. “So if we think about things to do with steps, and distance and time… what other words come to mind?”

“Traps?” Cassian offered.

Renard followed with his own guess. “Choices? The more choices you take, the more you leave behind?”

Elyse shook her head.

Renard put his hands on his face, chuckling a bit in desperation. “That’s not quite right.”

“The more distance you take, the more you leave behind,” Elyse murmured, still guessing.

Boblem offered a guess as well. “Past decisions?”

“Steps is along the right lines, I think,” Sariel guided them.

“Footsteps?” the wizard suggested.

Elyse grimaced. “Footsteps kind of fits… I don’t know.”

“Well I mean, it’s not incorrect,” Sariel countered.

Renard shook his head again, lowering to his knees to pray for guidance. He reached out, clasping his hands, but as he opened his eyes, all he saw were his footsteps in the dust. It was the only thing running through his mind, he couldn’t separate it from anything else. “Footsteps.” He looked over to the creature. “It’s footsteps.”

“Are you sure?” the voice called back.

“Yes.”

It stood, its wings splintering the walls next to it. It laughed, and bowed its head before stepping backwards. The stone wall behind it shimmered, dissipating, light from outside pouring in as it retreated out and back. As it stepped out, its wings furled out, shards of stone flying off as it stretched its neck. The way was open.

Renard sighed in relief, walking to the exit.

“Ren, wait!” Elyse called to him.

“What?”

“What about…” she put a hand on her throat. “The curse?”

“Do you think it could help you guys?” Boblem asked.

Elyse rubbed at the invisible pressure. “Do you think if we leave the temple, it will stop?”

Renard whirled around in anger. “There was nothing! There was nothing in there, it was just riches.”

“Do you think this being could help?” Boblem pressed.

Renard sighed, stepping out of the temple to where the creature now was, the rest of the group following. He looked up to it. “Can you help us?”

Elyse made her way next to him. “Can you lift this curse that has been placed upon me and my friend?”

It looked down at them. “I can.”

“Please,” Renard smiled in relief.

“For what?”

“...What would you have from us?”

“What would you offer?”

They turned to each other, thinking. “What we picked up?” Boblem suggested.

“Gold and jewels?” Elyse volunteered.

“I have no need for gold,” it rumbled back.

Renard was silent for a moment. “A favor.”

“Careful,” Sariel cautioned.

“Yeah, careful,” Boblem agreed. “Maybe one of the magical items we picked up?”

“That’s what I’m looking at,” Elyse responded, rifling through her bag.

The voice rasped at them again. “A year.” They looked up at it, confusion on their faces. “Not now,” it continued, “You can owe me a year.”

“Owe you a year?” the sorceress repeated.

“What do you mean?” Renard pressed.

“Each,” it nodded.

Sariel stepped forward. “A year of a life?”

“A year.”

“Of what, of doing what?” Boblem continued.

Elyse put down her bag. “Serving you, or…?”

Its head spiraled down. “The choice is yours. Make it quick.”

Renard turned to his cursed ally. “This isn’t our only option Elyse, but there is definitely a time limit on this thing.”

“Time…” it rumbled. “You don’t have much time.”

“How much time would they have?” Boblem worried.

The creature looked at the pair, eyes burning. “Two, three turns of the moon.”

The druid looked back to the pair in concern. “Do you think that would be enough time to get to the nearest town? Perhaps there might be a temple?”

“Would they be able to fix something like this there?” Elyse turned to Renard. The creature extended its head, twisting over and around, wings flaring as the group stood by the mouth of the temple.

“I can’t say for sure,” Renard shook his head, looking desperate. “I can’t say for sure, I can’t say about the Temple in Lakeside. I’ll take it.”

“What? No!” Boblem stepped forward. “Is there nothing else you would take?”

“Would you take, um…” Elyse dove back to her bag.

“I can take more, if you wish,” the creature rasped.

Renard gulped. “Is there anything you’d take instead?”

Elyse held up the javelin, offering it. Its paws pounded on the dirt, cracks emanating from the ground. “The offer is there,” it growled at them, impatient. “Take it or leave it, mortal.”

“Must it be their lives?” Sariel asked.

“It’s no one’s life.”

“A year of what then?”

“A year.”

“Of  _ what?" _

The creature turned its gaze away from the group.

“I’ll take it,” Renard shouted again. Slowly, it twisted its head towards him.

Elyse put a hand on her arcane focus, reaching out to ask Shah'rivar if they knew what this meant, or if they could help her. As she touched it, the creature waved a paw, and something blasted over her. “No tricks,” it rasped.

“It’s not a trick!” she countered, pleading.

Renard fixed her with a stare. “I can’t promise someone can help us in Lakeside.”

She swallowed, looking to the ground. “I’ll take it.”

She felt something release from her throat, and the duo sighed in relief. As they breathed out, they saw a fine golden mist leave their throats, all six of them, before condensing into a bead and disappearing.

“Your generosity is appreciated,” it smiled. “I’ll be seeing you again.”

“You said no tricks,” Sariel glared at it.

Boblem put a hand on his chest. “You didn’t say it was- ”

Its wings shook as it laughed. A flurry of sand spiraled around it, encasing it completely before it disappeared.


	22. The Holiday Special, Bonus Episode

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anybody knows the name of the evil castle, let me know!

Like finding themselves in a dream, not too sure how they got here, and not too concerned why, Astra, Renard, Elyse, and Boblem were on a boat traveling to the Noelle Isles on chilly Midwinter night. The boat glided across the cold waters, white winter snow drifting through the air. As they grew closer to the land, the snow grew denser, obscuring their vision, showing nothing but a white haze. The captain steadied himself, a cold chill running up his spine. He protested a bit when they had first approached him asking to go to the Noelle Isles, but the gold they offered was seemingly too good to turn down. Now perhaps, the captain was unsure of his decision, but he pressed on.

They felt the thick, cold snow stick to their clothing, weighing them down as they tried to brush it off. They looked up to see they had made it to the other side of the storm, the snow lighter once again, the blizzard raging on behind them. Ahead, they saw the grand outline of the Noelle Isles. They looked closer to see that they were covered in half-hung Midwinter decorations. The festivities were started, but never finished, banners flapping limply in the wind. Arcane lights flickered with the little enchantment they had left before going out completely. Beautiful statues carved from ice and snow lay broken on the ground.

They imagined this was once a wonderfully exciting journey, but it now seemed to have a distinctly eerie feel as the silence of the night air hovered over them. The small boat that they were on jutted against the jetty. There was no one on the pier, but the captain hurriedly encouraged them to step off, and once they stepped onto the firmness of the jetty, the captain pushed away, disappearing back into the snow where he came from.

“Doing alright there bud?” Elyse grinned at Renard.

“I’m fine,” he cleared his throat. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Elyse stood, shivering. She had never been anywhere this cold before in her life.

“I don’t think we knew to dress for this weather,” Boblem observed, their regular outfits not fit at all for the snow.

The sorceress nodded, hugging herself with bare arms.

At the end of the pier and up a short path was a low wall. Beyond it was a village of small wooden buildings. One behind the others was larger than the rest, maybe a workshop of some sort. The haze of snow-covered pines and firs were in the distance beyond them, disappearing into white.

“I don’t know what we’re doing here, but I had a feeling this was going to be more lively,” Renard worried. “I suppose we should check it out.”

“Yeah, maybe we can find somewhere warm?” Elyse agreed.

“I don’t think it’s that bad,” Astra grinned.

Boblem glanced at the bard, curious. “Are you not cold?”

“Not really.”

“You’re dressing the least of all of us,” Renard teased, glancing over the bard’s outfit, “But carry on. Shall we head over?”

They stepped up to the gates, wind flurrying around them as they did. Their footsteps crunched as they made their way up to the path. They approached a low wall, lower than they expected, coming to only about four feet. Pushing open a wooden gate, they saw the small village.

Toymaker’s workshops were the first thing they saw. From the stories they had been told, they expected the village to be teeming with the famous Toymakers, but there was a deathly quiet that filled the streets. They knew somehow, though they weren’t sure how, that this was the Winter Father's personal workshop. The Yule forest rested peacefully behind the town, and looming over the Isle was the large snow-capped elven tower, Knockit Onme. The night was cold and still ahead of them as snow softly fell.

They looked around, and it was silent as the grave but for the howling of wind moving through. “Do you think we’re meant to be here?” Elyse wondered.

“I feel like we should be,” Astra nodded. “Maybe everyone is inside, you said it's cold.”

“It really is.”

“Let’s start knocking on doors?” Renard suggested.

“Sure.”

They moved up to the closest building. Knocking on the door, it swung open. Looking inside, they saw a simple abode for simple people, each of the rooms lavishly decorated in the red, white, and greens of Midwinter. From a single glance, it seemed like they could fit a large family, if not two, snugly within the home. But there was no one inside. There were no lights. Only on the Winter Father’s Workshop at the back of town, they saw a few arcane lights half glimmering and fading.

“Maybe everyone’s gone that way,” Astra pointed.

“Maybe,” Elyse echoed, unsure.

Stepping in, they noticed that a lot of the chairs were turned over. A table was smashed in two, bits of detritus and junk all around. “Something's happened here,” Renard observed.

Boblem nodded. “Looks like people left in a hurry.”

“Yeah, I'm getting that impression too.”

“Maybe against their will.”

Astra smiled. “Maybe that’s why we’re supposed to be here.”

“Help them out,” Renard grinned back.

Boblem looked at his feet. “Sure wish I was wearing shoes right now.”

Elyse was feeling very grateful for her clunky combat boots. “We should make finding Boblem shoes a priority,” Renard laughed. “Perhaps we check out the lights in the distance?”

In the house, the window was smashed in. Snow drifted inside, but shutting the door, it was still warmer than outside. They looked around, digging through without ransaking the place. Many things were already spilled out. They found a cupboard, and pulling it open, they saw racks and racks of shoes. But none of them were more than four inches long. Elyse laughed.

“Well Boblem, I think we can put one on each of your toes,” Renard joked, pinching a pair in his hands.

“I think we have a problem,” Boblem smiled back. “I feel like this place was not built for us.”

Judging by the size of these, and the size of the homes and doors they had to stoop through, this place was built for a smaller population.

“No, not exactly the right size for you and me,” Astra grinned back, ducking as his horns scraped the ceiling.

“I don’t think we’re going to have much luck,” Renard continued.

Elyse shrugged at Boblem. “Might have to just grit your teeth and bare it? You’re a hardy boy, you can handle it.”

“Fair,” he agreed.

“Well if there’s people in that area, or you know, terrifying monsters, either way, it seems like we aren’t going to find much here.”

Renard glanced back into the house, looking at the bedsheets. “If we had Cassian here, perhaps he could fashion some shoes. Maybe we can just wrap your feet in these?”

They set about the task, tearing the sheets and wrapping them on Boblem’s feet. It was actually pretty effective. “Thanks guys! Feels weird to not feel the earth on my feet, but right now, I can’t feel my feet at all.”

“Shall we carry on?” Renard surveyed.

Astra nodded. “See what’s on, further ahead.”

They stepped outside the house, a number of workshops around them. As they quietly moved through town, they heard a low whistle. Turning to the side, they saw a small figure, about three or four feet tall, poking just around the side of one of the workshops. With a nervous, panicked face, long floppy ears, and a pointed hat, the head poked out from the side of the building, beckoning before ducking behind.

“Hello?” Boblem called out.

“I think he wants us to follow him,” Astra urged.

“Okay…”

They followed, Renard putting a hand on his sword, Elyse readying her arcane focus. Heading around the side of the building, there was nothing. In a gap between the buildings, there were a few barrels. A scratching came from inside one, and a head popped out. “What you doin’ ‘ere?” 

“Wish I knew,” Boblem shrugged.

“Yeah, we really wish we knew,” Elyse grinned.

Astra cocked his head. “I think we were invited?”

“Maybe,” Renard shrugged.

Elyse wasn’t convinced. “By who?”

“We were expecting more people…”

The person in the barrel looked around in fear. “Something’s wrong here. You shouldn’t be here, it’s not safe, it’s not safe. Something’s happened. The Toymakers are turnin’. Goin’ rabid. Feral.”

“The Toymakers are turning?” Astra repeated.

“We’ll try and help you the best we can,” Renard offered.

“Please, but it’s not safe here,” the face in the barrel warned. “If you see them around, their skin turns into wood, they grow claws and sharp teeth, turnin’ on one another. My people, my friends. Please, you’ve gotta help us.”

“That doesn’t sound great,” Elyse grimaced. “So people are turning into… wood?”

“...I guess I’ve used the phrase  _ turning _ as both literally and a metaphor,” they revised. “Yes they are most certainly turning to wood and then turning against each other.” He pointed to broken windows and shattered wood. “They’ve been causin’ all of this.”

“Sounds ridiculous, but also…” Elyse trailed off, considering.

“Toymakers turn to toys,” Renard shrugged.

“It does sound ridiculous, it does sound ridiculous,” the Toymaker admitted, “But many things have been happening here as of late.”

“Does something seem to be triggering it?” Boblem asked. “Like, scratching each other?”

“Anything strange that’s happened recently?” Elyse followed.

“The Winter’s Father is missing,” the Toymaker gulped.

“Right,” Renard nodded.

“Haven’t been seen for some time.”

They knew of the Winter’s Father, the kindly figure from much folklore who distributed gifts to the children of the Forgotten Realms of the world. He had a long white beard, an affinity for red and green, and a jolly disposition.

“I feel like I’m losing my mind slightly, listening to this, but we will help you in any way we can,” Renard offered.

“Thank you, thank you. Can you see the Winter Father's workshop?” he tilted his head towards it.

“Start there?” Elyse guessed.

“I’ll meet you there. We’ll be much safer there.”

Renard leaned to ask another question before the man left. “What was your name?”

“Thomas!”

“Thomas.”

“Thank you for all your help.” He began to climb out of the barrel. As he did, the barrel fell onto its side, dumping him in the snow. “Ack!”

Renard stepped over to right him. “You alright there mate?” Elyse called.

He stood, dusting himself off. Suddenly, his eyes widened, looking behind them. They heard a faint scratching and hissing. As they turned their heads around, they saw similar, gnomish figures, their hands wooden and twisted, curling around the edges of a building. Their heads poked out of the sides of buildings in erratic, staccato movements. They almost looked like puppets, fragments of strings dangling from their wrists with painted smiles and faces. Their eyes were glittering purple gems.

Astra looked at the nearest one, sending his voice into its head. “ _ Stop it!” _ he disciplined. Its painted expression cracked and turned. Underneath layers of the wood, there were scraps of flesh, as if the wood had grown over. It halted in place.

The one behind it skittered on all fours, scrabbling through the snow. It came up to about the height of their knees, lashing out at Elyse in a flurry of claws and ice. With ease, she kicked it off and away. Boblem sent out a wave of thunder, raising his staff before slamming it to the ground. Snow billowed out in a wall of force, throwing them all back in a blast of snow and almost visible sound as the shockwave rippled out.

“I don’t think that… Okay…” Astra worried.

“I’m not trying to hurt them!” Boblem responded. “Just get them away from us.”

Two of them climbed back up, and one scrambled to Boblem. It pulled through the snow, trying to scratch at him, but it simply bounced off his knees.

Renard took a moment to stop laughing at the situation before moving. Seeing how the wood had cracked off the previous one, he pulled out his sword, keeping it in the sheath as he swung to knock them back. He hit the one by Elyse, sweeping his weapon to get a second. He conked both on the head, and they fell into the snow. Stepping over them, he made another attack to the third, but this one ducked under the weapon.

Glancing back, Thomas was scurrying back on his butt in fear. Elyse sent a message into another’s head.  _ "Snap out of it. Something’s controlling you, you can fight this!" _ But the response she got was nothing more than howling wind in her own head.

Another lept out, running across the snow. It was so light, its feet barely sank into the ground. It was making a beeline for Thomas. Astra pulled Thomas up, his little legs kicking in the air as he squealed. “Sorry!” the bard apologized. “It’s just, that one’s coming for you.”

“I can see, I can see!”

“Do you want to go on my shoulders?”

“That would work!”

Astra hoisted him up, and his legs stopped kicking. He held onto his horns, reasonably high up. Another scratched at Renard’s legs to no avail, and he couldn’t help but giggle again. Boblem reached out, opening a pit of dirt and earth that formed underneath the snow as the Toymaker dropped down into it. It fell in, its three foot body stuck in a pit that it scrabbled to escape.

Another ran to Astra, focused on Thomas at his shoulders. The Toymaker was kicking and screaming, yanking the bard’s head around as he squirmed. “That’s not very helpful!” he called up to the hitchhiker. The wooden creature’s splintery claws dug into his knees as it tried to climb. “I’m not a tree!” he reprimanded. “Stop that!”

Renard stepped forward again, whacking another before moving to Astra. He bent down, trying to grab the creature away, but it was wriggling too much to get hold. It snarled at him before returning to Astra. “I tried to help, buddy,” Renard chuckled.

Elyse, realizing she didn’t want to shoot these things full of lightning or set them on fire, drew out a dagger. She made an attempt to save Astra, whacking the creature with the pommel of the blade. She bonked the wooden hat, jingling a little bell. A few splinters appeared on it, but it was still scrabbling.

One more ran to attack Renard from behind. As it did, he turned to hit it with his sheathed sword, smacking it back into a flurry of snow as it slumped into the side of a building, the lights in its eyes dimming.

Astra, trying to swing around his lute to play a tune, and ended up hitting the one at his feet with it. It bounced off, and the creature fell into the snow, leaving a gnome shaped imprint. “Sorry!”

There was only one left, scrabbling in the pit. “Just bury it slightly,” Renard suggested. 

Boblem widened the pit further. They could still hear the sounds of scratching, intent, trying to dig itself out with no luck. “That’s a problem for later,” Boblem declared.

Elyse glanced down the hole. There was definitely some sort of curse or enchantment placed upon the Toymaker, but she couldn’t determine the nature of it. Under the painted wood was their skin. She bent down near an unconscious one, hoping to examine further.

“If you mind, we should get out of here. There might be more coming ‘round,” Thomas warned from atop Astra’s head. “You can do that inside somewhere.”

Elyse grabbed the body, throwing it on her back. Thomas began steering Astra forward by the horns. The bard wasn’t exactly thrilled about it, but Thomas led them through the village, heading to the largest workshop. This one was two floors, and much wider, faint arcane lights glowing dimly around. It was similar in design to the workshops they had seen throughout the village, but much grander, and much more intricately designed. The lights flickered and faded seemingly at random across the buildings, carvings of beautiful elven trees and snow-capped mountains lining the outside. Thomas jumped off onto the snow, and he stepped up to the wall, lifting off a little flagstone and pulling a cord just behind it, clicking open the doors. These doors were considerably bigger, fitting them all easily.

“Let’s bundle inside, and see if we can get anything out of this,” Elyse urged them in.

They stepped inside, and saw barricades, defenses simply made, but effective. The shattered remains of chairs and tables and benches and workshop equipment were all lined up just behind the door, and behind the windows. The windows themselves were barricaded with little planks of wood. Several faces looked up in shock and surprise as they entered. Thomas held up his hands. “No no no! It's okay, it's okay, they’re here to help.”

There were a dozen more of the Toymakers, small gnomes, dressed in the same red, green, and white with pointed hats and little bells on the end. Wrapped up with stars and gloves, they looked panicked as the four adventurers entered. Some sat, eating, while others seemed to be building little benches. Thomas calmed them all, reassuring them that the four were friends. The workshop took up almost the entirety of the floor ahead. There were some workbenches still around, but most of them had been used to block up the windows and doorways. There was a set of stairs at the back of the building leading upwards. Thomas took Astra’s hand, pulling him in. There was a small fire burning in the center, where most of the people were around. A few Toymakers poked out from where they had been hiding. The four greeted the Toymakers, who nervously responded with a greeting of their own.

Elyse turned to Thomas. “What do you think is the most vulnerable point of entrance here? Do you want me to cast an alarm over it? Just in case?”

“That'll be most certainly helpful. The door that’s larger might be weakest, the window’s are pretty well barricaded.”

“Okay.” She moved to the door, tracing a line of static around it. She placed down the body of the turned Toymaker, and there was an audible gasp from the others.

“Oh no, oh no,” one stepped forward. “We don't want none of that in here. Whatever you're trying to do, not in here.”

“I might be able to see what kind of curse is on it,” she countered. “It’s worth a try.”

“We can tell you that, but please get it out, it'll wake up again.”

“We can tie it up?” Astra offered.

“No, out.”

“You know what’s wrong with it?” Boblem pressed.

“Yeah.”

“Okay,” Elyse relented.

“Elyse, do you want to do this just outside the door, and we’ll speak to them?” Renard suggested.

“Just come in,” the other Toymaker urged.

Elyse shrugged. “If they know what the curse is already, there’s not much point, is there.”

“We’ll tell you what you need to know,” they repeated.

Elyse nodded, opening the door to leave the body outside.

“So how long has this been going on?” Renard began.

“Started four or five days ago. Winter Father was taken.”

“Taken? By who?”

“A warlock. Some mage. We don’t know. But he’s got him in the tower, over yonder. Through the forest.”

“And this turning to wood has been happening ever since?”

“Happened since then, yeah. They’re under the warlock’s control.”

“Is there a catalyst, or it is happening at random?”

“If they get you. If they scratch you.” He glanced up at Astra. “With respect sir, I think you’ll be alright. A few other people came through, passing though. Weren’t able to help. They got scratched, but nothing happened to them. Seems to be only us.”

“What kind of people passed through? Elyse interjected.

“A few humans, an orc, from the nearby Isles. But they didn’t turn.”

“Okay, that’s good to know,” Astra smiled.

“Not for us!”

“Not for you, no, but we'll sort it.”

“Don’t worry,” Renard assured them.

“We’re here, we can help you with that,” Elyse nodded.

Boblem peeked out the window. “They seemed quite intent on getting to Thomas.”

“Quite intent on getting to all of us,” the Toymaker countered.

“Do they target you guys? Or just anything they see?”

“Just us.”

“Because they can turn you,” Astra frowned.

“That would be it, it seems.”

Elyse thought. “So maybe whatever is in their head is telling them to turn everyone in the town. So that the warlock has a whole town full of minions.”

“And control over the toy workshop,” Renard stifled a smile.

Elyse leaned over to him conspiratorially. “Renard, this is really serious, but we can laugh about this later.”

“I know, I know,” he brushed her off with a grin.

“They’re scared!” Boblem stage whispered back.

“This is their livelihood,” Astra chided.

Renard raised his hands. “I know!”

Elyse whispered to Astra next. “Don’t tell me it’s not kind of funny.”

“Please,” the Toymaker looked up to them. “They’re not turning you. If you could help, if you could do something- ”

“We will,” Elyse agreed.

“We absolutely will,” Renard reassured. “Don’t worry about that.”

The Toymaker smiled, the beginnings of tears brewing in their eyes. A few others stepped out, holding small bowls of steaming food, and a plate of gingerbread. “We can offer you more,” they explained. “Since you’re willing to help.”

“Thank you!” Boblem smiled.

“Thank you so much,” Renard grinned at them.

Elyse took a bowl, using it to warm her hands.

“Are you still cold?” Astra looked over, curious.

“Freezing,” Renard responded, matching his eye with a curious stare of his own. It was a bit warmer near the fire. “Again, you don’t get cold, lucky you.”

Elyse shrugged. “I don’t feel heat, so.”

“Do you guys have enough food for yourselves?” Boblem worried, looking to the Toymakers. “I don’t want to eat up all your food.”

“We’ve got enough, but any help would be appreciated,” one of them responded.

“Oh, sure,” Renard dug through his bag, pulling out fifty days worth of the rations he hated. “Please, take them away.”

Handing over a huge pack of dried fruits, jerky, breads, and cheeses, the food spilled across the table. The Toymakers looked towards it, eyes lighting as they began to sort and divide it up.

“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” Elyse teased.

“They’ll be sick of it in a week or two,” Renard grinned.

She turned back to the Toymakers. “Is there anything else you can tell us that might help?”

“Not so much we can tell you, but we might have some  _ thing _ to help.”

“Go on,” Renard encouraged.

“Stay here,” one of them headed over to the side of the building, pushing on a section of wall where carved trees were winding through. The wall shifted back, and the Toymaker disappeared into darkness. Returning, they held a large red and white striped candy cane with a small bow. They also had two party crackers, and a sack. They brought them forward, placing them down in front of the group. Renard stared at the pile with uncertainty.

“What do we do with this?” Boblem asked.

“Well, this,” he pulled out the candy cane, “it’s made here, by the Toymakers. Not usually what we make. There’s some Noel magic imbued into it. It’ll make you feel right as rain, this well.”

“Lovely work,” the boy smiled.

“These,” he pulled out the crackers, the rest of the Toymakers taking a cautious step back.

“Explosives?” the sorcerer guessed.

“Exactly. Frowned upon making these as toys, but, they’ll make a rather large bang, and get rid of anyone in the vicinity who you don’t want around.”

Renard lifted his mask, taking a closer look. “I like those.”

“This,” the Toymaker continued, opening the bag and throwing all the items inside. They disappeared into darkness. The adventurers gasped with surprise.

“That’s pretty cool,” Renard admitted.

Boblem nodded with excitement. “That will be very useful.”

“Thank you very much,” Astra smiled. The Toymaker handed them the bag, and there were no sounds of movement inside as he did. Looking in, it was just a black void. “How do I get the things out?”

The Toymaker shrugged. “Just put your hand in, and pull it out.”

Astra reached in, searching for the candy cane. It came right out. “That’s very good!” he laughed.

“Very clever,” Elyse agreed.

Boblem smiled as well. “Lovely craftsmanship.”

“Gotta say, I’m quite proud of that one myself,” the Toymaker nodded.

Renard looked into the bag. “Can people get in there?”

“...I wouldn’t recommend it. No air in there.” A few of the other Toymakers shifted slightly away, looking cautiously at Renard.

“We’re just trying to think tactically, whatever we can use, you know,” Elyse assured them.

Thomas swallowed.

“It’s okay, you’re not going back in there Thomas,” another consoled.

“Never again. Never again, I swore!” he squeaked. “I swore, I did!”

“The firecrackers… I’m assuming this is a toy making workshop?” Renard asked.

“It was.”

“Do you have anything here that can make a lot of noise?”

The Toymaker scrunched his face in thought. “Honestly the crackers would probably be the best…” 

“I don’t want to waste the crackers,” he turned to the others. “I’m just thinking…”

“To distract and lure them somewhere,” Elyse finished.

“To distract them.”

“We have spells for that…”

“Like those monkeys with the cymbals!” Astra grinned, clapping his hands together.

“Do you have toys that walk by themselves?” Boblem asked.

The Toymaker looked at them with confusion. “We most certainly have… cymbal monkeys.” He rushed back to a box of broken bits, piecing a toy back together. One arm was a bit bigger than the other. The monkey was looking festive, wearing a red hat with a white puffball on the end. It began to make the clanging noise.

“Perfect,” Renard smiled, putting a finger between the cymbals and placing it into the bag. “Alright, so…?”

“Let’s go talk to this feller,” Astra nodded. “You said he was over through the forest?”

One of them gulped. “Yeah he is… we can’t venture outside. It’s not safe for us. Especially not in the forest.”

“That’s fine, wouldn’t expect you to,” Renard agreed.

Boblem looked over the room. “Do you have a map?”

“No, but, we can show you the way,” another piped up. They could all see the black tower poking out of the treeline. It would be easy enough to find it.

“Okay, we can do that,” Renard confirmed. “And I suppose, last question, anything else that you know about this warlock, or mage?”

Elyse glanced down at the Toymakers. “Anything that might help us?”

One of them gave a nervous glance at the others. “He was the Winter Father’s brother. Jealous, he were. Dunno what he’s doin’ up there. But it won’t be nothing good.”

“When your friends turn into this,” Boblem continued, “If we fight them, are we going to end up hurting them?”

“Do you think they’ll ever turn back?” Renard clarified.

The Toymakers looked to the ground. “I hope so. Regretfully, I don’t know.”

“We wouldn’t want to kill them,” Elyse thought.

Renard shrugged. “Maybe the curse can be removed. We know all about that.”

“It looked like it was trying to come off their skin when it cracked, so, if we just don’t hurt them,” Astra decided. “Then we can go talk to the person up in that tower.”

“Yes. Talk.”

Astra shot a glance to Renard, who skillfully avoided the eye. The wind howled, blowing through cracks in the broken windows.

“I say we waste no more time,” Renard rallied.

“Let’s do it,” Elyse nodded.

Boblem glanced to Renard. “Where do you wanna put the monkey?”

“It’s in the bag,” Astra smiled.

“We’ll decide when we get there,” Renard clarified.

The sudden smashing of the glass behind them alerted the group that the howling wind was not natural. The Toymakers around them froze in horror as the door to the workshop rumbled, a force behind it trying to break through. Thomas approached, urging them to run, taking Boblem and Astra’s hands in his tiny ones. “Without the Winter’s Father, we cannot heal our friends. You must save him. You must save the Isles!” The door rumbled again, setting off Elyse’s alarm. Another window shattered as Thomas tried to ignore his surroundings. “Head to the tower, through the Yule forest is the only way. Step careful. Horrific creatures the warlock has summoned line the way. Quickly, you must go now!” he pushed them back towards the wall.

A thin doorline appeared behind them, and he pushed them out. They found themselves on the other side of the building. There were twenty or thirty turned Toymakers on the outside of the building, desperately trying to smash at the windows and force themselves through.

“They’ll be okay, we just have to beat this curse,” Renard advised.

Elyse looked over the building. “Yeah, that’s the most pertinent thing.”

They took off running through the woods. They sprinted, getting the impression that most of the turned Toymakers had gathered on the workshop. They made it to the village walls, and beyond was a short path out. The snow capped pines and firs rose up before them, an implacable wall of green and black stretching way up. “So, we head through the woods?” Renard suggested.

“Yeah, I guess,” Elyse agreed.

“Somebody watch our back just in case?” Renard asked. Boblem took watch as they began to step into the forest, the darkness clinging around them. There was not as much snow on the floor, except where there were paths and clearings. Making their way through, soon, the darkness swallowed them up. They wandered through the forest, and after forty-five minutes, Boblem heard the sound of something breaking ahead, little twigs. “Something up in front of us,” he warned.

“Okay,” Renard slowed.

Astra shrugged. “Maybe we’re getting close to the tower. And we’re in a forest, there’s going to be things around here.”

“Could turn invisible and go investigate,” Elyse offered. “Or send a mage hand over. Throw something to distract it, see what it is.”

“I think we’re safer in a group,” Renard countered. “And we don’t need to distract it if we don’t know what it is.”

“Go ahead with caution?” Boblem asked.

Renard nodded, taking out one of his torches. “Could you light this up?”

Astra complied, letting a small spell set fire to the end of the stick. The torch sprang to light, casting deep shadows across the woods. They saw the long shadows of trees reflected across, burning out into the darkness. They looked out to see the small shape of a fox step across the path before skittering off, leaving tiny trail marks in the snow.

“See? Nothing to worry about,” Astra smiled.

“Nothing to worry about,” Renard echoed.

“Can't ever be too careful. Let's go,” Elyse walked on, Renard leading with the torch.

They stepped through the woods silently. The snow seemed to get thicker beneath their feet where it came through the gaps in the trees. They moved forward, carrying on the path. The snow grew deeper as they moved through the Yule Forest, almost as if it was latching onto their legs, trying to pull them under. Boblem attempted to pull his leg free, but the icy grip had him. He looked up at the others, but the snow coalesced around him so he could no longer be seen. In Boblem’s place, the other three turned to see a huge snowman.

“Boblem?” Renard called, baffled.

Astra blinked at the structure. “Is that you?”

The snowman had no features but two coal eyes at the front of its face. It began to lumber towards them. “Does snow always do this?” Elyse questioned the others.

Crowded on the narrow path, Renard walked towards the snowman with the lit torch. He swung at it with the flame, slamming into the side of it. A chunk melted away, pieces blasting off, but a bit did smooth back on. Next, he pulled out the still sheathed rapier, slamming the other side. The blade didn’t dig in too much, only a bit of snow falling off. “Boblem, can you still hear us?” he called.

It was very muffled, but Boblem could still hear, his body tossed about as the snowman moved. It was quite disorienting. “Very dizzy right now!” he called back.

Astra pulled his lute around, beginning a tune (which sounded suspiciously similar to  _ It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas _ ). Taking Renard’s cue, he also swung forward with a lit torch of his own. Eight feet tall, made of three bulbous shapes, it was a hard target to miss.

Elyse took a few steps back, aiming a firebolt at the far top of it to avoid Boblem. Blue fire soared from her hand, generating in her fist and streaking towards it. It seared out, hitting directly between the eyes. The head shrunk as part of it melted, but a bit of it reformed.

Boblem managed to push his head out, emerging from the torso. His hair was frozen, face red with cold as he fell out, pushing himself away. It moved forward, swinging an arm to Renard with more weight behind it then he expected. He parried, but a bit of the blow still hit. With Boblem free of the thing, he unsheathed his sword at last, taking a swing at it. It didn’t seem to do much, so he pulled out the javelin, stabbing into the chest of the creature. A chunk of snow blew off the back of it, but the smaller pile formed into a new snowman.

“Oh Gods,” Renard gulped.

“Whoops!” Elyse laughed.

“Maybe we can just outrun this thing?”

“It seemed to move very swiftly for something of its size, it consumed Boblem very quickly.”

“And I’m quite a big boy as well!” Boblem added, standing up.

The bard made an attempt at comedy to distract the creature. “What do you call a snowman who is a baker?” Astra yelled to it. “Frosty the Doughman!”

Somehow, the snowman looked angrier.

“Astra, what are you doing?” Renard called.

“Some people just don’t have humor!” the bard replied, retreating back.

The smaller one moved on Renard, pulling a lump of snow from its own chest and throwing it, soaring past his head and hitting the tree. Elyse opened her pouch, taking out her arcane focus. A crystalline and diamond shaped lantern encased in gold, she wrapped the chain around her arm, whipping it around as she cast a fire spell at it. Lightning flashed around her as the attack hit directly into its face. She used a bit more of her magic to fly backwards.

Through the thick snow clouds above, a beam of radiant silver white light opened, the snowman sizzling as water evaporated under Boblem’s moonbeam. It moved forward towards Renard, embracing him with giant arms. The cold swarmed around him as he was engulfed by the creature. He was just able to pull himself out, falling to the ground next to it. “Don’t touch me,” he backed away, the creature looming over.

“Problem with snowmen is they’ve got no balls,” Astra chuckled. The snowman bristled. He had definitely achieved some psychic damage with that zinger.

The little one threw another snowball, narrowly missing Elyse. As she dodged, she whipped around the arcane focus, lightning spitting at her eyes as she cast a spell back. It missed as well, and she continued to retreat.

Boblem kept the moonbeam on the big one, carving a path as the snow melted behind it. The snowman was losing its shape, slamming into Renard again. He slammed back with the javelin, throwing the torch at the smaller one. Both hit, the torch spinning through the air and melting the smaller one into a puddle as the torch fizzled out. “Leave us alone!” he called, backing away again.

“You think you’re special?” Astra taunted further. “You’re just a snow-FAKE!”

Another firebolt came from Elyse, hitting it as the moonbeam burned. It went to engulf Renard again. “I hate this,” he grumbled from inside the snow. “I really hate this.”

“It just wants a hug Renard!” Elyse teased.

The creature was falling apart, and they were able to see Renard’s shoulders poking out as he struggled and failed to attack it from the inside. Astra jabbed at it with his torch, warming the small of Renard’s back.

“He doesn’t like to be touched. Leave him alone!” Elyse called. Doubled over laughing, she sent a firebolt that went far wide. Boblem sent a bit of his own fire, missing by a mile as well.

A melting arm swung towards Astra, falling apart as it did so. “No thank you!” the bard dodged.

Renard pushed out his arms, breaking the snowman into pieces, mask completely askew on his face. “It’s not that funny!”

Elyse was still laughing. The two lumps of coal fell to the snow. Renard brushed the snow from himself, and bent to pick up a piece of coal. He threw it at Elyse, knocking her shoulder.

“You alright, your majesty?” she grinned. As he rolled his eyes, she grabbed a lump of snow with her mage hand, tossing it at him. He sidestepped before landing a bit on her with his own ball of snow. Elyse grabbed at the snow with all three of her hands, and a snowball fight ensued.

Astra stepped between them. “Okay…”

“Guys!” Boblem called out. “We still gotta find the old man!”

“Right,” Renard cleared his throat, retreating with a smile.

Astra looked over the pair. “Do you want me to warm you up a bit?”

“No,” he replied, very quickly snapping back to his usual serious demeanor. “No.”

“I’d quite like that please,” Boblem nodded. With a small spell, Astra warmed Boblem’s clothes. “Thank you! Toasty,” the boy smiled.

Renard stuffed the metal mask into his bag. It was too cold to wear. “I could heat it up for you,” Elyse grinned, knowing full well it would melt.

“I will hit you again,” he retorted.

They chuckled, and continued up the path.

“So has anyone seen anything like that before?” Astra wondered.

Elyse shook her head. “I’ve never even seen any snow before we came here. Does it always do that?”

“No. I don’t think so.”

“Yeah, I’ve never been inside a snowman,” Boblem agreed.

“Not fun, is it?” Renard added.

“No. Very cold.”

“Can I… get some of that candy cane?” Renard looked to Astra. The bard held the bag open for him, and he dipped in his hand. “Ugh, this is weird!” He took out the candy cane.

“You know the bag’s magic right?” Elyse grinned. “You know the candy cane’s magic, right?”

Staring at her, he snapped a third of it off before dropping the rest in the bag. “Yes,  _ thank you _ for reminding me.” He began to chew.

“Would you like me to warm you up now, Elyse?” Astra offered to the sorcerer.

“Um, yeah. I guess it wasn’t good to come here with nothing on my arms,” she shivered.

“I can heat your clothes up. Won’t be much but it’s something.”

Elyse’s arms were still shaking, but she appreciated the heat.

  
  


They approached the tower, their feet crunching in the snow as wind whipped around them. All they could see was the green and black wall of the Yule forest behind them. The tower seemed to be made of black ice.

“It looks very welcoming, doesn’t it?” Astra joked.

Elyse sighed. “Incredibly so. Nice aesthetic.”

“Friendly,” Renard added. “Dodgy mage living in a dark forest in a black icicle. Nice guy.”

“Very original,” Boblem shrugged.

“Don’t judge people based on their appearance, Renard,” the bard chided.

“Or the appearance of their houses?” Elyse teased. “I was thinking… should we divvy up those firecrackers? I’ve got an idea.”

“Sure!” Astra offered the bag, and she took one, stowing it in her pouch. Renard grabbed the monkey, holding a finger between the cymbals.

“Should I check for traps, so we know we aren’t walking into something too dangerous?” Boblem asked.

“That’d be good, thank you,” Astra agreed.

Renard checked over the group. “Is everyone doing okay after that?”

Elyse was barely touched. “I’m alright actually,” Astra added.

“I’m alright,” Boblem followed. “Cold, but. How about you? You were…” the boy started laughing again, Elyse joining once more.

“I’ll live,” Renard rolled his eyes.

“I mean, you were inside that thing,” Astra grinned. “For… a lot.”

“Just a pile of snow, isn’t it? I’m fine.”

“Never seen snow do that.”

“You know what snow’s made from?” Elyse grinned, a mischievous glint in her eye. “Water?”

“...I was going to offer you my jacket, but I’m not going to do that anymore,” he shot back, teasing.

“So chivalrous!”

Looking to the tower, there were no physical doors, just a large open archway. A wave of Boblem’s magic went out, but he didn’t detect any traps in the area. “Should be relatively safe to cross it. I don’t know what we’ll find inside.”

“Well we’re going to have to go in, aren’t we,” Renard shrugged, moving forward.

The arch was about 300 feet high, and 50 feet wide. “I wish Sariel was here, with her spell,” Elyse lamented.

“I have it,” Boblem volunteered.

Renard thought, remembering Sariel and Cassian. “Must be a reason they’re not here.”

“I wonder where they are…” Astra frowned.

“Having their own adventure,” Elyse grinned.

Renard joined with his own guess. “Probably having a much worse time than us.”

“Probably warmer than us,” Boblem sighed.

“Well let’s not hang around.”

Elyse rolled her eyes. “We don’t know what’s in there!”

“Something that’s going to try and kill us.”

“We don’t know that,” Astra countered.

Renard shot the bard a look, repeating himself. “Something that’s going to try and kill us.”

“At least we know there won’t be any traps, for 120 feet,” Boblem offered.

“Then let’s go forward 120 feet and see what happens,” Renard walked towards the castle.

They stepped into the archway of the tower. Inside was quiet, the wind howling around the exterior almost like a self-contained whirlwind, constantly spiraling. As their eyes adjusted to the darkness, they realized that the floor was a large open space, with a single set of curving stairs hugging the back wall and leading up. Along the walls, there were delicate and intricate elven carvings, stories of the Noel.

A deep booming voice broke their concentration. “Welcome travelers. You are here for the festivities, I assume. I would ask you to join us, but you will not get that far.” They frantically looked around for the source of the voice as it continued. “You will not be the last to try and save him. But know this, it will cost you your lives. I offer you one chance. Leave now, keep your lives, or climb the stairs and perish. I leave the choice with you, friends.”

“I’m sure we can just talk about this!” Astra protested, but the voice drifted into silence. “I mean, he started off really well, talking about festivities like it was going to be fun…”

“Astra, can you light a torch?” Renard asked.

“Yes.”

Now able to see, he looked at the carvings. The engravings told a story, the final story of the Noel elves. The Noel left the Isles hundreds of years ago, to integrate themselves into the world at large. They left because of a great evil. This evil would come into their tower to steal the children of the Noel, but a brave human fought the dreadful creature, and with the help of another, locked this evil away. Before the elves left, their King granted this human everlasting life and joy after he saved the lives of all the children of the Noel, including the prince and princess. This human was given the opportunity to spread joy across the globe for eternity, and to protect the children of this world. From that day, he was pronounced the Winter's Father.

“Aw, he seems really nice!” Astra smiled.

“So we should save him?” Elyse asked.

“Yes.”

“We should definitely save him,” Renard agreed.

Elyse rolled her shoulders. “I don’t think this guy is going to be any match for us. Let’s do this.”

They made their way up the stairs. Getting closer to the second floor, they heard the gruff laughter of orcs and the snarling of turned Toymakers. Peeking just around the stairs they saw a group of hostages, sitting in the middle of the floor area, surrounded. People were tied up, sitting with their hands tied behind their backs, and many gagged. Among them were Toymakers and travelers to the Isle, including elves, humans, and dwarves. One elf in particular caught their eye. She had a pale blue tone to her skin, and her hair draped behind, somewhat ruffled now but still a striking icy white color. She was not gagged.

Lining the walls of this room were thin doors, some broken, either partially or entirely, each with an elven number placed above it. It seemed that this was once a place that many Noel elves called home. A set of stairs, similar to the ones they were traversing, awaited on the opposite side of the central room. There were two orcs, sitting at the edge of the room and facing towards the center. There were about four turned Toymakers skittering around as well.

“I could distract them with a little gust of wind, and we could charge in,” the sorcerer offered.

“We have the monkey,” Bobblem reminded her.

“We do have the monkey…”

“We do have the monkey,” Renard grinned. “You can mage hand place the monkey somewhere?”

“They’ll see it floating through the room.”

“They’re facing away from us.”

She nodded, slowly. “Yeah. Just send it walking into the room? And then we could pair up, there’s only two of them.”

“Listen to one of the hostages?” he suggested. “Can you do that? Find out if they know any more first?”

Elyse agreed, and they ducked down the staircase. She cast a message spell towards the elf woman.  _ “Don’t be alarmed, don’t make a noise. We’re here to help. Can you give us any more information?" _

A voice returned in her mind. “ _ The warlock. Upstairs. Trying to unlock… something ancient. Something evil. He needs my husband to do so." _

“ _ Your husband being… the Winter’s Father?" _

“ _ Yes. That’s him. The warlock is draining power from him. I fear he doesn’t have long left. The Toymakers here are being turned. The orcs are under his control as well." _

“ _ Do you know if there’s a way to break the control he has over these people?" _

_ "The warlock carries a gem on him," _ the voice whispered back in her mind.  _ "Break that, the control will fall." _

Elyse relayed this to the group. “There’s a way to break the hold the warlock has on everyone. We have to break the gemstone around his neck. He’s draining power from the Winter’s Father, and using it to cast this magic.”

“Do you think,” Boblem wondered, “If we have to move quickly, that we should just try to avoid this room? Get by without them noticing? Get to the Winter Father?”

“Avoid this room… I can make two people invisible, but I don’t think there’s a way… Unless I message her, and ask her to cause some kind of distraction. But that might put her in danger.”

“That would put her in danger,” Astra agreed.

Renard held up his toy. “That’s what the monkey is for. Just magehand the monkey across the room, and then we’ll get the drop on them.”

Elyse grinned. “Yup, I agree, that’s the best plan.”

They gushed over the monkey for another moment before Elyse messaged the elf woman again.  _ "We’re going to cause a distraction. We’re going to try to take out the guards. Be ready." _

“ _ There’s not much I can do, but- " _ the message stopped, suddenly.

Elyse glanced at the others. “I think we need to move now.”

“Now it is,” Renard nodded. A bit of shouting came from upstairs. Elyse took the monkey in her mage hand, spinning the wind-up and throwing it across the room. It fell into the center before clapping its cymbals with a repetitive banging.

Renard charged in, attacking the orcs. He tackled one, his pommel striking the back of its head. Where they had been circled around the hostages at the center, he took them completely by surprise. Turning to the other, he reached out and struck again. It dropped to the floor, unconscious.

Elyse emerged from the stairwell, whipping around the arcane focus. With a new spell, she spewed grease from her hand onto the floor, slipping up the other orc and three of the Toymakers. The grease crackled with a bit of static electricity. One of the Toymakers escaped by grabbing a hostage for purchase. The other orc slid back, falling on his ass. She flew around the side of the room to flank them.

Astra moved next, willow branches spreading on the orc’s head, urging it to knock back the Toymakers. Boblem used the same trick as before, creating a hole in the ground that dropped one of the Toymakers to the floor below. As the stone opened, the Toymaker shrieked, disappearing below the ground as it fell.

Seeing Astra’s branches on the other orc, Renard turned his sights to the hostages. He pulled two of them to their feet, moving them out of danger. Elyse grabbed two more, moving them to the other side of the room.

Astra corralled the last hostage. “We’re going this way now!”

There was a mass of bodies scrambling around. The orc tried to stand, looking to the other Toymakers, and slipped back down on the grease. Two Toymakers were still struggling, but one managed to get up. As it ran, Boblem opened another hole, and it fell through. “No you don’t!” he called.

Renard and Elyse began to untie the two hostages, telling them to run and be wary of the grease, as well as the unconscious Toymakers downstairs. Thanking them profusely, four hostages began sprinting down and out.

The orc with the willow crown was still struggling to stand. “Maybe we should start making a move upstairs, considering these don’t seem to be much of a threat right now?” Astra suggested.

Boblem turned to the remaining hostage, the elf woman. “Do you know where they’re holding the Winter Father?”

“I do, I do, if we get upstairs.”

“Will you come with us?” Elyse pressed.

The woman nodded with vigor. They began making their way to the back of the room, watching the Toymakers flounder. The two remaining managed to get up, stumbling over. One instantly fell into another hole with a shout, courtesy of Boblem. There was an “Ow!” from downstairs, one likely having landed on another.

Renard reached out with the butt of his sword to knock out the last one. It hit, and the small body skidded back on the grease, butting up to the orc before falling down a hole. He concked the side of the orc’s head for good measure, and the group made their way up the stairs.

“Are you alright?” Astra worried over the elf woman.

“I’ll be fine, that you for getting me out of these,” she nodded as Elyse untied her.

“What’s your name? I’m Verdant Astra.”

“My name is Clar.”

The sorcerer pulled off the ropes. “Nice to meet you. I’m Elyse, I was the one who was speaking to you earlier.”

“I figured as much.”

“Are you okay? Are you injured?”

“No, I’m more concerned that the warlock would be upstairs.”

“You said we had to be quick, didn’t ya,” Boblem nodded.

“He won’t have that much time.”

“We can go help him now,” Astra assured her.

“Thank you, thank you- ”

“But I have a question first,” Renard stopped her. “How come you weren’t gagged?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they didn’t have enough?”

Renard regarded her. She seemed to be earnest, maintaining a steady gaze with him, with no hints of a lie. Most of the gags were just bits of clothing material. After staring at her for a moment, he gestured her forward to lead them on.

Elyse peppered her with questions. “Can you maybe give us any idea of what’s up there? What we might encounter? Did you see anything before they captured you?

“There is a great evil locked away, that my husband and I are tasked with keeping behind bars. An old force. The Krampus, it is called. We managed to lock it away once, but it’s had hundreds of years to grow. If the warlock frees it, the Isles are in serious danger.”

“How did you lock it away the first time?” Boblem wondered.

“We beat it back. Performed a complicated ritual. But I fear that it has grown stronger. The warlock is draining the strength from my husband to bring this thing back. Krampus must be killed, to send him back to his prison. If the Winter’s Father and the Midwinter is to survive.”

“Okay,” Elyse considered. “The warlock, do you know anything about, any kind of vulnerabilities he might have at all?”

“No idea.”

“If it breathes, it moves, we can kill it,” Renard nodded.

“That you can. I hope so. If you wish to spare the time, there might be something that can help you with this.”

“Of course.”

She led them up, and another floor of homes awaited at the top of the stairs, but there was something significantly different about this floor. The central room seemed smaller, and while there were a number of doors here, half the wall was lined with an incredibly realistic carving of a seemingly eternal forest. Clar pushed through, putting her hand on one of the trees. Her hand froze, covered in rime and ice for a moment before it dissipated into an arcane sigil, which washed over the trees as blue light emanated. A secret doorway opened up in the forest, swinging open.

“There are things in here which can help you, if you wish,” she beckoned.

“Thank you,” Astra smiled. “That’s an amazing trick, by the way.”

“Thank you.”

“Yeah, I really wanna know what spell that is,” Elyse grinned with interest. “When we have more time.”

She stepped in as they followed. Their vision all but disappeared, as if they had stepped into a void. A heavy wind whipped around the room, almost taking them off their feet. A seemingly plain square stone room became visible. It had a number of interesting features. In two opposing corners of the room stood two large statues, each of a great armored elven knight. Their hands reached down to their scabbards as if about to draw their sword. One was a gleaming beacon, a holy knight with golden armor that somehow reflected the light, despite being stone. The other was a dark shadow, a warrior in almost imperceptible black armor.

Solid stone walls lined the room. On each wall hung an unlit sconce, and just above each of the sconces, a hole in the wall was perfectly cut, one foot by one foot, exactly the same on each wall. As they looked up, they realized this was where the howling wind was coming from.

At the back of the room sat a dusty, short stone column, with an engraving lining the plinth. “What is this for?” Renard called over the wind.

Boblem approached, reading the elvish. “It says,  _ All is Calm, All is Bright." _

“I mean, it’s bright, but I don’t think it’s quite calm in here, is it?” Astra observed.

Elyse seemed to be enjoying it, hair blowing around her.

“All I know is this place could be of help,” the elven woman explained. “It was built by the people who came before me.”

“You said there were things in here that could help?” Elyse pressed.

“I believe so. There is something here.”

“Like a weapon, or a magical item?”

“I believe so.”

Renard and Astra investigated the statues. They seemed to be elven warriors, one shimmering with golden light, one shrouded in darkness. They were made of the same stone and wearing fine elven armour with peaked helms. Pressing against them, the stones didn’t move.

Renard scratched his head. “It needs night, maybe? All is calm and all is bright, we need to calm the wind and light the room?”

Boblem called out the word for light in elvish, but nothing happened. Astra used a spell to light the torches, and the statues instantly stepped forward, pulling out their swords slightly before the howling wind extinguished the lights. “I think they’ll help us if we get the wind down.”

“Hopefully help, not hurt,” Renard worried.

“You wouldn’t have brought us in here if they would attack,” the bard looked to the elf.

“I don’t know how this works,” she apologized.

Renard glanced to the cutouts. “We have to stop the wind then.” He looked to Boblem. “Can you block it with the earth?”

“Yeah, I can try.” On each hole, the stone, tile, and earth closed up, stopping the howling wind.

“All is calm,” Renard approved.

“Now light?” Elyse suggested.

Astra lit the torches again. “Now all is bright.”

The statues moved forward again, moving most of their swords out. As the final sconces lit, the statues stepped towards them, swords now fully out. One caught the light and glowed, while the other sucked darkness around it. Standing next to each other, the two seven foot statues raised their swords in synchronicity. Light and darkness coiled around, and with a shattering of stone, the skin around the swords smashed. Held loosely in the statue’s hands were two swords, mirrors of each other, black and gold.

“Mage hand first?” Elyse suggested.

Renard nodded furtively. She reached out a hand to touch the gold sword. She was able to easily maneuver it out, spinning it in front of her.

“Seems to be okay,” Astra grinned. Elyse moved the sword over to Renard, who took it willingly. She went for the shadow blade. 

“These are fine blades, finely made, by the people who came before me it would seem,” the elf smiled.

“So they were to help us,” the bard glanced at Renard.

The fighter nodded, accepting the second blade from Elyse.

“Do they have any particular powers you know of?” Boblem asked.

“I would be certain,” Clar nodded. “But of what, I could not tell you.”

“Anything’s helpful,” Astra shrugged.

“Thank you,” Elyse grinned. “Are you able to fight? Do you want to come with us?”

She shook her head. “I am not a fighter, I’m afraid.”

“You should get to safety,” Astra encouraged.

“I’ll do that.”

“Is there anything else you can tell us that might help? About what we might find up there?” Elyse pressed. “Anything that could prepare us to fight this guy?”

“I wouldn’t know, but my husband is not a fighter either, I’m afraid.”

“Do you know the warlock’s name?” Renard pressed.

“His true name? Fredrick.”

The party laughed a bit at that. “No wonder he turned evil,” Elyse smirked. “I would have if I had that name.”

“He once was a good man, but he was corrupted, by jealousy. His brother was named the Winter’s Father instead of him, and he never lived this down. He left the Isle in search of a way to get vengeance on his brother. One night, apparently, something changed. Some alliance began with this creature, the Krampus.”

“Great.”

“Fredrick,” Renard chuckled.

The sorceress grinned. “Fredrick, the mighty warlock.”

“I think we can take it from here.”

“We will rescue your husband.”

“Thank you,” the elf bowed. “I’ll wait downstairs for him, find somewhere safe. Please, be quick.” She left, heading down the stairs.

“I know we don’t have a lot of time, but I could identify these to see exactly what they do,” Elyse suggested.

“I’m sure we can take ten minutes,” Renard agreed. “I would like to know what they do before we use them.”

Elyse sat with her research journal, casting her ritual. Serenity, the black blade, would allow the user to misty step in the way Cassian and Sariel could. Radiance, the bright burning blade, would surround the target in burning holy light. She relayed this to the group.

“Would you be okay with that?” Boblem looked to Renard.

Renard considered the enchanted weapon for a moment, and took it with a shrug. “It’s a one-shot episode,” he grinned.

Elyse looked like she wanted the black blade.

“I’m not one for fighting with weapons,” Boblem encouraged.

“I suppose you don’t want the sword?” Renard glanced to the bard. “I would recommend you take one, you don’t have any weapons on you.”

“Yeah, I’ve got plenty of magic to defend myself, just thought teleporting around would be cool,” Elyse admitted.

“This thing is probably going to be monstrous,” Renard continued. “It’s going to try to kill the entire village, and then the entire world.”

Resigning himself to it, Astra put out a hand. Renard passed him the shadow blade. It didn’t fit well on him.

They continued up the stairs, creeping onwards. Ahead was an eerie and empty dark floor. What was once most likely the royal chambers appeared ahead, behind a grand yet decrepit set of double doors on the far right side of the central room. Now, the floor was abandoned and silent. The only light came from the moonlight shining through the glass on the tower. The final set of stairs were ahead, on the other side of the central chamber.

“Should we check for traps again?” Elyse wondered.

Boblem shifted his weight. “Um, I can, I just…”

Renard shook his head. “Preserve yourself, this is going to be a big fight.”

“But we don’t want to be taken out by a tripwire on the way in,” Elyse countered.

“We can be careful.”

She shrugged. “Yes, we can.” They looked around for a bit, finding nothing.

“I think we can just,” Renard gestured to the stairs, “if everyone’s ready.”

“Sure,” Astra grimaced, holding the black blade with uncertainty.

“You’ve got one of the firecrackers or both?” he turned to Elyse.

“I’ve got one.”

“Would you like the other one?” Astra offered the bag.

“I feel like you’re going to use them best,” Renard grinned. “We’ve got the swords, you’ve got the boom.”

She took the other out of the bag with excitement.

“I’ve got the sword…” Astra gulped.

“And I’ve got shoes for the very first time!” Boblem added.

They climbed up the stairs, feeling the cold against their skin, under their armor, and in their throats as they ascended the final stairs of KnockIt OnMe. There was more to this cold than just the threat of freezing. An evil lurked within. As they looked upon the top floor of the tower, they could barely see ahead. There was a soft muttering in the darkness, and they looked over to a small stone room, with shadows clinging to every surface. There was a small stone column in the middle with a very large body tied across it. Beyond, they could just make out the shape of a throne, carved from spiky black ice.

As they got close, a figure rose from the throne, shadows surrounding him. A circle before them ignited into purple flame. The air in the room froze, making it hard to breathe the cold air as it sat heavy in their lungs. Turning behind, there was a loud thud, the sound of gigantic hoof hitting the stone floor. A sharp growl, followed by heavy breath, was the first sign of the Krampus. The room filled with an eerie purple light as the warlock spoke.

“Came after all. I’m so glad. Now you get to witness the death of Midwinter in person.”

The whistle of the wind sounded almost manufactured, and as the Krampus stepped forward, they realized the sound was him. It was the large visage of a horrifying creature, part goat, part demon, covered in hideous black fur. Chains wrapped around it, shaking as it stepped in, a tightly wound bundle of branches whipping back and forth in his hand, cutting through the air. In a growling gruff, the ancient voice of the Krampus boomed. “Merry Midwinter.”

Renard spun on his heel, thrusting his blade into the demon that towered a good three or four feet over him. It let out an unearthly roar, a long red tongue flickering out. It had a twisted humanoid face, with elements of goat, a long tufted beard and spiked, curled horns coming from its face. It bellowed as a flash of radiant light bounced off the surfaces of the room. Renard pulled the longsword out, trying to hit again, but the blade only clattered against its side.

Astra moved forward, placing himself between the demon and the Winter’s Father. Turning his sights onto the warlock, he sent out a magical command. “Silence!” he ordered.

The warlock’s mouth snapped shut.

Elyse turned to the Krampus. “Damn, you’re ugly.” She used a mage hand to break a cracker in front of it. Smoke filled the air as confetti spewed out, hitting the creature square in the face.

Renard and Elyse burned with a cold that radiated from the creature, and the sorcerer retreated from the chill. Strains of wooden branches whipped out through the air, whistling as they went. The twigs slashed across Elyse’s face, and she quickly drank a potion to recover from the surprisingly powerful blow.

Boblem raised his staff, casting a moonbeam onto the Krampus. The beam of silver light opened, burning at its shoulders. The warlock began to trace an arcane circle through the air, but as they went to speak the command word, he found himself unable to speak.

“Get wrecked,” Boblem laughed.

The warlock ran to him, hands extending with shadowy claws as he slashed out against the boy. The Krampus moved out of the moonbeam, swinging with the bundle of sticks to Renard. He was able to duck underneath, but its claws slammed into him twice while the cold continued to burn at him.

After the claws raked across him, leaving tattered holes in his armor, the sword ignited once more as Renard slashed across it. It howled as a bloody line was carved across its chest, burning with golden light. He slashed again, landing a second hit more before running to retreat, ducking out of range as it tried to attack.

Astra, noticing the success of his magical command, shouted another to the warlock. “Sleep!”

They looked confused, getting on their hands and knees before closing their eyes. The warlock was still awake, but doing his best to fall asleep on the stone floor. The Krampus howled and glared at him in anger. Elyse continued to retreat from the demon, sending more grease out onto the floor in front of it. The Krampus skidded across the floor, Boblem following it with the moonbeam as it struggled to stand. The warlock peeked his head up from the floor in annoyance. “Shh! I’m trying to sleep here!”

Patches of black hair had burned off the demon, and it was looking much worse than when it first appeared. It scrambled up, long black chains emerging from the ground and wrapping around Renard. The chains pulled him in closer.

He busted out of them, burning gold light flashing as he threw the javelin at it, screaming out the command word as the weapon turned to a streak of lightning. Flying across the room, the Krampus was hit, illuminated it for a second before the light faded. The javelin now sticking out of it, the demon roared as Renard retreated.

Astra made his way to the warlock, trying to pull off the purple gem he wore as a necklace. The warlock scowled at him from the floor. It was an amethyst, an inch thick. Astra grabbed the gem, quickly retreating.

“Throw it down the stairs!” Renard yelled.

“Do I destroy it? Or put it on?” Astra called back.

Elyse shouted over to the bard. “She said if we destroy it, it would break his control on the people!”

“Okay! Give me six seconds!” Astra grinned.

“Good job buddy,” Elyse laughed. She took out her arcane focus, whipping it around as she cast fire towards the Krampus, burning across its fur. Her eyes flashed as the blue flame shot out from the focus. Landing the blow, she flew further back.

Boblem was still following the creature with the moonbeam. This thing was very tough, but there were cuts and marks all over it now.

The warlock rose. “You have disturbed my rest long enough!”

He clapped his hands together, a wave of frost and ice emanating out towards Elyse, Renard, and Boblem. They half dodged, but the blow was incredibly strong. Renard went down as the sleet billowed forward. The warlock chuckled, moving to the corner of the room.

The Krampus stepped out of the moonbeam towards Boblem, its hooves stamping on the ground, bringing the bunch of twigs and thorns towards him. It swung thrice, the first two just missing his nose before the third struck the boy to the floor.

Seeing two allies go down, Astra steeled himself to take a swing at the warlock with his sword. He easily dodged the unskilled attempt. Astra sent some healing magic to Boblem instead. “Elyse, try and get Renard up!” he called.

Elyse ran to Renard, trying to rouse him, but her hands burned with cold as she touched him. Patches of his skin were freezing, turning to ice.

Boblem barely stood, the moonbeam gone. He escaped, moving to Renard. He barely ducked underneath as claws slashed again. The Krampus was laughing at them.

The warlock uttered an arcane word, placing a hand on Astra’s forehead. A blu- black light flashed out, almost pushing him back, but Astra managed to shake off the spell. A frown grew on the warlock’s face. “No... No!”

The Krampus moved to Elyse, slashing out at her. She went down as well, cold burning at her.

Astra dropped the amethyst, taking the pommel of his sword to it as it smashed, breaking into a thousand pieces. “Come on, get up!” he yelled to his fallen allies. Using all of his strength, he sent a huge surge of healing magic towards them all, reviving them.

Elyse grabbed Renard by the arm, moving them away before slamming her fist into her palm. A shockwave rippled out, slamming into the Krampus. She slipped out of existence, reemerging with a crack on the other side of the room. Its horns smashed, splintering as it slammed into the wall, black blood pouring from its maw.

Boblem slammed down his staff again, recasting the moonbeam as he retreated. Pearly white light from the moon radiated through the demon. Opening from the ceiling, it burned away in silvery light as it howled. Chunks of it fell to the floor in a wet slop, becoming a gelatinous mess of wet fur on the ground.

Krampus was no more.

The warlock pulled something from his pocket, crushing it as a shimmer emerged over him. Renard dashed closer to the warlock, who was starting to look scared. Astra had seen Renard intimidate people a few times, so he held the black blade up to the warlock’s throat to cast another command. “Surrender,” he ordered.

This one didn’t take. The warlock spat at the bard’s feet. “Never!”

Having seen all the snow lying around, Elyse whipped around her focus, casting a snowball storm to hit Fredrick. Boblem shifted his moonbeam to the warlock as Elyse flew back.

Fredrick stepped out of the way. Astra swung out at him, missing by a mile. The warlock reached out his hands, and two beams of ice shot towards the bard. Two eldritch blasts slammed into him, and Astra pointed back with a fire attack.

The warlock was looking panicked. Renard slammed into him with the sword, radiant light emanating from it. He considered simply knocking the man out, but remembering how his allies had been taken down, he put the sword right into the warlock’s chest, dragging it up through his skull.

His head split in two, and where they expected brains and matter, inky darkness flew out. The body dropped to its knees, smoke and sinew pouring out and evaporating to nothing as the head slammed forward, lying still on the cold floor.

“That was a lot,” Astra gulped.

Boblem and Elyse ran to the Winter’s Father, untying him. He was breathing shallowly, covered in cuts and marks, as if blood had been pulled out from his skin. Astra set about healing him, and he coughed before opening his eyes. They greeted him with smiles.

“What’s happened?” he groaned.

“It’s okay, we saved Christmas,” Elyse smiled.

The Winter’s Father eyed her. “I think you mean Midwinter.”

“We stopped Fredrick,” Astra clarified. “And the big… thing.”

“Oh, my brother.”

“The Krampus is gone,” Renard nodded.

Elyse grinned. “We’ve halted the control over the people in the town as well. Destroyed the amulet.”

“I and the people of this town would not be able to thank you enough,” he bowed his head to them.

“I’m afraid… we didn’t have any other choice but to… kill your brother,” Boblem admitted. Renard stepped to the side to hide the corpse from view as Elyse slipped away his sword.

“It would seem Fredrick died a long time ago,” the Winter Father sighed. “This was… something, someone else. Are you all well?”

The sorcerer grimaced. “Been better but, we’re alive and it’s not, so we’ll be okay.”

“On our feet,” Renard shrugged.

“Let’s leave this hideous place behind us,” the Winter’s Father nodded. “Come, quickly.” He pulled himself up, limping as Astra and Boblem helped him to his feet. He had huge arms, a big belly, and a lot of beard. He wore a red cape with white fur, and a big hat with a bell on it.

“I like your outfit!” Boblem smiled.

“Thank you. I like yours… You don’t seem too well suited for the cold. Where are your shoes, sir?”

“He’s got shoes!” Elyse defended.

“These are shoes!” Boblem glanced at the fabric on his feet. “My friends made them for me.”

“Wonderful,” he smiled. “It is the season of giving. Now let’s make our way. Have you seen my wife?”

“Yeah, we freed her,” Elyse assured him.

Astra smiled. “She’s downstairs.”

“She helped us actually. I don’t think we would have been able to do this without her.”

He relaxed. “Oh, wonderful.”

“We should probably give you these back, the swords we took from downstairs,” Astra offered.

“Oh, no no, those aren’t mine. Leave them here if you don’t want them.”

Astra put his sword down, and Renard dove for it straight away, squabbling with Elyse over it before handing it off to her. The sorcerer was dragging her feet and gritting her teeth, barely standing, as was Renard. They hobbled down the stairs together. As they left the tower, the Winter’s Father saw his wife at the bottom. More Toymakers were pulling wood off their faces, crying and hugging their friends.

“Sorry for dropping you in a pit!” Boblem called.

“It’s okay,” one of them squeaked back. “I weren’t myself.”

The Winter’s Father embraced his wife, gathering up the group before turning to address the adventurers. “Looking at you, I fear we might not make it through the Yule forest if we press.”

He raised his fingers to his lips and whistled. Looking above, spiraling around the tower, they saw a series of nine huge elk pulling an enormous sleigh behind them. They skittered through the air, plowing into the snow, a flurry emerging up and around them as it skidded to a halt. The Winter’s Father gestured to the sleigh, and everyone piled on. It was big, but it would be cramped between everyone, though the Toymakers didn’t take up much space hanging off the rails. He gestured to a small bench at the back for the four adventurers to sit.

“This is amazing, they’re so beautiful!” Astra gasped.

“Wonderful beasts, all,” he nodded. “Now, on!”

With a clap, the reindeer began skittering through the snow. After a few paces forward, they lifted into the air. A rush of cold wind hit their faces, and they wrapped up close to each other. From nowhere, it seemed, warm blankets found their way around their shoulders. As the Winter’s Father snapped the reigns they took off, cantering through the air. They looked down to see the Yule forest far below them.

“Oh Gods,” Renard gulped.

It wasn’t long before they skidded to a halt in the Toymaker’s village to cheers and shouts of joy, families reunited. The workshop was slightly battered, and a little bit on fire. They got off the sleigh, and were provided with comfort and food and warmth. They stayed for a little bit to help rebuild. It was easy enough. Two days passed and the Midwinter celebrations went on in full swing, full of lights, food, cheer, and festivity. With their bellies full, and their hearts content, they sat and pondered the curious events of the past few days over warm honeyed mead by the fire.

  
  


They found themselves slowly drifting off. They opened their eyes after the deepest sleep to familiar sights, the last place they remembered being in Caldera. Like waking from a dream, the memories of the past few days hazy in their minds, they found themselves back where they started.

Funny sights indeed.


	23. What's In A Year? Episode Twenty

As the sphinx disappeared, the wall sealed up behind them. They stood between the pyramid and the town, vegetation and mulch blasted away off the first five or ten buildings. They saw a low square of whitewashed stone buildings, stained green and brown with all the centuries of plants growing over. The remains of the giant and the giant snake lay beyond, lower half turned to dust by the shockwave that emanated when the pyramid was activated. By now, it was night. Cassian lit a few dancing lights ahead of them.

Elyse reached to her focus with no avail. It wasn’t really a communication device, and it was unlikely to yield significant results again. A stoney expression crept over her face as she whispered to herself in Fulgan. “I have to survive no matter what.”

She sat, staring into the focus. They were standing in a little dip. Twenty meters from the pyramid, the mulch sloped up again, crawling over the skeletons and the buildings. They weren’t far from the boat. The stars were out, poking through, the moon high in the sky.

“I'd suggest we get back to the water and onto our ship,” Renard advised.

“Sleep there for the night,” Cassian agreed.

They walked down the roads of the now silent town, or village, or perhaps just simple housing, accommodating the workers of this place before they were trapped by whatever means. They crested the rocky hill of mulch, walking along over the tops of buried buildings. They moved through and around the huge skeletons, admiring their magnificence once more. From where they were, looking back, they could see the huge, stepped pyramid, five layers.

Renard glanced at the giant. “I guess we’re pretty lucky that thing didn’t have one of those circlets, huh?”

“Don’t even joke,” Sariel reprimanded, a small smile on her face.

Elyse’s expression didn’t change. She was not talking.

As they walked through the hole in the trees, Renard addressed the others. “Listen, I want to apologize that we misunderstood the sphinx. I thought it was only going to take something from myself and Elyse.”

“It made both of you better,” Astra countered.

“It made both of us better, and… I think we can face whatever it brings us. I believe we can.”

“You weren’t to know,” Cassian shrugged.

“And I don’t feel like it has to be a bad thing, you know? I don’t feel like it’s given us a year of our lives just to come… kill us at the end of it.”

“We don’t know what it’d do with that year, is what I’m concerned about,” Boblem gulped.

“Me too, absolutely, we should definitely worry- ”

“We have no idea what a year means,” Elyse deadpanned. “A year taken away, a year given, a year of something- ”

“Elyse, we shouldn’t just immediately panic about it.”

“I’m not panicking.”

“...I can tell you’re getting stressed out.”

“It was a stressful situation,” Astra defended.

“It was,” he admitted. “But, we move forward. We focus on the next thing.”

“Lakeside,” Elyse nodded.

They slowly crested down the sloping hill, reaching the bank of the river. Elyse silently walked to the water, arcane focus in hand. She smashed the bottle, and the shockwave rippled out. They heard the creaking and groaning of wood, a bit easier to look at in the darkness, and the water surged. The boat unfolded from where it shouldn’t, the mast flipping up, pushing out of space that wasn’t there before. The water lapped at their feet.

Renard smiled as he watched. “I love this thing.”

“Every ship needs a name,” Sariel replied.

Astra glanced at her. “Is that a thing?”

“Yes,” Renard nodded.

Elyse stepped aboard with a sigh. “Yes, it is.”

“Boats have names,” Sariel confirmed.

“That’s nice,” the bard smiled, stepping on.

“Can we just get to Lakeside, please,” the sorcerer urged, moving to ready some rigging.

Cassian climbed aboard. “I think we should sleep first, Elyse.”

“There’s lots of rocks in the water, we don’t want to hit them at night,” Astra added, helping Boblem up.

Elyse threw down the rope and climbed up the prow. Renard lowered the anchor.

“So a name for the ship,” he thought. “Anyone have any suggestions, or…? I do, but, I don’t want to step on any toes.”

“What’s your suggestion?” the bard asked.

“There was a ship that I used to have. I’d love to name this one after that.”

“What is it?” Sariel glanced up.

“The Lyra Bird.”

Astra considered. “I like that.”

“Just a suggestion.” He went about lighting the brasier as Cassian pulled back his lights. The boat was softly illuminated with a warm glow, echoed by the light of the moon shining off the river, winding through the trees. “Rations, anyone?”

“Your favorite,” Astra chuckled.

Sitting on the prow, Elyse put away her focus, taking out her research journal. She traced the shape of the boat, a line of static appearing on her finger before the wall of static appeared around the boat, shimmering for a second before disappearing.

“Thank you!” Renard called up. No response, she was flicking through the pages. “Okay,” he sighed.

Courtesy of Sariel, the small bundle of glowing blue-white strands appeared again, hopping around the group. It felt like drinking a hot cup of tea, spreading warmth through them. Astra put a hand out to pet the semi-corporeal spirit.

“It worked. It actually worked this time,” Renard put a hand on his chest. “The sphinx wasn’t lying. So that’s something.”

Sariel held the bundle with care. “That’s good to see.”

Renard went below deck, looking to find if the previous owners had left anything of interest. A bottle of rum would be nice. After five minutes of searching around, he found something tucked under the floor. A bit dusty, the bottle was labelled “Mulligan’s.” He brought it up with a few cups. “Anybody want a drink? After that?”

That got Elyse to turn, looking at them from above.

“I’d like one, please,” Astra nodded.

Boblem followed, “I’ll take one.”

He poured a few. “Sariel? Cassian?”

“I don’t partake, but thank you,” the wizard passed.

“No problem.”

Sariel accepted.

He poured one more, taking it to the front for Elyse. Sitting at the front, the sorcerer noticed four little noses. Porpoises, poking their heads out of the water and burbling at her. They hung there for a few seconds before splashing back in. As their tails re-entered, water splashed up at Elyse and Renard, the latter grimacing at the impact.

“We can turn into them, then!” Boblem smiled.

Sariel glanced over to him. “Have you ever been a porpoise before?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been one of those.”

“We can try it sometime.”

“That would be fun,” the boy grinned.

Renard passed Elyse the small, wooden cup of rum. “You could use it.” She took it, knocking it back with a shaking hand. He poured her another, and then one for himself. “That shook you, huh?”

“Is that obvious,” she frowned.

“Mmm.”

“Wasn’t just that.”

“The curse?”

“Partly that, other things too.”

“Well whatever it is, I know you can handle it.”

“I’m not so sure.”

“No, you can,” he took a sip. “I’ve seen how capable you are.”

“I’ve been in places like that before. Not exactly like that, obviously. But I’ve spent my whole life in those kinds of places, with my crew. And I’m worried that without them, I’m not as good at this kind of thing as I thought I was. I think they were kind of carrying me, I don’t know.”

“I don’t think that’s true at all. Perhaps we’re not as competent as them.”

She shook her head. “They were all much more powerful than me, and they got captured. And I don’t know what that means for me.”

He looked over to her. “They got captured and you didn’t. That means, you’re doing fantastic. Don’t even worry about it. All that matters is we just… focus on the next goal. Put it out of your head,” he consoled. “Drink some rum.”

“I know. It’s very difficult to do that.”

“Get out of your head, and talk to people, and distract yourself. And stop looking in that book, you’re just going to keep dwelling on the past.” She swallowed, snapping the book shut and holding it to her chest. “We can’t change anything that’s happened,” he continued. “I can tell that a lot has happened to you. But we can start again right now, and change the ending.”

She nodded, and he clapped a hand on her shoulder before walking away. She sat there a bit longer, drinking. She flipped through the book a bit more, but when she finished her drink, she walked back over to the others.

She held the glass out to Renard again, and he filled it. She sat.

  
  


Cassian had gone below deck, changing into his other clothes. It was much the same of what he had on before, there was still the tunic and the armour, but he didn’t put on the long vest again. It still needed repairs. He pulled on a sensible shirt under the sleeveless tunic, over his belt and armour piece. Cleaning himself up, his hair wasn’t as bad as he had thought. A bit frazzled, but maybe something he could work with. He climbed back up, sitting by himself on the deck.

Sariel watched the water for a while, singing in her ritual language. It resonated out. In another fifteen minutes, the porpoises returned, squeaking at them.

Astra took his drink and headed to the back of the ship. Putting his elbows on the wood, he looked out at the water. Focusing his magic, he made an attempt to send out a message.

_ “It’s Astra. Hi. I haven’t forgotten. Just… lost. Can’t find my purpose. Want to come home. I miss you, mum.” _

He took another drink. After a minute, there was a reassuring voice in his head.

_ “Astra. My star. We miss you too. Don’t worry. As long as you have a home, you’re not lost. You’ll find your way. One foot in front of the other.” _

Seeing him alone, Renard approached the tiefling, leaning over the back with him. “How are you doing?”

He swallowed, still reeling from a message returned. “I’m alright.”

Renard squeezed the bard’s arm. “You were brave today.”

“Thank you,” he blushed. “They were dead, so it… was… different, I think.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you… what that’s about?”

“I don’t like fighting.”

“I know,” Renard nodded. “I don't think everyone  _ likes _ fighting that much,” he glimpsed Cassian in the corner of his eye. “Well, I’ll speak for myself.”

“You were pretty excited about all that,” Astra countered.

He shrugged. “It was nice to come up against an enemy that… didn’t feel any pain. They really were just… bodies left behind, from people who already passed.”

The bard was quiet for a moment. “Yeah, we did them a service.”

Renard observed him. “What can we do for you, Astra? You stick by us, and you do so much with us. And you promise to stick with us, and you promise to help us all, with all the things we need to achieve. Where are you trying to get to? What are you looking for?”

Astra stared at the water. “I don’t know yet. But I’ve been… all you can do for me is let me stay with you. And I’ll keep putting one foot in front of the other,” he smiled. “And I think that my path lies with… the lot of you.”

“If that’s all you need, then, we will have your back. The whole way.”

The tiefling smiled. “And I have yours.”

“You can come to me with anything, you know.”

Astra gave him a quick glance. “I know.” He turned from the edge. “C’mon, let’s go join the others. We’ve got to sort out what we’re doing with all that gold you picked up.”

Renard nodded, topping off Astra’s cup as the pair walked back to the center.

Boblem was lying down on the deck, slowly drinking, looking at the stars. It reminded him of how his grandpa used to pour him a taste, when grandma wasn’t looking. They made the more sugary kind together, from fruits. He pondered the meaning of “one year,” thinking back to his own life, and what that amount of time could mean.

Elyse opened the chest, laying out all of the items. They counted 1,530 pieces of gold. It wasn’t a currency they recognized, but it was still legal tender. There were two gem encrusted goblets, six little rubies, and a few assorted items.

“255 gold each,” Renard calculated.

“Unless we want to keep it altogether. And then, if we all need something together as a group, maybe we can use it for that,” Sariel thought.

“We can leave it on the ship, can’t we?” Astra suggested.

“I suppose we can.”

“And hope we don’t lose the ship, I suppose,” Renard agreed. “Can we take 50 each? I would like to have some money on me.”

“As would I,” Elyse nodded.

“Feels strange not having any on me,” the prince admitted.

Sariel and Elyse gave him a look at that.

“Take ninety-five away from my share for yourself,” Cassian called over, looking to Renard.

The masked man glanced back at him. “Thank you.”

The wizard shrugged. “You’re welcome.”

“For remembering.”

“I’ll just take the remaining… I’ll take fifty out of mine, then.”

There were other bits that they would need people to value for them, but their coin purses already felt strangely heavy.

“Never had this much money before,” Boblem laughed.

“Nor have I,” Sariel added.

Elyse felt the coins in her pocket. “Don’t think I have either.”

Renard and Cassian looked away, suddenly very interested in the floor.

“In Lakeside, do you reckon we’ll be able to turn in that map? Some more money?” Elyse wondered.

“Oh, I expect so,” Renard agreed.

“Something that we can sell…”

“I don’t think we need to worry about money for the moment, Elyse.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.”

“What are you worried about?” Sariel countered.

She was quiet.

Renard chose his words carefully. “Not to be a stickler, but we did discuss before that we would have a policy of openness, about anything we were worried about, that might concern everyone’s safety?”

Elyse looked away. “Doesn’t concern your safety. If it does, I would tell you.”

“Does it concern your safety?” Boblem pressed.

“I don’t know. Look, I have a right to my privacy. And I will tell you things if I have to, and if it’s necessary, but I’m not going to just tell you everything. You’ve seen that it can be dangerous for me.”

“Okay,” Renard backed off, raising a hand in surrender.

“Not trying to be rude or anything, I’m just…” she trailed off.

They sat for a bit longer. Boblem continued working on the potions, finishing a second one as it crept close to midnight. “I finished another one, if anybody would like to take some?”

Renard glanced to the wizard. “Cassian?” he prompted.

“Thank you,” he held out his hand for the potion.

“Do you have any more?” Elyse glanced over to the boy.

“Yeah, here you go,” Boblem handed her another.

“Thank you.”

“So…” Renard cleared his throat. “Whilst we’re on the subject of… talking about things that are coming up… When we reach Lakeside, there’s a strong chance people there might recognize me. And I don’t know yet if that’s something I want. I'll have to gauge the reaction of the people there when we arrive. I just thought I should warn you all.”

“Are you gonna wear your mask?” Boblem asked.

He reached up to touch the metal on his face. “I suppose I’ll have to decide.”

“Are there people who are dangerous for you there, or is it just that you don’t want people to know who you are?” Elyse pressed.

“I don’t think so. I can’t say for sure how far the word has travelled, but, when I said before there were people looking for me elsewhere…” he trailed off, steeling himself. “I was accused of doing something that I didn’t do. And the only way to put it right is to find the people that I’m looking for. And, until then, I’ve got no argument.”

Sariel looked him over. “Has that been your mission from the beginning?”

He tensed. “Yes, and that’s why I’m opening up about it now. Because I realize that I lied to you before. And I didn’t, like Elyse, expect to be travelling with you all this long.”

Sariel accepted that. “I don’t think any of us expected to be together still, at this point.”

“No,” Elyse added. “And I hope you can understand why- ”

“I do,” Renard assured her. “I’m hopeful that somebody in Lakeside might still be my ally. But if word has made it there, then I’m also scared.”

“The thing is, if people in Lakeside aren’t your allies,” Sariel gave a meaningful look to the prince, “You have allies here.”

Renard smiled back at her.

“And I know you’re not a fan of magic, supposedly, despite casting it,” Elyse continued, “But if worst comes to worst I can make you invisible, and you can escape. And I certainly won’t be going into any towns looking like myself, anytime soon.”

“That’s understandable,” he nodded.

“You’ve got our back, we’ve got yours,” Astra smiled.

“Yes, I just wanted to tell you, because I don’t want us to arrive there and... people want to know what’s going on.”

“Of course.”

“Thank you for telling us,” Boblem grinned.

Renard nodded at the group. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go change.”

He went below deck, wiping off the grime, mud, ichor, and bone dust. He used a bit of the water in his jug to wipe his face. Swapping back into his nicer shirt, wearing the blue doublet from before, he left on the chainmail underneath. He sat below deck.

Astra used a spell to lift the dirt from his hair as the rest of the group sat. Eventually, Elyse made her way downstairs, still with a drink in hand. She sat next to Renard.

“Um, I was wondering if… I wanted to ask you this before, but obviously stuff happened.”

“Sure.”

“Would you teach me how to sail the ship?”

He was surprised for a moment. “Yes.”

“I already know how to fly an airship, so I figured it would be easier for me to learn. And then it doesn’t have to all be on you.”

“I would actually appreciate doing that. Especially because it’s not going to be long upriver until we hit open water. And then... I’m probably going to need some help.” It would take months to really learn, but they could start. “For the time being I can definitely tell you how to go roundabout, and use the helm. You can learn that in minutes. But I would like to rest, if that’s okay.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

He passed her the bottle of rum. She took it back up to the others, and Renard went to sleep.

Astra went below deck to sleep as well. Elyse kept watch, but she didn’t see anything threatening approach. Sariel and Boblem slept soon after.

At some point, Cassian slipped away, off the ship. Unnoticed, he walked a bit upriver, just able to see the boat in the distance. Sensing new things afoot, he walked into the river, fully clothed, completely submerging himself. His head tilted back, hair floating through the water. He kicked up his feet, floating on the surface for a moment as he stared at the moon. He closed his eyes.

After a moment, he felt two icy hands grip his shoulders. They weren’t threatening, just holding him in place, spinning him slowly. He sank into the feeling, pushing himself under the water. Instinctively, he took a breath, holding it until he gasped. Icy water filled his lungs and throat. Reflexively, his throat tried to close, but then… he breathed out.

The two hands were still guiding him, not pushing him down or up, just gently placed on his shoulders. There was a faint shimmer of green reflected in the water underneath. He breathed the water in and out. It was cold. Cassian remained there for about an hour, the most comforted he had felt in a very long time, before returning to the ship, quite soggy.

  
  


At some point, Renard came up to swap watch with Elyse. She was sitting with her book, arcane focus floating like a night lamp.

“What did I tell you?” he called. She shot him a look. “I’m teasing,” he clarified. “You can go rest.”

She snapped the book shut. “It’s not a matter of dwelling on the past.”

“Okay,” he put his hands up again. “I was teasing, Elyse. Go and get some sleep.”

She sighed, quiet for a moment. “You know, you made that decision without asking me if that was what I wanted to do.”

“No, I offered myself, and you said  _ me too," _ he countered. “You can’t put that on me.”

“But you said it first. We should have talked about it, we didn’t know what it meant.”

“Yes but, I thought the Sphinx was offering it to each of us individually. I wasn’t doing that  _ to _ you.”

“No, I know you weren’t, I just mean that…”

“I agreed, and then you agreed, and then it was sealed.”

“No, that’s not what I mean. I’m trying to say…” she struggled to find the words. “I was trying, in that place, to have us all consult one another before we did anything. You know? Rather than- ”

“Elyse, I know, I understand that, but as I just told you, I thought it was implicating me alone.”

“I know, I know- ”

“It was a decision concerning me, and I didn’t want to die,” he added, forcefully.

“I wasn’t sure either, I thought it was as well, I just… nevermind.” She got up and left.

Renard sat on the deck, pouting.

Seeing Elyse come back down, Cassian gave it a few minutes before sneaking back up from the darkness. He saw Renard sitting alone. He had lit his glove, causing it to glow, staring at it. The wizard watched curiously for a moment before clearing his throat.

At the sound, the light went quickly out. “Cassian.”

“Renard.”

“Mmm.”

The wizard glanced at the sky. “Interesting day.”

“It was, wasn’t it.”

“An interesting time.”

Renard peeked over his shoulder at him. “You did well back there.”

“As did you.”

Renard gave a mischievous grin. “To be expected.”

It was the first time he had really smiled at Cassian.

“Okay…” the wizard shifted his head around on his shoulders, planning his next move. He kept his eyes on the sky. “I wanted to apologize… for my tone last night,” he pursued his lips, shifting his view to the floor. “And the way that I… behaved.”

Renard was surprised, but the mask hid it well. “Right… apology accepted. I… shouldn’t have been so harsh either.”

Cassian blinked. “Okay...” He shook his head, putting a hand on his face. “Okay, you’re very confusing.”

“Really?”

“You are… frustrating? Like no one else I have ever met in my life.”

Renard cocked his head. “I’m not going to apologize for that.”

“It’s not something you have to apologize for, it’s just… baffling.”

Renard grinned at him again. “Well, I hope you work it out.”

“Agreed. You are…” he stared through the mask. “Unusual.”

Renard chuckled softly. “I’ve been told that a lot.”

Cassian looked back to the floor. “If you ever need…” he was struggling to form the words, “Someone to have your back in a fight…”

“I can rely on you,” Renard finished for him, watching him squirm.

“Yes.”

“Cassian?”

“Renard.”

“You’re a… you’re a mage, of some description.”

The wizard raised a brow at the question. “Of some description.”

Renard sighed, and lit up the glove again. “I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“And yet you are doing it.”

“Do you know what this spell is?”

Cassian shrugged. “It’s light, it’s a very simple spell. Much like mine that dance, but just, focused on an object.”

Renard stared at the glove. “And… do you know of any way someone could come about knowing this, without ever attempting to learn it?”

He had no idea. He knew of people from sorcerer’s origin, like Elyse, but that was the closest he could think of. There were tieflings, and elves like himself, innately born with power. But humanity couldn’t do that. They bred quickly as a species, and that was about it.

“Most magic is… given. Either by blood, or God, or oath. But,” he sighed. “Astra for example, as a tiefling, has certain abilities. Even if he were not a spellcaster. I have had abilities before I truly started studying magic. Unless you’re some sort of sorcerer like Elyse, I…”

“I don’t think so.”

Cassian let out a short laugh. “I don't believe so, either.”

“In my court, I’ve known sorcerers, and clerics, and other kinds of mages, but. I don’t know. Three months ago I could just… do this. Suddenly.”

The wizard leaned closer at the admission, peering at the glove. Renard took it off. It was still glowing.

“Do you mind?” Cassian asked. Renard passed him the glove. He took it, examining the bright light. Cassian raised a brow at the other man. “Turn it off?”

Renard closed his fist, and the light went out. The wizard shook his head. “It’s a light spell.”

Renard sighed. “Great.” He rubbed his forehead. “No, thank you for helping, I just, I’m frustrated.”

Cassian squinted at him. “Because you don't like magic. Or being able to cast it yourself.”

“I’m frustrated because I don’t understand, and I don’t like not understanding things. Normally, everything can be read in a book.”

“Not all books have secrets written so plainly.”

Renard put his head in his hands. “Well, thank you anyway.”

“You’re welcome…” He offered out the glove. “I suppose you’ll be wanting your glove back.”

He took it. Feeling supremely awkward, Cassian put a hand out, hovering. Renard bristled, looking at him cautiously. “May I?”

“Do what?” Renard retreated slightly.

“Give you a… pat on the shoulder?”

He frowned. “No.”

Cassian slowly lowered the hand. “Well at least I  _ asked." _

They shared another look, and after a moment, Cassian left.

Renard sat on the deck until morning.

  
  


The sun came up, brightening the forest. The first few rays poked through the trees, hitting his eyes as they crested over. Renard roused himself, preparing to make the best of the day. He began hauling lines, and one by one, people roused from his movement began to climb up. They were a bit stiff, cracking their backs and pulling aching muscles from the previous day’s exploits.

Renard hauled up the anchor as Elyse approached him. “Ready to learn?”

“Yup,” she nodded.

They pulled a line, the sail dropping, and it instantly filled with a breeze from behind as they glided across the river, beginning the journey to Lake Felrik and Lakeside itself. Renard explained what he was doing as he worked, and Elyse did her best to memorize. She learned the locations of various things on the boat, and basic purposes of some parts. There were commonalities with her airship, the principle of wind billowing and how to angle the right way to get a sense of movement, as well as working the lines and sheets. However, they were only moving in two planes, as opposed to three. There were some things that were completely new. Before, she was dealing with air resistance and wind currents, but now she had to learn about water resistance and the tide, which might be pushing against them despite a good wind. There was much to be aware of, and she felt it was a lot to take in, but she had a steady base to start from, and was keen to learn. She made notes in her journal as they worked.

As they set off, Sariel made her way over to Astra. “How are you this morning?”

“Better, actually. And you? You seem well.”

“Yes.”

“Good. Hell of a journey we’ve found ourselves on.”

She smiled. “It is, isn’t it. Didn’t expect to… be in a pyramid, of all things.”

“No.”

“Thought those were only in Arakhis.”

“Haven’t seen anything like that before.”

“Nor have I.”

“Spectacular.”

Sariel looked to the floor for a moment. “You were very brave yesterday.”

“Thank you,” he blushed.

“I don’t think we would have got out there without you.”

“You would have got on fine. It was… I mean they were undead, so. They’re not really people, or, you know. You were brave too, you walked up to that… big one.”

“Something like that is not gonna stop me.”

Astra laughed. “I can imagine it’s not.”

“I’ve seen worse.”

“You can conquer anything.”

“I think together we all can.”

Astra smiled down at her. “I think so too.” He paused for a moment, reflecting. “Yesterday was a lot though, I’ll admit that.”

“Anything you want to talk about?”

Astra’s smile faltered for a second before he caught it. “I don’t… I don’t fight. Because I don’t like it. I can, and, I know plenty, my brother, he’s a hunter, he’s really good at fighting. But it’s never been something I excelled in. And so I’ve always avoided it as much I can. I believe that talking can help in most situations, but… I guess I'm starting to see that it’s not always a viable option. And I don’t know quite how to take that.”

“There’s no shame in what you believe. Sometimes the world is just a very cruel place.”

“Mmm.”

“But as we know, what you would prefer and not prefer to do… we’ll do our best not to put you in an uncomfortable situation. If we are able to.”

“If it called for it, I wouldn’t be averse to being… in the fray. If need be.”

“Well I think you’d be a force to be reckoned with.”

Astra chuckled. “Not next to you.”

“No,” she grinned back. “Not next to me.”

Elyse was enjoying the sailing, but she was doing her best to hide it. As the day went on, Cassian made to have his own conversation with the bard. “Astra? A word, if you would?”

“Okay, sure!”

He followed the wizard below deck. “That song you sang yesterday. In the um… the dining hall, of sorts…”

“Mhm?”

“I’ve not heard you sing that before. Do you… like it?”

“I do like it, yes.”

“Would you like to hear more… similar ones?”

The bard leaned forward with interest. “You know songs?”

The wizard chuckled. “I lived in Mirrortail, Astra. I’ve been quite the patron of the arts for quite some time.”

“Right. We weren’t in Mirrortail that long, so I only saw the docks.”

“Right, um… I was somewhat familiar with Madame Nostrada’s works before she… had her fateful accident.”

Astra nodded, not at all understanding. “Yes, yes, Nost- Nose- ”

“Nostrada.”

“Yes, um, I didn’t know it was one of… hers…”

Cassian cocked a brow at him. “If you don’t know who she is, then you do now. She was from across one of the other continents, but the ship sank, unfortunately, when she was travelling to Mirrortail to perform. But I was familiar with some of her works through other concert halls. Tributes and whatnot.”

“Huh. Well it’s sad that she died, but, it’s nice that she can live on through the music she played.”

“Precisely, I would like to think the same thing, and… if you would like to learn more of her songs then I would be happy to share them with you.”

“I’d like that,” Astra smiled.

“Right,” Cassian gave a nod.

“What do you play?”

“Oh, I don’t play anything, I just, I can…”

“Do you sing?”

“...Sometimes.”

Astra’s face lit up. Cassian slowly leaned back.

“No, I’d like that!” the bard encouraged. “I’d really like that. I do have a question for you as well, actually...”

“Okay?”

“Regarding Mirrortail. And… in the docks, there was a statue. Of the tiefling?”

“Yes.”

“I kind of, haven’t stopped thinking about it. And I want to know more about them?”

Cassian had heard a little bit about him. He was a tiefling devoted to the god Moradin, God of the forge. He was a champion of the arena before he was a champion of the Gods, and then he found his calling, devoting his life to smiting down the citizens of the dark. Demons, devils, the undead. He had many feats to his name that Cassian couldn’t name off the top of his head. It was possible he went to Hell at some point, to fight a baylor. There was another story he couldn’t quite remember about how he had stopped a flying mountain over the Glittering Coast, somehow crewed by undead. His name was Vheren.

“Eh, some sort of gladiator turned hero. Fought a load of undead. Maybe went to Hell? Who can say. They make a big deal out of him, in a few places, but… I guess he was some kind of legendary hero.”

“A hero? A tiefling hero?”

“Well yes, if he killed a mountain of undead and went to Hell. Fought the devil or something. That’s pretty heroic, Astra.”

“And, people look up to him?”

“A lot of people, yes.”

“Hm.”

“Are you…” Cassian looked him over with caution, “Not used to being respected as a tiefling?”

“No, it’s not... I, um, it’s just, I’ve never heard of something like that before. Of people doing that.”

“Right.”

“I’ve never been treated bad as a tiefling. I’ve just never heard, people doing that.”

“Being heros?”

“No, looking up... considering a tiefling a hero, and…”

“I mean, tieflings are pretty cool,” Cassian shrugged, giving a small smile.

Astra beamed. “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome, I guess?”

“And he killed the undead…”

“Just like you did.”

The bard grinned to himself, looking a bit more proud. “Okay, thank you. I look forward to singing with you, at some point.”

“Sure. You’re welcome.”

They returned to their activities, and a few hours passed before they heard the unmistakable screech of seagulls. The river was about to round a bend. As it came up, they keeled around the turn. The forest thinned out and they saw a bridge spanning the river on both sides. There were structures, buildings, a temple spire… less than a hundred buildings in total, scattered over both sides.

As they approached the settlement, Renard didn’t recognize the town. Lakeside was on the north end, and much larger.

“What is that place?” Elyse peered out over the ship’s edge.

Renard shrugged. “I don’t know, perhaps one of the fishing towns around the outside of the lake.”

“It’s not on the map, is it?” Sariel glanced up.

“Worth stopping?” Elyse continued.

He checked the map. Sariel was right, it wasn’t on the map. “Could be, could be worth stopping here.” He had paled a bit at the sound of the seagulls.

As they grew closer, they saw low, squat buildings made of wood, painted in dark navy blue, burgundy, or maroon, with white flashings. Wooden and thatched roofs sat on both sides, and there was a small set of docks with ten or twelve boats and ships, fishing vessels, softly bobbing in the waves. Renard looked around for any heraldry, extending a spyglass they had found onboard. Fluttering from a few of the buildings were blue flags, each with a white circle and three stars surrounding it. Nothing they recognized from the flags below deck.

“I don’t know what to do, um, do people want to stop here?”

“Not necessarily,” Elyse shrugged. “I just, I know you know the area. Thought it might be worth it, or you’d know.”

“Definitely not the direction I’ve ever come to Lakeside before.”

Cassian crossed his arms. “We can’t be that far from Lakeside, like you said, so…”

“This’ll be the lake, and it’ll be at the other end of the lake.”

“Might as well keep going.”

Astra raised his eyebrows as he connected the dots. “ _ That’s _ why it’s called Lakeside…”

“Oh, Astra,” the wizard sighed.

“Well we have supplies,” Elyse considered. “Potions, and delicious rations,” she smirked as Renard’s stomach growled. “So there’s not really any need.”

“We could cook some seagull if we’re sick of rations,” Cassian chuckled, half joking as he looked to the sky.

“Or we could fish,” Sariel countered.

“Or we could fish.”

Renard turned his nose up at the suggestion.

They drifted closer to the docks, a hubbub of activity reaching their ears. There were many, many people running about. Carrying things, offloading things from docks, there was an air of excitement. They didn’t seem to have noticed the group, still a few hundred meters off the docks. The bridge was closing, about 500 meters away.

“Something seems to be happening here,” the bard observed.

Boblem surveyed the town. “Do we want to stop here, or just carry on?”

“I mean… it kind of looks like it could be fun.”

“I will leave the decision up to all of you,” Renard nodded, very slowly. “I’m inclined to keep on towards Lakeside, but I also…” he trailed off, staring at the town.

“Maybe if we stop here for a bit, you can teach me more, and then I can sail over the lake. Or at least, help you more?” Elyse offered. “I don’t know.”

He sighed, quiet for a moment before he made the decision. “I’m taking her in.”

With a whoosh, the boom swung over as he angled the boat to the docks. As they grew closer, a dockhand turned, looking at them with surprise before waving and whistling at them. As they approached, a coil of rope was thrown to the ship. Renard jumped to the front, taking it as he threw out his own line. The dockhand caught it, tying a knot to secure the boat. They were brought in, and the ship angled to grind up against the dock.

The man was a full orc, with a long grey beard and grey hair that was shaved at the sides, braided and pushed back. He wore simple fishermen’s clothes with grey-green coloration, two big tusks jutting out of his mouth. He beckoned them down, nodding over to a small building at the end of the docks, well made, but little more than a shed.

Renard greeted the man in Orcish, asking where they were.

“Heh, you speak the tongue,” the man nodded with a smile. “You’re in Wilson’s Landing.”

“Wilston’s Landing.”

“Wilson’s,” the man repeated. “There’s no T.” He glanced over the boat. “What brings you up from the jungle?”

“Uhh, we were just heading this way towards Lakeside. We found ourselves in a jungle, and- ”

“Are you here to join the games?” the man grinned.

“The games?”

“The games! Of course!”

Renard’s face lit up. The rest of the group looked on in confusion at the grunted language.

“The games, at Lakeside!” The orc continued. “What are you talking about? It’s the biggest event on the lake!”

“Of course it is, of course it is, of course we are!” Renard nodded with excitement.

“Are you playing for us? You’re not from here… will you play for us? How many…” he counted the group, “We could use six extra pairs of arms, eyes, and legs!” the man beamed.

“Which games are these?”

The man shrugged. “Just the Lakes games. Us, we’re going to compete against the other towns! For the glory, of course!”

“Let me speak with my friends. And, could we find somewhere to get a good meal?”

“Okay, okay! And of course, there are plenty of places. Today’s about your last day, most of us are going to head over, sail over to Lakeside, but you’re welcome to come join! Bring your mast, bring your arms. Come, find me when you’re all done. You will have to pay a docking fee…”

“That’s absolutely fine. Sorry, your name?”

“Hom.”

“Of course my friend. Thank you!”

“See you soon!”

Renard turned around, grinning at the others, completely forgetting that none of them spoke the language. Sariel was looking at him, completely dumbfounded. Cassian had a similar expression, not sure  _ what _ to think of the huge smile.

“He seems  _ really _ happy,” Astra grinned.

“Heh, yeah,” Renard chuckled.

“Was that what it sounded like?” Sariel glanced to the bard. “Just sounded like… snarling?”

“What was that conversation about?” Cassian asked, baffled.

Elyse observed the prince carefully. “What’s going on in this town?”

“This is Wilson’s landing,” Renard explained. “And they’re getting ready for the games at Lakeside.”

“What’s that?”

“Like, a tournament.”

“Of… sailing? Or sports or something?”

“What games?” Boblem asked. “Like, what does that entail?”

“Gladiators?” Cassian guessed. “Arena?”

“Like Vheren?” Astra grinned, looking to the wizard.

“It’s a tournament,” Renard explained. “Surely you would have seen posters for them in Mirrortail?”

Cassian bristled. “Tournaments of course, but not this one.”

“Well it’s, it’s the Lakeside Tournament.”

“Do you know what it is?” Boblem pressed.

“I know… tournaments.”

“Like boat jousting?” the wizard continued to guess.

“Some kind of sailing contest?” Elyse offered. “Like a race, or…?”

“It’ll be sailing, or horseback, or something,” Renard shrugged. “It’ll be exciting. It’ll be fun!”

“Well we can have a look, why not?” Astra brightened.

The wizard was quite unsettled by Renard’s uncharacteristic demeanor. “...Sure.”

“I’m sorry,” Renard slowed himself. “I realize I’m coming across as completely insane right now- ”

“I’m still amazed that you just spoke Orcish,” Sariel countered.

The bard glanced between them. “Was that what that was?”

“I can only assume. I’ve never heard him do it.”

“He’s done it before,” Cassian shrugged. “You weren’t there for lunch.”

“He did when we were in Sanskra,” Boblem explained.

Renard shrugged. “Sorry, I’ve had a lot of Orcish men.”

Elyse burst into laughter. Cassian stifled a small noise of shock, giving him a quizzical brow.

The prince rolled his eyes. “Not like that, under my command,” he explained.

Cassian’s brow moved higher. Elyse was still laughing.

Renard pursed his lips, waiting for the teasing to settle down. “I’m sorry, this is one of my favorite things to do. I love tournaments.”

Elyse straightened at that. She looked like she was about to say something, but thinking better of it, she turned away.

“Well, we deserve some… light hearted fun?” Cassian agreed, still a bit unsure.

“It’s in Lakeside anyway,” Renard encouraged. “And we’re heading that way.”

“Cool, okay,” Elyse nodded.

“I just thought we could stop... Well, he said there was somewhere to get good food, and… I don’t know, we could look around? Probably another day of sailing up to Lakeside.”

“Sure. Do you think... I mean, Lakeside’s bigger than this, so we should probably try and sell all our stuff there rather than here.”

“Oh, definitely.” This was a very small town. “Lakeside is a trade hub, so I’m sure we’ll fetch a good price.”

“Okay.”

“In regards to the boat,” Boblem wondered, “Do we… if we bottle it up, do we want to be stealthy about its nature? Or do we just wanna…?”

“There’s a docking fee here, but I’m sure we can cover it if we don’t want to…” Renard made a crushing motion with his hands. “You know. Right now.”

Boblem shrugged. “Just asking what you guys would rather.”

“How much?” Elyse pressed. “I mean, considering the circumstances under which we found this boat, kind of would draw attention if we just…” she copied the crushing gesture, “Right in front of the town, so maybe not.”

“That’s what I meant. And probably a couple of silver, for a place like this,” Renard answered.

“I mean, we just found…” she smiled, glancing below deck to where their stash was kept.

“Don’t even say it out loud,” Renard warned.

“So it’s not a problem anymore,” she finished.

Boblem seemed convinced. “As long as we go back and get it.”

“I am dying for a hot meal,” Renard gazed out towards the town. “Even if we just stay here for a couple of hours.”

“What’d you mean, you don’t want rations?” Astra grinned. “You’re always so excited to get them out.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yes, thank you Astra.”

“He bought so many of them,” Cassian added to the tease.

“And I’m just happy to have some solid ground under my feet,” Renard continued, ignoring him. “So if you wouldn’t mind, I’d love to find a tavern.”

There was agreement all around. They stepped off the boat and onto the docks, finding firm purchase under them once more. They strolled along the dock, passing a few boats, and taking in the town before them. There was a bustle of activity, many people grinning at each other in excitement. There were lots of people with blue armbands, simple ribbons tied on their upper arms, fluttering in the wind. Streamers flew overhead, blue bunting everywhere between the streets.

They strode up the dock towards Hom, who was in the little shed, pouring over a big book as he filled things out. Seeing them approach, he spoke to them in Common.

“Ah, welcome! Welcome!”

“Hom, these are my friends,” Renard introduced the group.

“I am Hom,” he smiled at the others.

Astra waved a hand. “Hello!”

“Welcome to Wilson’s Landing.”

“Hello!” Boblem gave a similar wave.

Elyse glanced over the orc. “Hey.” She had changed into her headscarf, wearing her trousers along with the black and blue tunic from her original outfit. She added the waterfall jacket from Sanskra, meshing the two looks.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

“You too,” Astra nodded.

The orc looked closer at the travellers. “You look curious,” he chuckled, well meaning. “The price is three silver.”

“Of course,” Renard pulled out the coins.

“Are you captaining the ship? And the ship’s name?”

Renard glanced to the others for a split second. “The Lyra Bird.”

“The Lyra Bird,” Sariel answered in tandem.

The orc gave them a glance. “You hesitated…”

“Sorry,” Renard apologized, looking innocent.

“Okay…” Hom looked off to the boat. “I don’t see a name on it?”

“Oh, the nameplate has fallen off. We need to have a new one fixed on.”

“Well, you’ve come to the right place. We can fix that for you, for a fee. The Lyra Bird. And your name?”

“Renard.”

“Renard,” he filled some more things out, asking Renard to sign a few pages before closing the book. “Now, you’re uh, looking for some food? Hot food, cooked food?”

“Yes.”

“Please,” Cassian agreed.

The orc nodded. “I can recommend the Tired Butcher.”

“Somewhere that doesn’t serve meat?” Renard continued. “For my friend as well,” he nodded to Astra.

“I’m sure they have things that aren’t meat.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Enjoy your time.”

Renard glanced at the people bustling about. “The blue armbands, for your town?”

“Yes, yes, it’s our colors.”

“Do we get one too?” Astra brightened.

The orc’s grin split wide. “Are you joining?”

“What do we need to do?” Sariel asked.

He shrugged. “Represent us. Play for us.”

“At what?”

“Whatever you want. Sailing, rowing, fishing, test of strength, throwing balls to nets, fighting, sparring, naval joust. However you want to try your hand, all you have to do is fly the blue flag from your breast, and represent us at the games. We’re not going to let Chidon Pier beat us again.” He seemed genuinely beaming at the prospect that they would be willing to join in and help.

Renard was so delighted. “I’m in,” he smiled.

“Yes!” Astra followed.

The druids nodded in tandem. “Sure.”

“Wonderful, wonderful!” The orc pumped a fist. “Ask at the inn, they’ll have flags for you there, and they’ll run you through the details. We leave tomorrow, at the crack of dawn the flotilla will sail.”

They looked out to see a larger set of docks on the other side of the river. There were twenty or thirty longships made of beautiful dark wood, with forty sets of oars on each side. Huge masts and rolls of blue fabric swung out for the sails, and they saw the heads of dragons, wyverns, fairies, and chimeras carved ornately at their fronts. It was hard to get the full detail from far away, but they were clearly something special.

“The flotilla sails tomorrow, if you’ll join us.”

“We’re heading to Lakeside anyway,” Renard smiled back.

“Wonderful, wonderful. If you have space on your ship and you wish, you can take a few more people over. Half the party is the ride over!”

“We’ll think about it.”

Elyse shot Renard a warning glance, looking very uncomfortable. The orc noticed. “There’s no obligation!” he assured her. “That’s okay, there are plenty of ships. It’s just, to share the party.”

“We’ll find somewhere to eat, and perhaps we’ll see you again before the party,” Renard nodded.

“Wonderful, I’m sure you shall.”

“And the ribbons?”

“The ribbons, at the inn. They’re handing them out.”

“Thank you,” he turned to the group. “Let’s go eat!”

They crossed through a small square, packed earth with seven or eight buildings surrounding it. They saw a town hall and a small temple before crossing over to find the Tired Butcher Inn. The sign depicted a butcher wearily chasing around a pig. They stepped in, and it was quite lively. There were probably thirty people in there, men and woman, all sorts of people. There were a fair amount of humans, and more orcs and half-orcs than they had seen before in one place. The orcs stood just under seven feet tall, with solid blue, grey, or green colorations. The half orcs were a bit smaller and slighter, their colorations more mixed. Most of them had a fair amount of ornate, gilded piercings, long hair swept back and usually shorter on the sides. Some had runic markings shaved into their hair, and they were mostly dressed in simple fishermen’s gear, not many holding weapons.

There were two very stressed out barmen, one human and one orc, pouring out pints to hand them out frantically. There weren’t any tables free, but there was enough space to squeeze in and stand.

“Okay, um…” Renard surveyed the tavern.

Sariel grinned. “Not rations.”

“Not rations,” he grinned back. “And I’m happy to get it for everybody.”

“We’ve all got money now, I’ve got the money for mine.”

“I know- ”

“Yeah, I don’t mind paying for mine,” Boblem added.

They found a space behind the bar to order food, standing around together. They ordered stuffed hens and wild fruits, Astra opting for the stuffed peppers. There was fish on offer, but Elyse was glad for the other meat. She paid for her meal, and ordered a double shot of whiskey. Most of the others paid for themselves, but Cassian hadn’t said no to Renard’s offer. Without questioning it, the prince slid over the coins for himself and the wizard.

Renard shot him a quick smile. Cassian wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so he didn’t.

Their food was brought over to where they stood in the corner. It wasn’t too busy, but the people were raucous. After a moment, Renard made his way back to the bar, introducing himself to Oth, the orc bartender.

“We spoke to someone down at the dock about the tournament at Lakeside- ”

“Right right, are you joining?” the voice rasped back.

“We wanted to sign up.”

The man laughed. “Wonderful, wonderful. Here’s a pennant, put this around your mast. And put these,” he handed over a bunch of ribbons, “Around your arms. When you get down to Lakeside- I understand this is your first time, the looks of you- there will be a place to… register, I guess. Just rock up to whatever takes your fancy most, there’s a bunch of things. Throw your hand in! Enjoy it, have fun.”

“We will.” He thanked the man in Orcish.

“You’re welcome. Remember, the party starts tomorrow!”

“We’ll remember that.”

He explained that there were three days of games. Tomorrow, there weren’t any games, but they would all sail over. A sort of opening ceremony slash party, all three towns sailed towards Lakeside, meeting in the middle, and knocking back drinks all day. Coming together as one large armada in the middle, they would sail to Lakeside. He described it as a cacophony of noise, music, and revelry. People hopped from ship to ship, making off with kegs of drink.

Renard relayed this to the rest of the group, and it seemed to strike Elyse’s interest. She hadn’t noticed any dragonborn around, either. There were a few gnomes, dwarves, and halflings, but the majority were orcs, half orcs, and humans. Those of them who had spent time by the sea knew that orcs had a propensity for being on the sea. Natural born sailors, many of them lived their life by the sea, or on ships. They were also master woodworkers and craftspeople.

“I’m incredibly excited,” Renard grinned, attempting to tie on his ribbon.

Astra gave him some help, tying his own on as well before turning to Elyse. “Do you want help? I can do yours as well.”

“Sure,” Elyse shrugged.

  
Astra tied it around her arm and glanced to Boblem.

“Sure, thank you,” the boy accepted.

“Have any of you ever seen a tournament before?” Renard surveyed.

“No,” Astra grinned.

“No, I’ve never seen one,” Boblem followed.

Sariel shook her head.

Cassian shrugged. “The odd one.”

There were games and sporting events everywhere, but this seemed a scale that Elyse hadn’t known before. Especially since this town was only one of three competitors, and the excitement was already something to behold.

The bard looked to Sariel. “Do you want one?” She looked at it for a moment before giving a tentative yes. Astra tied on the ribbon, very gently.

Astra and Renard prompted the remaining member of their group in tandem. “Cassian?”

He looked up at them, and silently held out his arm towards the bard.

Once they had all put the ribbons on, a few people who passed and clapped them on the back, reaching out to shake their hands. Renard let out a squeak, moving away. Elyse tensed a bit, as did Cassian, but Astra and Boblem seemed to enjoy the friendliness.

As they ate, Elyse pulled Astra aside for a moment.

“Hey… before we, before we get back on the ship and start sailing, would you mind taking a look at my back? With all the sailing and the pyramid, it’s feeling sore.”

“Of course, with everything,” the tiefling nodded.

“I mean, I can deal with the pain, it’s just more the thought that it’s still not healing. Once we get to Lakeside I can go to a temple, so.”

“I can help. There was a temple here, wasn’t there? We saw a building as we came in… from places I’ve been, it kind of looked like a temple from the outside, or from a distance. Maybe it is? We can go check it out.”

“Yeah, maybe I should do that. See if anyone can heal me here.”

“We can do that.”

When the two returned, Renard addressed them all together. “You’re probably going to laugh at me for this, but… I’ve never had the opportunity to participate in a tournament. As a… regular… participant.”

“I’ve never had the opportunity to participate in anything like this, ever,” Boblem shrugged. “So I don’t find that so funny.”

“Well, you’re going to be amazing,” Renard grinned.

He scratched his head. “I dunno about that… So, have you participated as a… prince?” he whispered low on the last word.

“Um… yes, there is… some participation, sometimes. But it’s more sort of like a…”

“Airs and graces,” Cassian finished, smirking at him.

“Exactly.”

“Not really a…”

“Fair fight?” Elyse offered.

“Fair fight,” Cassian nodded, looking carefully towards Renard. “And I don’t mean that against you…” he squinted, surprised by his own words. “I mean that…”

“That no one would want to beat you,” Sariel finished.

“Which is unfair. Takes the fun out of it.”

“It does,” Renard nodded.

Boblem seemed confused. “Why would they not want to beat you? If it’s a game?”

“They don’t want to show up, you know…”

Sariel studied him. “Someone that high up.”

“It gets boring. So I’m excited to try my hand at the games. Anonymously. What sort of thing would everyone be interested in trying?”

“I mean, we’re not sailors, so,” Astra laughed.

“And a lot of us aren’t very…” Cassian searched for the word.

“Strong,” Sariel inserted.

“Physical,” Cassian amended.

“Fishing perhaps?” Boblem thought. “I used to fish with my grandpa.”

“If there’s anything to do with magic,” Elyse considered, glancing at Cassian, “Then we are sorted.”

“Then we are on board,” the wizard nodded.

Astra glanced over to the farm boy. “Are you good at fishing then, Boblem?”

“I would hope so. I spent so many years doin’ that with my grandpa. Would have been a shame to be bad at something, one of the few things I did.”

“Was your farm near a lake? Or the ocean?” Sariel pressed.

“Sometimes it’d be.”

Sariel opened her mouth, then closed it. “I’d forgotten it moved from place to place.”

Elyse stared at them. “What?”

“What?” Boblem echoed.

“Oh, were you not there for that conversation?” Astra glanced to the sorceress. “Boblem’s farm moves.”

Elyse seemed impressed. “That’s amazing. How?”

“I dunno, it just kinda goes from place to place. I thought everybody else’s home moved,” the boy shrugged.

“Well, mine did, but- ”

“So you see! It moves.”

“Yeah but, you didn’t live on an airship,” Renard countered.

“No. We’re very much on ground.”

Cassian eyed the boy carefully. “Did it have legs? Or did it just… poof?”

“Is it magical?” Elyse pressed.

Boblem giggled at Cassian’s guess. “No, it didn’t have legs! It just… kind of, yeah, I guess, poof? Like you said?”

“Did you ever see it move?” Sariel wondered. “Or did you just wake up, and it was in a different place?”

“I would wake up. And then it was in a different place.”

Cassian made no effort to hide the visible confusion and befuddlement on his face.

“Did your family make it do that?” Elyse continued. “Or did it just do it on its own?”

“I just thought everybody’s home did that. They never said they did it.”

“You make some very bold assumptions, Boblem,” the wizard shook his head.

“If you don’t know any different from the way you were brought up, why would you question it?” Astra defended.

“My home never moved once,” Renard shared.

“Well mine moved all the time, so,” Elyse smirked back at him before turning a smile to Boblem.

Sariel tilted her head in thought. “I suppose, for some people, a home is more the people that you live with other than… the physical location.”

“That’s true,” Boblem grinned.

“Exactly,” Astra agreed. “My… home, wasn’t a set place. We moved.”

“Same with mine,” Sariel nodded.

Renerd took a step back, withdrawing from the conversation.

“I guess I would say my home was my grandparents,” Boblem smiled. “Didn’t really care where the farm went. But I guess… I do feel a little bit at home, when I’m with you guys.”

Elyse smiled a bit, looking sad as she poked at her food.

Cassian turned his head away.  _ Ugh. _

“Okay, so, sports,” Boblem redirected.

“What sport do you want to do, Renard?” Astra glanced over.

He was quiet, looking to the ground.

“Renard?” Sariel prompted.

He looked up. “Sorry, what was that?”

“What sport?” Boblem repeated.

“Oh, I suppose I’ll probably… spar with my sword. It’s what I’m best at.”

Elyse finished her drink. “Wonder if they’d let you use magic in a sparring tournament like that.”

“Or a magical sword,” Cassian added.

Renard shook his head. “I imagine not.”

“Is Lakeside a very… magic heavy place?” Sariel asked.

It wasn’t particularly. Magic wasn’t forbidden by any means, but in the games, using magic to enhance performance would probably be frowned upon. Of course, if it was used subtlety, and no one was to know, fair enough. But in the case of sword sparring, they would probably be using blunted swords. Using magic to influence the outcome of something would be regarded as unfair. They wouldn’t be thrown in jail, but probably kicked out. Renard relayed this to them, and listed a few more games that might be available. Rope hauling, sailing, cannonball pelting, fishing…

“Archery?” Cassian interjected, searching for anything he could do.

He shrugged. “Probably.”

“I could do that.”

Elyse stroked her chin. “Anything to do with… climbing something?”

Almost definitely. Rigging climbing would be very popular, he explained.

“Maybe,” she considered. “I’m not that fast. And I have other things I want to do in Lakeside, so.”

“I can just cheer you on,” Astra volunteered.

“Suppose I’ll have to as well,” Sariel shrugged.

Cassain nodded to Astra. “You can inspire us.”

“You can sing one of your lovely songs!” Boblem grinned.

“You still need to teach me your songs,” Astra looked to Cassian, smiling.

The wizard seemed a bit uncomfortable that the bard had brought it up to the rest of the group. “I will, ask later,” he brushed him off.

But it was too late. “Your songs?” Renard quirked an eyebrow at him.

Cassian shook his head. “There’s a singer I like, that I was going to teach Astra some of her music.”

“Lady Nostradamus?” Astra guessed.

“Madame Nostrada,” he corrected.

Renard had heard of her. He didn’t actively pursue her music, but he had heard the name. Died about a hundred years ago, a famous operatic singer, inspired a great deal. “Ship sunk somewhere near Mirrortail, no?”

“Ah, yes. She was going to… grace our town with her talents, and then it just sort of,” he shrugged.

“A hundred years ago?” Astra reeled.

Renard glanced over. “Yes?”

Cassian took a deep breath. “Yes, I was…”

“A young one,” Sariel teased.

“Actually, I was around your age, Sariel,” he teased back.

“How old was that?” Astra pressed, still intrigued.

“In my… early hundreds.”

“You kind of lose track, after a while,” Sariel explained.

“More or less.”

Renard was still eyeing the bard. “You seem shocked by the idea of a hundred years ago.”

“Just, I guess, I didn’t line up that elves lived that long,” Astra shrugged.

“That is a long time to live,” Boblem agreed.

“It is a long time.”

Elyse didn’t seem fazed. “It’s kind of their thing.”

“My parents are in their late 500’s,” Cassian added.

Astra seemed to get it. “I’ve never met many elves before, so.”

“Fair enough,” Elyse looked down at her empty glass.

Renard finished his plate. “These two will be alive long, long after us.”

Cassian flinched, and Boblem looked a bit panicked.

“Unless something gets us first,” Sariel joked to the wizard, trying to lighten the tone.

“Nothing’s gonna get  _ you," _ Astra countered.

Renard cleared his throat. “Not to make the conversation awkward…” he apologized.

The door to the tavern swung open as someone walked in. The smell of something sweet wafted in with breeze. Looking out, they saw a line of five or six orcs and half orcs, just around the side of the building. They couldn’t see what they were cuing up for, but Renard instantly popped up to look.

Propped open on a bench was an array of confectionery. There was a young androgynous looking human wearing a half dress with short reddish hair. Behind the bench was an array of donuts, pastries, candied sweets, small cakes, and muffins, pulling them out and out of a bag. It was attracting a rather large line of orcs and half orcs, who were known for having quite the sweet tooth. They were waiting expectantly, looking over with interest.

Astra went out, Sariel following. “Excuse me,” Renard hurried to leave. They stepped out, joining the cue.

“That smells really good,” the bard smiled. “What is it?”

It did smell good. There were all sorts.

“Cakes, and donuts, confectionery,” Renard answered, looking intently towards the front of the line as the others followed from the tavern. Some of it was familiar to Elyse, sticky glazed buns with raisins and cinnamon, but not being from around here, there were some items she didn’t recognize at all. Cassian was pleased to notice some more savory choices as well. They waited for about five minutes, watching customers leave and devour into a mess of pastry and iced sugar before they made it to the front of the line.

“Ah, welcome! I’m Cerin. How can I treat you today?”

“Hi! I’m Astra!” the bard grinned.

“Hi Cerin, uhhh…” Renard trailed off, staring at the array with delight. “How much for a whole bag?”

“Just like a mix? Or one thing in particular?”

He looked over the pile with wide eyes. “Some of everything.”

Cerin laughed as Renard tapped his fingers anxiously. “Well let’s see… Gold piece. Fill your bag. Not mine, mind you,” they winked.

“I’ll get two bags,” Renard nodded fervently.

“Wonderful!” They reached into their seemingly endless bag, pulling out two smaller, muslin bags. Laying them on the table, they waved their hands over the confectionary on display.

“Everything,” Renard beamed.

They scooped a whole bunch into the bags, tying it up and securing them before gleefully handing over a bag. “You know what, since you were so polite…” they placed an extra muffin into the second bag, tying it with a bow before handing it over. “Please, spread the word. Cerin’s Confectionary.”

He passed her two gold before turning to the others, who were looking at him in surprise. “So, what’s everyone else having?”

The line was still forming behind them. People were poking over shoulders, grumbling to each other. “That’s not all, is it?”, “They’ve taken everything…”

“Worry not, worry not!” Cerin called. Their arm went into the bag, much further than the size of the bag should have allowed, their shoulder completely disappearing before they pulled out another rack. As it came out, a waft of cinnamon, honey, jasmine, and many spices and scents they hadn’t experienced before wafted over their noses. People were pushing behind them.

“Do you have any candied fruit?” Sariel asked.

“We do actually. We have candied peppers, candied berries. A copper a piece.”

Sariel handed over the coin, and they filled up a small wooden tub, handing it over.

“Do you have any kind of fruit pies?” Boblem asked.

“Fruit pies most certainly. There are a bunch in the big bags,” they motioned to Renard’s stash, before offering the ones on display.

“I was kidding!” Renard interrupted. “I will share this with you.”

Boblem turned. “Oh! I thought you were gonna have it all.”

“So did I,” Sariel laughed.

Boblem looked back to the table. There was a blueberry one, a strawberry one, and some yellow ones he didn’t quite understand.

“Which one’s your favorite?” Astra smiled.

“The blueberry,” Cerin answered. “The blueberry most certainly.”

“I’ll have that.”

“I’ll have that too then!” Boblem nodded.

“Okay…” Renard shrugged, stepping back with his two bags.

Cassian observed the table. “Anything with paprika, perchance?”

“We have a lovely smoked dish with paprika, in a sort of pasty, if you will.”

“Yes, please.”

They pulled it out, a twisted rectangle, still steaming from the slits. It smelled delicious. Boblem, Astra, and Cassian handed over a silver each.

“Thank you so much,” Astra grinned.

Boblem tipped his hat. “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome! Please, spread the word. Cerin’s Confectionary.”

“We will,” Astra nodded.

Renard walked over to sit on a grassy spot, and Cassian followed to sit next to him as the rest of the group trailed behind.

The wizard looked at the bags, a bit concerned. “Bit of a sweet tooth, huh?”

“I don’t think I’ve had cakes in months, so,” he grinned down at the bags.

“Me neither,” Astra replied as the rest of the group sat. “The first time I had them was back in Riven. But that was like, a year ago? So, looking forward to having them again.”

“Was that during the festivals?” Sariel asked.

“Yes! Have you been to the festivals at Riven?”

Sariel looked away. Whoops. She hadn’t meant to say that.

There was a trademark dessert served at the festivals at Riven. Small white pumpkins, hollowed out and filled with a toasted mixture of pumpkin, sweet rice, currant, and cinnamon, then sealed back over. People walked on stilts through the festival, handing them out. Astra told them all about it.

“I’d love to see that!” Boblem smiled, taking out his treat.

Astra grinned. “It was incredible. That’s the first time I’d been in a city, and it just… really set the bar.”

Renard offered the pastries around. They got into their desserts, losing themselves in silence. A few minutes passed, and a booming sound shook the jetty behind them. Renard and Elyse were up immediately, readying themselves for a fight.

A familiar voice greeted them. “I didn’t think I’d find you here. And to think, I left Sanskra to get away from you six.”

They turned around to see a familiar tortle shape.


	24. Let The Games Begin, Episode Twenty-One

“Pebble!” Boblem exclaimed.

“Boblem,” the torle greeted. “It’s good to see you all here. You should… I’d like to speak to you. Let’s find somewhere a bit quieter.”

“Of course,” Renard agreed.

“Glad to see you’re all safe and well.”

“Same to you,” Sariel greeted.

Cassian looked at the man in confusion. “How did you get here so fast?”

“I’m a strong swimmer,” he grinned.

“Right.”

“How did you get here so fast?”

“Uhh…” Renard glanced around.

“We got a boat!” Astra smiled.

“Oh!” Pebble nodded. “I won’t question that.” He turned and slowly plodded off down the dock. They drew a few eyes, ten or twelve people looking after them as the odd cavalcade of characters walked past. He led them through the town and downriver to the edge of the treeline, where the last few buildings thinned out. “That night,” he began, “When something went down…”

“It did?” Renard asked, innocent.

“I heard the bells not long after you left. Do you want to fill me in on what happened, or?”

Renard sighed. “Some misunderstandings. And some miscommunication with the Sanskra guard, who wouldn’t listen to us.”

“I got that impression. They’re looking for all of you now. The city went wild that night.”

“It wasn’t our fault,” Astra defended. “They were the ones who started the fire.”

“...I didn’t hear any reports of a fire.”

“We only helped put out the fire,” Boblem added.

“I think it wasn’t so much the fire,” Pebble assured them. “It was more the fighting.”

“I think we would like to try and put Sanskra behind us,” Renard interjected. “And get away from there as fast as possible.”

“I think that’s a good idea. The word on the streets is that you and the Lady are working in conjunction.”

Renard scoffed.

“That’s not true,” Sariel protested.

“That’s not what the guard believe,” Pebble shrugged. “I trust you, reasonably enough, having known the six of you for a day or so. I don’t see the connection. They raided the bar.”

“Oh no!” Boblem gasped.

“No one was hurt. But, they were looking for you.”

“Sorry,” Elyse looked down.

“It’s okay. They asked some questions of me, of the bartender. The Lady has been taken into custody.”

“Lady Turquoid’s been taken in?” Astra repeated, surprised.

“They believe the two of you are…. inexplicably linked.”

“Well, the explanation’s easy enough. She wanted to work with us and we didn’t take her up on the offer.”

“Apparently you were seen leaving her houseboat.”

“We didn’t even have time to say yes or no, I guess, did we,” Elyse sighed.

“Yes or no to what?”

“She made us an offer, “ Renard explained.

“An offer to work for her,” Elyse added.

Pebble let out a long, low breath.

“We were gonna say no,” Boblem countered.

“Yeah, but then, you know, stuff happened,” Elyse frowned.

“She wanted to shift the blame for the killing of the guard captain,” Renard expanded.

Pebble shook his head. “Well, you’re going in the right direction. As far as I know, the main bridge is now closed.”

“Good,” Cassian nodded.

“Do you know, um, what kind of move the dragonborn in the city made?” Elyse pressed. “After…? Did they leave, or?”

“No, I’m sorry, I don’t know,” the tortle shook his head. “The city is… they’re sinking the city for a while.”

“Sinking?” the two women asked.

“Below the waves. When I left, they were making preparations.”

“I guess I’m not surprised that’s something they can do,” Elyse replied.

“So be it, it’s behind us,” Renard crossed his arms. “We’ll just watch our backs for now.”

“Is that why you left? Or were you looking for us specifically?” Boblem asked.

“No, no. I wasn’t looking for you,” Pebble answered. “Things were getting dangerous. A lot of questions were being asked, in a place I’d rather not be.”

“Well I’m glad we ran into you again, anyway,” Astra smiled.

“Likewise, likewise. And um, I wouldn’t concern yourself too much with the guards. I don’t know what’s happening with them, but I don’t imagine they’re chasing you up this way. The Lady, however. I’d keep an eye out for her. Her men. She’s not that pleased, from what I understand.”

“Oh boy,” Boblem worried.

“Great, more enemies,” Elyse rolled her eyes.

“But hey, if you had nothing to do with it, I’m sure it’ll be fine,” he clapped his big mitts together. “Let’s get a drink, why don’t we.”

“Please,” Elyse agreed.

It was midafternoon. “Bit early for a drink, but alright,” Boblem relented.

“Well we were just in a tavern, I guess we could go back there for a drink.”

“It was kind of busy,” Renard considered. “I don’t know whether we want to discuss this matter any further, but, we’ll be staying here overnight. And then we’re heading up to Lakeside.”

“I see you’ve got the bands,” Pebble motioned to their blue ribbons. “Are you playing in the games?”

Elyse looked down at her arm. “Guess we’ve been talked into it.”

“That was the idea,” Renard grinned a bit.

Pebble nodded. “Maybe I’ll take a hand myself.”

“I think you’d be really good at it,” Boblem smiled.

“I think I would too.”

Elyse smirked. “You wanna join our team?”

“Is it your team?” Pebble raised a brow.

“The town’s team,” Cassian and Renard corrected in tandem.

“I’ll talk around.”

“Should we perhaps, procure rooms somewhere?” Cassian surveyed.

Renard looked at him, confused. “Are we not going to sleep on the ship?”

“We could, but...”

“Save money,” Boblem agreed

“We could, but you’re the one who’s always talking about sleeping somewhere nicer,” Elyse pointed out, glancing at the prince.

“Okay,” Renard bristled a bit at the dig.

“I mean, the ship’s nice,” Astra defended. “I like being on it.”

“I don’t mind. We can find a tavern, proper beds. It’s just, I’m not too keen on leaving the ship unattended for too long.”

“I know, me neither,” Elyse relented.

Cassian stroked his chin. “That’s true.”

“I mean, we could put it back in the bottle,” Sariel suggested.

There was a chorus of dissent. “We’d have to take it downriver if we wanted to do that, and walk back,” Renard explained. “I don’t mind doing that, but…”

Elyse noticed Pebble’s look of befuddlement. “It’s a magic thing,” she waved him off.

He gave a slow nod. “Oh, right.”

“No,” Cassian decided. “If we’re just going to be sailing it tomorrow we might as well stay on the ship.”

“Save money,” Boblem repeated. “We only just got some.”

“There are some things I’d like to see if I can do here,” Renard continued. “Perhaps get a nameplate made for the ship, and um, perhaps make it look less like it does? And more… like ours.”

“Yeah, that might be a good idea,” Elyse agreed. “Considering what Pebble’s just told us.”

He looked back to the tortle. “I won’t partake in drinking today, but, thank you for the offer.”

“No problem,” they shrugged.

Cassian, not interested in having a drink, followed Renard shopping. The others walked around the town for a bit before deciding they’d rather just return to the boat.

Renard asked around, and was directed to a place called The Lamplighters. It seemed to be fairly empty, devoid of customers at the moment. It was a shoreside building, leaning out over the bay, with a huge ship’s wheel hanging over the door. Pieces of flotsam and jetsam and ship accoutrement were all around. There was a young dwarf lady in the center of the shop, wearing a pair of overalls and packing things away, only a few other people behind the counter.

She looked up at them. “Can I help you?”

“Good afternoon,” Renard greeted. “We need a new nameplate for our ship.”

“Oh, what’s the name of your ship?”

“The Lyra Bird.”

“The Lyra Bird. Alright, we can… you need it now?”

“As quickly as possible, would be preferable.”

She nodded, turning to call back to the other workers. “Boys, you’re staying. And I’ll have no lip!” She turned back. “Alright, alright. How would you like it to look?”

“Do you have some parchment?”

She pulled some out, as well as a few pots of pigment, paint, ink, and quills. “If you have an artist’s eye, you can draw what you’d like it to look like.”

He made a quick sketch of a long nameplate with a few divets at the ends. She looked it over. “As they were supposed to be going home after… five gold?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll have it ready for you by this evening.”

Renard looked around at the shop, considering what they had. He made a request for new sails, and a new pennant.

“If you’re after sails… you mind if I come out? Look at your vessel?” she asked.

“Of course.”

Renard led the woman out to the ship, where the rest of the group had congregated. She looked over the boat, taking a few measurements. “Run you back about… twenty gold?”

“That’s fine.”

“Wonderful. We’ve got some in the back if a couple of you strong lads and lasses wanna come pick some up?”

“I can do that,” Astra nodded.

“Sure,” Boblem volunteered. “I like your overalls, by the way.”

“I like yours,” she grinned. Hers were thick leather, with lots of paint scuffs and scratches across them.

She led them back inside, pulling out huge rolls of canvas. They were heavier than expected, and the group dragged them out of the store, hoisting them onto their shoulders and bringing them to the ship after they exchanged the gold. Renard had chosen blue sails to replace the white ones, and a new, basic looking pennant. Boblem offered to paint a sunflower on it.

“If you don’t let him do this, I’ll kill all of you,” Elyse grinned.

“You can paint what you like on it,” Renard allowed.

Boblem beamed. “Thank you!”

“So what now?” Renard asked.

Elyse sighed. “I think I really want a drink.”

“It’s still afternoon,” Boblem cautioned. “But okay…”

They set about rigging the sails, with Boblem, Astra, and Sariel assisting Renard for a few hours. They gave the old sails back to the dwarf woman. Cassian sat on the boat, not helping. Pebble helped as well, and when he stepped on, the boat tilted a fair bit under the weight. Renard held tightly onto the side as the beams creaked, but it held.

Elyse went to find the temple. It was right at the mouth of the river, where it opened to the lake. She saw a small, black wooden building, with a steeple, and five or six tiers coming out like a fan. There weren’t many insignias or embellishments on it, but a few people were heading in. As she walked up, she looked to the archway. There was a coiled mermaid on the entirety of the arch, one of the only bits that was decorated from the outside. On a nameplate, she saw “The House of Avandra.”

She stared up at it for a minute, looking to the symbol and the doors, before turning to leave.

“Nice little corner you have here,” Pebble smiled at the job well done.

Renard nodded, proud. “She is nice, isn’t she.”

“What’s her name?”

“The Lyra Bird,” Astra answered.

“I like that, I like that.” He pointed out one of his tattoos, a huge eagle on his arm. “Maybe not a Lyra Bird, but…” he flexed his arm, and it appeared as if the wings were flapping. His arms were covered in tattoos.

“Oh I like that!” Boblem smiled. “Very cool.”

“Thank you.”

“You wanna get a tattoo, Boblem?” Renard grinned.

“Do they stay on forever?” the boy asked.

“Forever! Unless you lose the arm,” Pebble laughed.

“Oh, I'm hoping not to do that!”

The tortle held up the hand with a few stumped fingers. “I had my fingers lost. I wasn’t too bothered about the fingers, but I paid for the tatoos, you know? That’s gold, just lost now.”

“You could get a sunflower,” Renard suggested to the boy.

Boblem’s eyes lit up. “Oohhh, that’d be nice.”

“Or a hummingbird.”

“Aw, then Zip could always be with me!”

“Exactly.”

“I think it would suit you,” Astra smiled.

“That’s cute!” Boblem turned to Renard. “Does it cost a lot of money?”

“I don’t know, I’ve never had one.”

“Depends how good you want the tattoo,” Pebble explained. “This one didn’t cost too much money,” he pointed to one that was clearly a potato. “But at least my mother will always be with me.”

“A potato?” Boblem asked.

“No.”

Upon closer inspection, it was definitely not a potato. “Ah, she looks beautiful,” Boblem amended.

“Thank you.”

“You have her eyes,” Elyse teased.

The torle chuckled at that.

“Okay, so does everyone want a drink?” Elyse tried for the third time. Early evening had finally set in, a bit of music playing on the streets as people moved their things closer to the boats. Racks of kegs, beer, wine, and some supplies were pushed to the docks.

“I don’t think I’ll be drinking for awhile after our last experience,” Renard answered.

“Fair.”

“I’ll stay and take care of the ship,” Cassian followed.

Astra nodded. “Think I’m gonna stay on the ship tonight, too.”

“If you want to drink, why not buy something and bring it back?” Sariel suggested.

“Could do. You said you wanted a drink, right Pebble?”

“I’m not pressed for it,” the tortle shrugged. “If you want your privacy, I’ll find some room as well. Don’t worry.”

“No, you’re fine with us,” Astra smiled.

“Okay, okay.”

Renard went around, lighting the small braiser on the ship. It let out a warm glow. He sat down with his bag of pastries.

Elyse went out for drinks. She dropped five silver on an assortment of ales, wines, and fruit cordials, bringing them back to the ship. The sky turned from orange, to red, to purple, before it set over the other side of the lake.

“Astra, I’d love if you could play some music?” Renard glanced over to the bard.

“Okay! I can do that,” he pulled around his lute.

“I’d like that too,” Pebble grinned. Renard settled on the deck with some parchment, writing. Pebble pointed to the sky. “Sailor’s delight. Red sky at night, it’s good luck.”

“It is,” Renard nodded.

“I’ve never heard that before,” Astra smiled.

Boblem scratched his head. “Me neither.”

“Red sky at night, sailor’s delight.” Pebble recited.

Renard jumped in to finish. “Red sky at morning, sailor’s warning.”

“You’ve been on the sea, sir.”

“Yes.”

“Really?” Boblem asked, surprised.

“Yes…?”

“He’s been operating this boat the entire time,” Elyse reminded the boy.

Boblem was still confused. “But I thought with how much he dislikes water, I thought he’d be…?”

Renard covered his face for a moment, before absolutely ignoring Boblem.

“Did you think it was weird that he was operating the boat the entire time?” Elyse pressed.

“No, I thought he just knew stuff, you know?”

“Like how to sail a boat, without ever having sailed a boat?”

“I think they just teach you stuff…”

“That’s a good point,” Pebble grinned. “Don’t worry about it, it’s okay,” the tortle clapped a good natured hand on Renard’s shoulder.

He was up in an instant. “Do not touch me!”

“Oh, I’m sorry! I’m sorry…”

“He doesn’t like to be touched,” Elyse explained.

“I’m sorry, I meant no offense…”

“It’s fine,” Renard swallowed. He gathered his things and went below deck.

Cassian was also below deck.  _ Ugh. _ He had forgotten. Renard sat on one of the bunks, not looking at the wizard.

“Did I hurt him?” Pebble looked around at the others. “Is he okay?”

“He just has boundaries,” Sariel explained.

“He doesn’t quite like being touched,” Boblem agreed. “But to be fair, I don’t think it was just you that upset him. I think I did too. Didn’t mean to though.”

The tortle nodded. “I’ll make it up to him. It’ll be okay.”

“I don’t think he likes it when people point out when he's scared of something, or when he's not good at something,” Astra observed.

“I didn’t mean anything by it,” Boblem protested.

“No, I know you didn’t, but, if someone… takes things a bit to heart, or is a bit defensive of something, even the best intentions can come across a bit harsh.”

“That’s true. I’ll apologize to him. But I think he probably wants to be alone right now.”

“Yes,” Sariel agreed.

Astra cracked a grin. “He’s not going to get that down there.”

“Oh, your fancy friend is there as well,” Pebble realized with a similar grin.

“Yes.”

Pebble chuckled a bit. “Good luck.”

Cassian wasn’t bothering him, though. He was reading, and Renard was furiously writing. When he finished a page, he folded it away and stuffed it into his bag before grabbing a new one.

  
  


The nameplate was soon delivered to them. At some point, Hom returned to their boat, informing them that the flotilla would make its way off at sunrise. “Right, so we should be ready by then. No worries, Hom,” Astra smiled.

The orc saluted back, walking off.

“I don’t mind taking first watch,” Sariel offered.

“Sure, I can do that with you,” Astra responded.

“Okay.”

Elyse stood. “I just need to do something. Be back soon.”

“Okie dokie,” the bard smiled.

She left the ship, walking a few minutes to the treeline. She moved far into the woods, trying not to draw attention with her spellcasting. Unwrapping the wraps around her hands, she spent some time looking at her palms as electricity ran down into them. She began punching the nearest trees, tearing the bark off. The tree was scorched a bit, but wood wasn’t the best conductor for electricity. After a while her fists were ragged and bleeding. She looked down at her hands again. There was a light purple dusting over her knuckles for a moment before the color faded back.

She looked for another tree. She ran at it, full pelt, climbing it and jumping between the branches. It wasn’t what she was used to, leaping between rigging and moving decks, but she was able to swing across, leaping from the branches. Rather unsteadily, she hit one that bowed beneath her weight. She was testing her luck for now, but it held. She lept again, casting a thunderstep. A massive boom shook around her as she disappeared, reappearing much further away.

Everyone on the boat heard the dull explosion in the treeline. Two trees in close range split and broke. She was panting, covered in a thin layer of sweat on the other side of the clearing. She glanced at the trees, and then at her hands. They were slightly purple for a moment. When she cast her magic, the color changed a bit. But they seemed more tied to her emotions. In a more heightened state, it stayed longer, much brighter.

Two people jogged past the Lyra Bird in the direction of the treeline.

Below deck, Renard looked up at Cassian. “That sounds like trouble.”

The wizard glanced up. “Is it any of our business?”

Renard rolled his eyes with a sigh.

“Would you like to go investigate?” Cassian relented.

“Well, I am concerned that perhaps we are being pursued.”

“Sure.”

Renard stuffed away his things, quickly moving to the top deck as Cassian followed. “Does anyone know what that was?”

“No, but it came from that direction,” Sariel pointed.

Astra looked over to the forest. “Elyse went that way.”

Renard sighed. “That explains it then.”

“Ah,” Cassian nodded, glancing at Renard with a teasing grin. “You did say it sounded like trouble.”

“Think she’s okay?” Boblem worried.

“I think we should check,” Renard replied, heading off the boat with Cassian in tow.

Elyse was already heading back. Two other quite concerned looking people jogged up to her. “Did you see anything? In the trees?”

“Some massive fucking animal just ramming itself into a tree or something, I dunno,” Elyse shrugged.

The two looked at eachother, unsure. “How massive?”

“I left as soon as I could. I don’t think it’s anything that’s gonna come and attack the town.”

They nodded. “I’m sure it’s fine, I’m sure it’s fine…”, “Yeah, yeah…”

“I dunno, maybe it was a mating ritual thing,” Elyse offered.

They blinked. “Well we wouldn’t want to interrupt that,” one decided. The two men turned, jogging back up the dock.

After walking a bit more, she saw Cassian and Renard.

“Out for a stroll?” she greeted.

“A loud one,” Cassian replied.

Renard looked her over. “Did it have anything to do with you?”

“Maybe,” she shrugged. They headed back to the ship.

Sariel watched the sorceress climb back on. “So much for keeping a low profile.”

“It’s fine.” Elyse grabbed a drink, and went to sit on the prow.

  
  


Cassian and Renard went back below deck. This time, the wizard cleared his throat and turned to the other man. “Renard.”

“Cassian.”

“If you would, as you are the only person, I think, who would have any value in such a situation… When we get to Lakeside, I’d like to purchase a sword?”

“...Okay?”

“Things… seem to prove a little bit difficult in battle, when you’re the only one who can get close to anything. And having a weapon might be of use to me.”

Vanden assessed him. “Can you use a sword?”

He shrugged. “My mother used to be a sailor. She showed me some rough tricks.” He held up his palms. “I can use both hands, so.”

“Okay. Yes, I suppose I can help you with that.”

“I just feel like you’ll know if I’m getting a fair price for quality equipment.”

“Fine, sure. Just, find me in Lakeside to do so.”

“Very agreeable. Thank you,” he turned back to his book.

“...I appreciate you thinking about it.”

The wizard glanced up, a bit confused. “Okay…?”

“I just, I mean, I appreciate you thinking how you can… aid the group.”

Cassian turned back to his page. “It’s simply a tactical decision.”

Renard looked at him for a moment. “Fine.”

The cabin darkened as a towering shadow stood at the top of the stairs. “Um, Master Renard?” Pebble called. “Might I have a minute of your time? I can’t fit down there, I’m sorry.”

“Of course,” he climbed the stairs.

Pebble led him to the aft of the ship. “I sincerely apologize. I know some people have different levels of comfort, and I’m sorry I upset you. You needn’t say nothing about it, but, take this,” he pulled out a small, stiletto dagger from a fold in his armour, handing it over. “It’s far too small for me to use.”

“Thank you.”

“Token of my appreciation. Your time, your company.”

“Appreciate that. Don’t worry about it, I’m a little tetchy at the moment, but it didn’t do any serious offense. You didn’t know.”

“Shan’t happen again.”

Renard remembered something. “Oh, um, one moment.” He went below deck, returning with the giant glaive from the Yuan-Ti. Pebble’s eyes widened. “We recovered this…”

“Where? Where in Caldera did you find that?”

“It was a, um, pyramid. In the jungle. I wouldn’t worry about it, or try and even go there, but… I can’t really use it. A little too big for me.”

He took it in his enormous mitts, knuckles whitening as the huge leathery claws tightened. He swung it around a few times before slamming it into the deck of the ship with a thunking noise that everyone turned their heads at.

“I accept your gift,” the tortle grinned.

“I appreciate you’ll get more use out of it than we will. And, I would also appreciate if… you can just keep quiet about having seen any of us.”

“Seen who?” he winked.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.”

  
  


On the other side of the deck, Astra had been drawing in his journal.

Sariel looked over. “What are you drawing?”

“Just updating in my journal what’s been going on.”

“So you draw people? Places?”

“Both. Things that I see, or things I miss.” Astra half showed her a page. A female face, with braided hair and small horns going back.

“She’s very pretty.”

“She is.”

“Is she family?”

“That’s my mother. She’d like you.”

“I’d like to meet her.”

Astra smiled. “It would be nice.”

Elyse made her way over to Pebble. “I just want to thank you for not… taking the opportunity to, you know, pursue us, in any way, as a mercenary.”

He chuckled. “Well, contracts weren’t posted yet. Maybe if they were, would be a different story. Maybe I’m leading you all back there,” he teased.

“Maybe. No, I got a pretty good read of you, back when we first met. And you know, you were good company, so.”

“Likewise.”

“I don’t think I realized it, but I needed it that night, so.”

He nodded. “Anyway, you don’t take a bounty on a friend. Certainly not on six.”

She laughed. “I don’t know if we’d really be a match for you, but it would certainly be interesting to see.

“One day maybe. Give you a run for your money,” he grinned.

“And, my real name is Elyse, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you Elyse.”

“Nice to meet you properly, I guess.”

They shook hands. “I’ll take my leave. I don’t think I’d fit on here. Don’t worry, I have a room anyway.”

“Hopefully we’ll see you tomorrow? At Lakeside?”

“Bright and early. I feel it will be something to remember.” He turned around to the rest of the group. “Pleasant evening.”

“You too,” Astra responded.

“See you come the sun.”

“Goodnight!” Boblem waved.

“Sleep well, Pebble,” Sariel nodded.

Elyse gave him a small smile. “Bye.”

He dipped his head, heading off the ship. It rocked as he disembarked. “You need a stronger ship!” he called back. Thudding footsteps receded down the dock.

Renard was holding tightly to the side of the ship as it settled. Boblem tentatively approached.

“Um, hi Ren… Um, can I talk to you for a second?”

“Sure.”

Boblem held his hat in his hands, fiddling with the brim, not sure what to do or where to look. “Um, I just wanted to apologize? For talking about the water stuff earlier. I didn’t mean to- I know I didn’t mean to make you feel bad, but I know I did? Doesn’t matter if I meant to or not, but I did it, and I’m very sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about that. It’s just… a sticking point. And it’s been a sticking point my entire life, and I just… would prefer not to think about it.”

“Sorry, I’ll try not to bring it up again.”

“I appreciate that.”

“Didn’t mean anything by it.”

“I know.”

“Yeah,” Boblem looked at the floor. “I won’t mention it.”

“I’ll be fine anyway.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Boblem glanced up at him. “If you ever do need to talk, doesn’t have to be about that, just in general… I’m here.”

“Thank you… you’re a good friend.”

Boblem smiled very brightly at that.”You’re a really good friend, too.”

“Thank you.”

“I really value your friendship,” he pressed.

Renard looked away. “Thank you, uh, I appreciate you saying that... I’m gonna get some sleep?”

“Sorry! Didn’t mean to keep you up.”

“No, no, it’s fine. We should all rest, it’s probably going to be an early start.”

“Sounds like a good idea.”

Astra and Sariel didn’t see anything in the night, and nothing triggered Elyse’s alarm spell. Sleep came to most of them, but whispers and fragments of half memories began to invade Renard’s mind. A bloody rag in his hands. Short, shallow breaths, in a cold, dark, stone room. Staring into a pair of ice blue eyes. He couldn’t place where they came from, and when he tried to focus on them, they disappeared like whisps of morning mist. Eventually, he slept. When he woke, his back was burning and aching, like he slept on it funny. A dull pain lingered long after the other feelings melted away.

  
  


They heard a long keening horn, and they all woke to the sounds of people yelling and running and moving. Renard made his way to the deck, getting all the lines ready in silence. The town was a cacophony of noise. The entire population of Wilson’s Landing, three hundred or so, stormed through the street in the direction of the docks, chanting, singing, dancing, yelling, teasing each other, waving about little pennants and blue ribbons as they went. They couldn’t see the full docks from where they were, but everyone was heading that way.

Elyse moved to the deck, helping with the lines. Astra tried to help, and Renard gave him a bit of feedback.

“You alright?” the sorcerer asked, noticing Renard’s demeanour.

“Fine, didn’t sleep,” he brushed her off.

“Well, maybe today will be fun.”

“Maybe.”

“Um, I wanted to ask a favor. And you don’t have to say yes, but um… This temple in Lakeside? I’d really rather not go alone. And since you seem to know about this kind of stuff, I was wondering if you, specifically, would go with me.”

“Of course.”

“Thank you.”

“How are you feeling?”

“I dunno. Little bit better maybe.”

“Chin up,” he encouraged. “Always looking forward, right?”

“Yeah. Yup.”

“Okay.” He turned to the rest of the group. “Right, I’d like to wait until most of the docks have emptied before we set sail, if that’s okay? Stay at the back of the flotilla?”

“Okay,” Astra nodded.

Cassian didn’t even look up. “Sure.”

With a creaking and groaning of wood, The Lyra Bird split off from the dock. They sailed upriver for a hundred meters or so, passing under the bridge. As they did, they saw a majestic sight. On the docks were three hundred people, shouting and screaming, while on the lake itself sat the flotilla of ships, thirty in total, led by eight longships, four or five times the size of theirs. Huge masts came up, gorgeous figureheads carved on the front.

One person stood on the leading ship. There weren’t any cannons or weaponry to be seen, these weren’t warships. Sails were furled up, ready to go. Close to two thirds of the crowd began to step out from the docks, and from the coast, into the lake. They waded out halfway, and a low singing noise rolled out, almost chanting as if a prayer. People stepped out into the water, bringing it above themselves and then pouring it over their heads before moving up the sides of the ships, where lines and ladders were lowered for the crowd to climb.

Once everyone was on, they saw the figure at the aft of the main ship raise one hand, dropping something from their hand before picking up the horn again. He let out a note from a long, curved, spiralled horn. A huge cheer erupted as the sails dropped. A wind billowed past, and the sails filled and swelled before beginning to move forward. Dozens of oars came out from the sides of the ships, hitting the water as a drumbeat emerged from the decks of the ships. The oars crashed in time with the rhythm. The eight longships led out, and began to make their way out of Wilson’s Landing. The flotilla of small ships began to follow, sails unfurling.

What they could see of Renard’s face was pale, his hands trembling on the wheel. He stood there for a minute, not giving any instruction. “Elyse?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you take the wheel, please?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Renard went to go sit on the deck for a moment, not looking at the water. After a minute, he called for Astra.

“Hello.” The bard greeted. “Are you okay?”

“Not really,” he choked. “Um, I don't do particularly well in open water. I, I have a request, and I’d appreciate if you didn’t ask any questions.”

“Okay. You know I’m here for you.”

“You have that spell that calmed Sariel down outside the druid temple, that we

didn't go down into.”

“Mhm?”

“Can you cast that on me, please?”

Astra was surprised for a moment, but he did. The spell felt like warm water poured over his head, relaxing him.

He breathed out, and felt nothing but relief. The color returned to his face, and his heartbeat slowed. “Thank you.”

“No problem.”

Renard cleared his throat, steadying himself. “Thank you,” he repeated, returning to the wheel.

“Feeling better?” Elyse worried.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“You sure you don’t want me to steer for a bit?”

“I’m fine. I’ve got it.”

“Okay.” She handed him back the wheel.

He led the ship in line with the rest of the flotilla. Pulling a line out, the sheet dropped, filling up with wind. Like a bullet over the water, they began cutting a line off. It was a few minutes before they made it to the back of the flotilla, and the closest four or five ships near raised their hands as they saw them, cheering and laughing. Blue pennants were streaming from every surface.

They were now able to see the eight long ships that were leading. They saw the nameplates; Ortentez, Osprey, Windcutter, Cobell, Melora's Grace, Melora's Wrath, Snowtip, and The Duke. They saw dozens and dozens of people across them all, and where the longships were perfectly in line, they saw ladders and planks and beams across them, people running between, swinging on lines. There were sprays of bottles of alcohol as they opened, and they heard music from all sources, a discordant melody. Beats of drums in one rhythm came from a few ships on one side, and the caterwauling of some bagpipe from the other side. Everything jumbled together to create a beautiful mess.

Looking out into the distance, something broke the horizon. Something large, an aquatic creature, broke out of the water. Probably a whale of some sort. Its tail crested over before slamming back down, and an enormous cheer erupted again. A voice from a ship nearby shouted, “That's good luck, you know! The tides are in our favour today!”

They were told it would be a full day’s sail. Wilson's Landing was now 500 meters behind them, rapidly losing distance. The closest ships were probably five to fifteen meters off from them. They were around some of the smaller fishing vessels, and on each one was a mixture of fisherpeople and citizenry of the town. On the ships, people were beginning the revelry. Casks of ale and wine were split open, people passing around platters full of food, singing, dancing, drinking, and going wild.

There was a health person on each ship, doing their very best to keep everything under control. As people became drunker and drunker around them, the crowd began badgering them and pestering them. The volunteers resolutely kept their chins up, occasionally accepting the odd drink. Astra took out his lute, joining the melody.

Elyse turned to address the group. “When we get to Lakeside, I'm gonna immediately disguise myself again, and I’m gonna go check for anything, any sign of dragonborn guard, or wanted posters, or anything, before I do anything else. So if you could all call me Aisha when we get there, please, I’d appreciate it. Until we know it’s safe.”

“Will do,” Boblem nodded.

“I’d like to add to that,” Renard called from the wheel, “Please, no more jokes about my position when we get there?”

Elyse nodded. “Yeah, I figured that was a given.”

“If it is agreeable with everyone, I am going to take the rest of my share out,” Cassain informed the group. “There are some things that I need to purchase in Lakeside. After what I have paid Renard, I believe I have about 115 gold in there.”

“Yeah,” Elyse shrugged. “Anything exciting you’re buying?”

“I have a little something I’d like to work on. Maybe you’ll find out later.”

“In fact, I think it would be good to split the money,” Renard continued. “If, in Lakeside, we’re putting the boat away.”

“If there’s a way we can do that which doesn’t draw much attention,” Elyse countered.

“I’m sure we can find a way. But, seeing as we’re going to be in Lakeside- and Lakeside is a big city, bigger than Sanskra-”

“Some cool things we can buy.”

“Yes, we wouldn’t want to have that money somewhere we have to get the ship out. So if we split it between us?”

She nodded. “Sounds good. There’s also a lot of things we can sell as well. Some of these things we found in the tomb, whatever it was.”

“Didn’t we find some rubies?” Boblem asked.

“Yeah, we’ve got… six rubies, some gold jewelry, gem encrusted goblets. But there’s other things, things that might draw the interest of maybe, researchers, or a museum, or something. Don’t know if there’s anything like that in Lakeside, that might be interested in purchasing?”

Renard knew there was a large college in Lakeside, of shipbuilding and woodworking. There were some of research as well, but he hadn’t seen any museums, or anything of arcane objects. He related this.

She nodded. “Maybe not quite the right thing. But maybe we can sell it somewhere else. I can have a look around, and ask.”

“Yeah, if there’s nowhere to sell, we can leave it on the ship while we are in the city,” he agreed.

“Yeah. I might be able to see if we can find anything here, after I’ve made sure it’s safe here.”

“I suppose that’s the beauty of the ship, isn’t it,” Astra reflected. “Anything you don't want to carry, we don’t have to have the extra weight.”

“You could…” Elyse looked at the tiefling, an idea forming, “You know, your bag, you’re always very precious with it. You could leave it in the ship. We could put it in the bottle and- ”

“No. That’s okay.”

“Okay. Just thought it’d be safer there, no one would be able to touch it or anything.”

“That’s okay. I prefer it on my person.”

“Fair.”

“I also have a ruby on me that I found back at the bandit camp,” Renard added. “I don’t know whether any of you spellcasters need that sort of thing.”

“Not rubies, I don’t think,” Sariel considered. “Diamonds, ideally.”

“Diamonds? What could you do with diamonds?”

“A surprising number of things.”

“Don’t have any of those, but we could probably acquire some.”

“If you have a spell that requires diamonds, that would be a good thing to spend the group fund on,” Elyse agreed.

“Trade the rubies for diamonds,” Cassian suggested.

“Who’d have thought rubies would be so plentiful?” Sariel smiled.

After half a day of sailing, they saw a second flotilla on the horizon, coming from the west, the direction of Chidon Pier, As they approached, cheers went out. Horns blasted, and they extended the flotilla, sending more planks and beams across, and more ropes swinging across the longships. Red firey pennants came off the new masts and sails, people raising drinks and shouting over as they sailed.

On the longships, people swung over with stolen casks of beer, mini raids back and forth. Elyse nodded over to someone swinging across with a bottle. ”Don’t suppose you want any involvement in that?”

Renard glanced over. “Not particularly, personally.”

“Anyone else?”

“No thank you,” the elves declined.

“You have your own drink Elyse,” Renard chided. “From last night.”

“We can exchange for more drink,” she grinned. “What? It’s a big celebration. Might be fun.”

“Can you not just fly over to one of the ships?” Cassian asked.

Renard brought the Lyra Bird around the side, giving Elyse the chance to ship hop, but he wasn’t getting any closer. They cut a line, swinging around another boat. Someone on the other ship whistled out, and a beam thundered onto their boat. A goblin and a halfling ran over, wearing baggy pants with red lining. The goblin was topless save for a bandolier, probably used for throwing weapons, but now stuffed full with small bottles of booze.

“Want anything to drink?” the goblin grinned.

Elyse grinned. “Yes! Please, what’d you got? I can exchange.”

“You’re fairly bigger than me, you might need more.”

“One bottle for a few bottles?”

“Yeah, go for it go for it go for it!” He handed over a group of small bottles. “Name’s Nicks. pleasure to meet you.”

“Aisha.”

“Aisha,” he nodded, looking to the others.

“Astra, Verdant Astra.”

“Boblem!” A tip of the hat.

“Pleasure! Pleasure, pleasure all,” the goblin sniffed.

“You entering the games?” Elyse smiled.

“But of course!” He spread his arms to show off his red pants, the fabric billowing out in the wind. “I will be representing Chidon Pier. And it’ll be my pleasure to do so. I see you’re fighting for Wilson’s Landing, eh?”

“I guess.”

“That’s where we came from, I think, isn’t it?” Astra glanced around.

“Yeah.”

“You’re from there?” Nicks prompted.

“No,” the bard shook his head.

“Just passing through,” Cassian offered.

Elyse nodded. “Passing, through, got roped in somehow, to all this.”

“Gonna say,” the goblin nodded. “I’ve seen a fair few folk in WIlson’s Landing, but never one like you sir,” the goblin pointed to his head, glancing at Astra.

“Like me?” the tiefling smiled, reaching up to feel the horns on his head.

“I don’t think there’s anyone like Astra,” Sariel smiled.

The goblin cackled. “No one like me either. Good to see more green skins around.”

“I’ve never seen someone like you either,” the bard admitted.

“Well, I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You should!”

The goblin bowed, and headed back up the planks. “Happy sailing!”

“Enjoy the games,” Elyse called.

“You too! Good luck!” He pulled the plank back up.

Elyse shot one of the tiny booze bottles. It was a strong, grape liqueur. After another hour, the third flotilla joined. They were sailing in a V pattern, Wilson’s Landing at the lead, Chidon Pier and Felrike Town dragging slightly behind.

They sailed on, and as the sun set, the lights of Lakeside appeared in the distance as the armada grew closer. Another horn was blown, echoed by two more. A red light shot up into the sky, arching up before a thunder hit their ears. Red lights and fire filled the sky, almost burning their eyes for a second. Mouths agape, ears ringing, the three main ships shot up blue, red, and green, lighting the sky. In response, the heavens above Lakeside were lit up for five full minutes in a series of rockets and flares. Shadows were cast over them, lights washing over the ship in rays of pink, green, yellow, blue, and white. The cheer and atmosphere was incredible, energy brought to a peak as the music swelled. The shapes of Lakeside became clearer as they came into the dock.

Renard turned to the group. “Do you think we should dock the boat here, or should we take the boat somewhere we can hide it?”

“Somewhere we can hide it,” Cassian voted.

Their boat slowed, letting the others pull ahead. The flotillas pulled to a clearly prepared area, almost reminiscent of Sanskra, docks extended and brought out to accommodate the sheer number of ships. As they pulled back, moving the sails slightly, they watched the other boats move in. They were lashed together, and where the longships were docked, others were lashed off them. It created a floating town of ships and beams and bridges, leading to the docks. The Lyra Bird hung over to the side, angling over to a different spot. There were still ships there, though less, and with less people on them. They meandered in, finding themselves in the heart of the city docks. Renard knew this place as The Follies. They were covered from view by a large warehouse that read  _ Rinse’s Rum _ on the side.

“This should hide us well enough I think,” Renard nodded.

“Yeah, this is good,” Elyse agreed. “Does anybody have anything we want to leave on the ship before we…?”

“I need to change.”

“Me too,” Elyse realized.

They gathered their things and readied themselves. They stepped off the ship, and while there were people moving thirty to forty meters up the dock itself, they felt they had enough cover, though they couldn’t be certain. They popped the cork off, and witnessed the familiar crunching as the ship cracked in on itself, water ripping out as the bottle manifested in their hands, the ship inside. The sails were blue now. Elyse put it back in her pouch.

Casting her disguise spell, she shifted her form to a lilac tiefling, with curly black hair and horns that waved up over dark leather clothing. Renard had changed back into his black coat with the red pauldrons, hood up and facemask on, hiding as much skin as possible.

“So Renard, did you say that you’d been here before?” Sariel prompted.

“Yes?”

“Do you know of somewhere we could stay?”

“I know of somewhere I have stayed that I probably shouldn't go.”

“So that’s probably a no,” Astra grinned.

He knew Gullery Lane would be their best bet. It was not as fancy as Misen street, where he had stayed before, but it was well to do enough. The beds all had four posts, and no bugs. It would be a little bit of a walk through the city, but easy enough to find. “I know of somewhere.”

“Can we go via a town square with a notice board, or something?” Elyse requested. “Just to see… if there are any posters, or anything around.”

“Sure. I don’t know this place well enough to know every street, but- ”

“No I’m not expecting that, it’s just, I’ve literally never been here before.”

“If we pass somewhere where I think there may be one, I’ll let you know.”

They walked on, Elyse keeping out an eye for dragonborn, but they didn’t find any. Renard led them off. They headed out from behind the warehouse and saw the crowd before them, hundreds of people reveling in the streets. All the taverns had their doors open, people spilling out of them and leaning out of windows, yelling to those on the ground. People were drinking and playing music in the streets. There was one lute player, sitting on the crest of a building, legs hooked around the top and hanging upside down as they strummed away.

The atmosphere was electric. There were people with all colors of pennants on their arms, walking through the crowd. They saw lots of orcs and half-orcs, and a fair amount of humans, residents and competitors alike. There were gnomes, dwarves, and elves, but the orcs were by far the majority. They walked for thirty minutes, weaving through the crowd and pushing past, declining and accepting drinks that were handed out.

They made their way through to Tempest Square. There were about sixty people hanging around the periphery, but it seemed most people were in the docks. The noise diminished behind them as they stepped onto blue-grey cobblestone, the square probably 150 meters wide in total. To one side of the square was a statue, a figure of someone with an arm raised up to the sky. To their left, a pillared building of white marble, and one matching, the opposite, a blue building with veins of black. Atop that, a huge lightning bolt carving came down.

They walked through the rain slicked cobblestone, making their way to Gullery Lane. There were well built buildings, made from lots of stone and thick dark wood. The buildings had been around a long time- not ancient, but the city had roots. They passed through, dodging the many revelers.

There were a few guards stationed, but there were many more near the docks, breaking apart fights and keeping the peace. None were in the characteristic armour of the Eyes of Sanskra, or the Arakhian Guard. There was the occasional triton or water genasi, but that was to be expected from a lakeside town. None of the guards spared them a second glance, beyond the surprise of two tieflings. There were many wanted posters, but leafing through, there were none of any of them. They were mostly for petty crimes, thievery, robbery, as well as the occasional murder and bounty. The posters informed people to report to the city hall with information, with rewards for a few, dead or alive.

Sariel took note of them, but didn’t grab any. She saw a human couple, a man and a woman in a colorless sketching with long dark hair coming down. Another had bovine face with large curving horns curling up, one split with a scar on their face.

The first inn they saw looked reasonable enough. There were lights coming from inside, and warmth from the door as music played from inside the building. They were standing outside the Towering Lord Tavern. The signpost was a tall oak tree. “This’ll probably do,” Renard assessed.

“Sure,” Elyse nodded.

Cassian peeked through the door. “Suppose we should ask how many rooms they have available.”

“I’m probably being overly cautious,” Renard began, “But I’m going to wait out here while you secure the rooms, if that’s okay.”

“That’s okay, we can do that,” Astra smiled.

Boblem nodded as well. “Sure! You want a room for yourself again?”

“If there is one,” he shrugged.

“We can ask.”

Astra and Boblem went in, up to the bar, waiting a minute or two in line. They saw a human woman, about 60, with greying hair tied back and sleeves rolled up, looking tired. There were about fifteen people in the tavern. It looked fairly homely, driftwood built around the bar and cups of sea stained copper. It was a new environment, but it was somehow comforting.

“Alright love, how can I help you?”

Astra brightened at the warm greeting. “Hi there. We’re looking for some rooms, for the night?”

“Just the two of you?”

“Ah, no, we’ve got some friends outside. There’s six of us altogether.”

She frowned with apology. “We’ve got two rooms?”

“Two rooms will be fine!”

“Wonderful. That’ll be… two silver.”

“Two silver, can do. No worries.”

“How many beds in each room?” Boblem asked.

“Umm… one? They’re a big bed, but…” she shrugged. “It’s the games, they’re busy.”

“I figured it would be,” Astra nodded, understanding. “When I went to Riven, everything was absolutely rammed.”

“I can sleep in my bedroll,” Boblem agreed.

“We have extra bedding,” the woman offered. “So you can sleep on the floor, if you like.”

“Yeah. Is it possible to arrange for three people in each room?”

“We can do that.”

“Thank you.”

“Perfect,” Astra grinned.

“Will you be eating?” she asked.

“Probably yes, but we’ll wait until our friends come in, to see what they want.”

“Breakfast is served,” she nodded. “You playing in the games, I see?”

“Yes, we’re with...” Astra looked to Boblem.

“Wilson’s Landing,” he reminded him.

“Wilson’s Landing,” the bard repeated.

“Ah,” she looked to the blue ribbons. “Good luck. I’m sure you’ll do well. Come in, bring your friends in.”

“Will do.” The pair turned around, back out to the others. “We’ve got two rooms,” Astra shrugged. “It’s busy, it’s the games. They don’t really have the space, but. We can work it out, if that’s alright for you?” he looked to Renard.

“It’s fine.”

“And you?” Astra turned to Cassian.

The wizard seemed surprised to be addressed. “It’s fine, I don’t care.”

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Elyse shrugged. She dropped her disguise before she went in. It seemed safe enough, and she didn’t want the staff making the same assumptions as last time. Gold dust wafted off her as the group entered.

“I’ll be right in,” Renard called, before turning away from the door and heading down the street. He made his way over to two guards. A human and a gnome, both female.

“Good evening,” he greeted.

“Enjoying the festivities?”

“I am, yes, here for the tournament.”

“Ah, wonderful. Well, I guess you’ve come at the right time then,” the human smiled. The gnome looked up at him from the floor with a similar polite face.

“Um, I was also… I’ve been back and forth here for trade before. And I was just wondering of any city news, seeing as I’ve just arrived.”

“I mean, the games are the biggest news… are you a local? I can’t really tell with the…” she pointed to her face, indicating his mask.

“Oh, no, from Farrelstadt.”

“Oh, alright.”

“Just wondering if there was anything in the past couple of months. Anything interesting… come through here.”

The guard considered. “Not that I can think, this is probably the most interesting thing to happen here for awhile, if I’m telling you the truth.”

“Okay…”

“You see some interesting characters.”

“I’m wondering where I might find someone to speak to, regarding trade in Shadebourne?”

“City hall would probably be your best bet. It won’t be open tomorrow, but, the day after.”

“Day after. Thank you very much.”

“Happy to help.” She turned, noticing something. “You! No! No no no, sir, sir! You shouldn’t be drinking that. That’s a gutter! Sir!”

The other guard shook their head.

Renard excused himself. “I’ll leave you to your night.”

“Thank you.”

He followed the others into the tavern. They had pulled two tables together, paying four silver for food and drink. “So two rooms?”

“That’s all they had, sorry,” Astra repeated.

Elyse shrugged. “It’s fine.”

“It’s fine,” Renard echoed, “Just, how are we going to…?”

“I mean, I’m happy to sleep in either of them,” Astra offered.

“Yeah, me too,” Boblem followed. “I don’t really mind.”

“I mean, I’d rather have my privacy,” Elyse lamented, “But in this case it doesn’t really seem possible, so I don’t care to be honest. We all know each other well enough now to not be… embarrassed.” She glanced to Renard. “You alright with that?”

“Yeah, yes, it’s fine. Just, sorry, I told you this morning I was exhausted… I might just get an early night, actually.”

“Seems fair.”

“Okay,” Astra smiled.

“You okay, Sariel?” Cassian glanced over to her.

“Yes.”

“Alright.”

Renard took a room key and went straight upstairs. As he left, Sariel delicately turned back to the wizard. “Would you prefer to be in the other room?”

Cassian raised a brow. “To Renard? I’m not fussed.”

“Okay. So you two are on speaking terms again?”

“...Yes?”

“Okay.”

He relented. “It’s a bit… it’s a bit up and down,” he waved a hand, demonstrating.

“That’s what I mean.”

He sighed. “It’s fine.”

Silently, Astra handed him the key to the other room. The wizard didn’t take it, simply looking at it with a squint.

“Maybe just to avoid any… further… contention?” Elyse smirked. “Maybe?”

Sariel took it.

“No point of contention,” Cassian defended.

“That’s good,” Astra drew his hand back, placing it on the bag in his lap. “I’m glad that you’re getting on.”

They ate for a bit, and at some point Elyse went to the front to speak with the older woman. “I was wondering, the temple in town… is it a Temple to Kord?”

“Aye.”

“Will it be open tomorrow? With all this going on?”

“Likely, they’ll be people who split their heads with drink and such.”

“I guess, yeah.”

“It will be busy, but.”

“I was also wondering,” she continued, “Is there anywhere in town that might be interesting in trading antiques, or relics, anything of that nature?”

“Antiques? There are some kooky folk… up Misen Street. Up North end. I couldn’t tell you any specific places, but if you wander about.”

“I’m sure I can find something. And, sorry to keep bothering you but I’ve literally never been here before, is there a library in town?”

“Aye, connected to the college.”

“College? The college of…?”

The woman nodded, slowly. “The... college?”

It must be the college of woodworking that Renard had mentioned earlier. “Thank you very much.”

“Alright, alright.”

“Have a good evening.”

The woman waved out a hand to stop her. “Oh, actually! Down by Coppersad, and the fish market, might be a small library. But, haven’t been there in a few years.”

“A different one? A separate one, from…?”

“Aye.”

“Is there anything unique about that one?”

The woman shrugged. “...They got books?”

“I mean, are they specialist or something? That’s why it’s separate from the main library?”

“Honestly I couldn’t tell you. Maybe the other library is specialist ‘cuz the pages don’t smell of fish. But I’m not too well read.”

“Okay,” Elyse grinned. “And sorry, one more thing, anywhere in town that might trade in arcane items? Spellbooks? Anything like that?”

The woman shook her head. “No, you’re unlikely to find that here. Sorry my dear.”

“Thank you anyway, that’s alright. Have a good night.”

“You too.”

The sorcerer returned to the table.

“Is anyone going to be participating in any of the sports, or games?” Sariel asked.

Elyse slid back into her seat. “Maybe, depends.”

“I thought we all were?” Boblem asked. “Isn’t that why we’re wearing these?”

“Well, you don’t necessarily have to compete,” Sariel explained. “You can just support. I’m not sure what I could do, I’m not particularly athletic.”

“You’re quite fierce, though!”

She smiled. “Don’t know if they have a fierce competition.”

“Maybe they have a wildshaping competition, you never know,” Elyse joked.

“I’m not going to be participating, but I think Renard will be,” Astra pointed a finger upstairs.

“I’d try my hand at some archery,” Cassian considered.

“Archery?” Elyse echoed, surprised.

Sariel glanced at him. “I didn’t know you were an archer.”

“I’m not, it just sounds like fun,” he shrugged.

“Yeah, if they have anything…” Elyse trailed off, thinking. “I can climb, I can run. But I kind of need to get my back looked at before I can do that, I think.”

“Do you want me to do that?” Astra offered. “Or do you want a doctor?”

“I, um, there’s actually a temple in town? So I’m probably going to go there. I really appreciate that you’ve been healing me, but I think it requires something of slightly higher level.”

“I know,” the bard nodded. “I’m not as good as my mom was.”

“I’m sure you will be one day,” she encouraged. “I know everyone probably has their own plans, but I said to Ren earlier I don’t really want to go alone? He said he’d go with me, but, if anyone else wouldn’t mind. You don’t have to say yes.”

“I can join you,” Boblem smiled. “I don’t mind.”

“It’ll be nice to see temples to other Gods,” Sariel nodded.

“I’ve never seen a temple before,” Astra admitted.

“Me neither,” Elyse followed. “Well, not one… I haven’t been inside an active one, anyway. Would kind of rather keep it that way, but I don’t really have a choice now, so.”

“I’ll pass,” Cassian declined. “I have some things I need to do tomorrow.”

“That’s fair. Your exciting purchase?”

“Yes.”

She looked at him curiously for a moment. “Oh yeah,” she remembered, turning to the rest of the table. “I asked the woman at the desk, and potentially, there might be some places here that we could sell some of the more ancient things we found. I figure there’s certain people where they’ll fetch a higher price? Rather than just trying to sell them to a random shop. The jewels and stuff, I’m sure we could find some place to sell them very easily as well.”

“Sure,” Astra nodded. “We’ve got a lot to do tomorrow, huh?”

“Yeah.”

The games would go on for a few days, They could dip in and out of whatever they wanted.

“I might call it a night, then,” Sariel announced.

“I agree,” Cassian nodded.

“Sure, why not,” Elyse agreed. She took the booze upstairs with her as the group climbed the stairs. “I’ll take the room Renard’s already in. Does anyone wanna…?”

“Sure, why not,” Astra volunteered.

“I’ll take the other,” Sariel turned to the opposite door.

Boblem grinned. “I’m with you, then!”

As Elyse entered the room, she spun a wall of alarm static around the space. They opened the door to find Renard sitting on the floor, surrounded by pieces of paper with his quill and ink. He had been staring at them intensely, trying desperately to remember the images that had flashed through him last night. He tried and tried, feeling some kind of barrier wall that he was pushing through, fragmenting and breaking, but it was too strong. He strained and strained, the sensation of burning in his head and ears, but he was forced to shake it off. He gave up trying, and put his head in his hands.

“Everything alright?” Elyse worried. “Just tired, or?”

“Yes, sorry, let me tidy this up.” He began quickly grabbing things, stuffing them away.

“It’s fine. Kinda looks like my old room,” she chuckled. “Feels like home.”

“How you holding up?” the bard asked.

Renard’s eyes flicked over to him. “I’m, I’m okay. Thank you for earlier.”

“That’s okay. I told you, I’ve got your back.”

“Yeah. Is everyone coming to sleep?”

Elyse nodded. “We don’t have to sleep right away, if you want to stay up I don’t really mind. Whatever.”

“The other three are in the other room,” Astra added.

Renard bolted the door, taking off ridiculous layers of disguise, including the mask. He washed his face in the bowl of water before turning back to the others. “Right, so, games tomorrow, temple…”

“Yeah,” Elyse nodded.

“Good.”

“There’s lots of things to do, but. Seems like we’ll be okay for a while, I hope. Do you know anything about your… situation? Yet?”

“The guards said perhaps I can ask at city hall, which seems… I don’t know. I feel like I’m asking for trouble if I attempt that, but.”

“Yeah. Maybe we could…”

“Maybe you lot could ask questions on my behalf, without me having to go in.”

“Sure. You come to the temple with me, I go… to the city hall for you? Maybe? Maybe in disguise, but.”

Renard nodded, distractedly staring at the single bed.

“You can have the bed,” Elyse offered. “I don’t mind sleeping in my bedroll.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

“Astra?”

“I’m used to sleeping on the floor,” the tiefling smiled.

Renard faltered a bit. “Now that’s making me feel very bad…”

“I mean, we could all try and share,” Elyse smirked.

“No.”

“Somehow, I don’t think you’re going to enjoy that, so. It’s fine, really. I’m probably going to stay up for a bit and read anyway. You go ahead.”

Renard nodded, putting on the signet ring in his bag before changing into his sleepwear. He got into bed, putting the pillow over his head. Sleep came to him a lot easier, and he was able to rest. He dreamt of one of his mentors, a physician from the castle, one of his advisors.

  
  


In the elf room, Cassian took half of the bed. He left enough room for someone else, but he was definitely sleeping in the bed tonight. Sariel began to get out her bedroll, not questioning.

“You know you can sleep up there,” Boblem offered. “I think I might be too big to share the bed with him…”

“It’s alright, I’m used to sleeping on the floor.”

“So am I. But you don’t really take up that much space.”

“Small packages,” she grinned. “How long were we expecting to stay here for? Did we ever figure that out?”

“Throughout the games, I suppose,” Cassian offered.

“So more than just tonight.”

“I guess?”

Sariel turned back to Boblem. “Well, if I try sleeping in half the bed tonight, do you want to try sleeping in half the bed tomorrow?”

“If I can fit in it,” the boy shrugged. “And Cassian won’t kick me out.”

“I’m not going to kick you in my sleep,” the wizard defended.

“Nah, I didn’t mean in your sleep…”

Cassian didn’t have a response to that.

“By the way,” Boblem continued. “Earlier, when we were talking about how long you guys live, or I guess, us guys now… Does that also apply to half-elves? Like you said I was?”

Sariel looked to Cassian.

“You would live longer than a human,” the wizard considered. “But nowhere near as long as an elf.”

“I’m not that well versed in half-elves, and their physiology,” Sariel apologized. “But I’d say the same as Cassian.”

The boy nodded, relieved. “That’s good. I don’t think I… no offense- ”

“You don’t want to be eight hundred.” Cassian finished.

“Yeah, I don’t think I'd want that. Sounds very long.”

“Quite a long time,” Sariel agreed.   


“Wouldn’t it be… quite boring? After awhile?”

“I’m going to sleep now,” Cassian announced.

“Sorry! I’ll let you sleep then.”

“Goodnight Boblem,” Sariel smiled.

“Goodnight.”

Sariel climbed into the bed with Cassian. She twitched in her sleep, quite a bit. Sleep came to them all, and they awoke to the sound of seagulls. Many of them. Elyse was already up, reading through her book on arcane foci, looking for references to the elemental planes or the pyramid. Nothing.

Renard woke up with bedhead. Grabbing all the covers, he leaned over. “Whatcha reading?”

“Same book I’ve been reading for the past two weeks. Arcane foci. The one from Mirrortail.”

“You’re not bored of reading it by now?”

“Little bit, to be honest, but apparently there’s a library in town so I might be able to find some new books in town to read, which would be lovely.”

“I’ve got a book if you want to read it.”

She glanced over to him, curious. “You do?”

“Mhm.”

“Which one?”

He shrugged. “It’s poetry. I don’t know if you’d be interested in poetry.”

“Yes!”

“Okay, um- ”

“What kind of poetry?”

“Like, philosophical poetry.”

“Who’s it by?”

“Dunno if you’ve heard of him. He’s an Arakhian poet.”

“Oh great, Arakhis,” she chuckled. “I’m willing to give it a go.”

“Okay,” he dug out a very tattered book of poetry from his bag, passing it over to her. They were all short, philosophical poems, clearly marked through, lines underlined and pages dog eared.

“You read just like I do,” she teased, showing him a page in her own book, notes and diagrams all over it. “Wanna swap?”

He looked warily at the book. “Not really.”

“Fair enough,” she stuffed it back in her bag, looking over the poetry a bit before they all convened downstairs. Some food was prepared and brought out for them, hearty oats with berries and creams.

“Morning,” Renard nodded to the elves, who echoed the greeting back.

“Did you sleep better?” Sariel asked.

“I did, actually I… this is probably going to sound strange, but I had a dream last night. And I don’t normally dream, I don’t remember dreaming… ever. So… that was kind of strange.”

“What did you dream about?”

“Just somebody that I used to know. But I slept well, and I feel much better today.”

“Was it a good dream?” Boblem asked.

He shrugged. “It was a dream.”

“Suppose you don’t have much a basis for comparison,” Cassian winked.

“Not really,” he grinned back. “I dunno, I literally can’t remember ever dreaming in my life.”

“Interesting,” Sariel nodded.

“A lot of people don’t remember their dreams, to be fair,” Elyse replied. “But they can usually remember some.”

Renard shook his head. “So, what’s the plan today?”

“Well, there’s a lot of things a lot of different people want to do…”

“And there’s the games.”

“And there’s the games. Uh, I definitely want to get my back looked at as soon as I can, but I’m also willing to wait if there’s more important things going on.” When they had walked through the docks, they had seen quite a bit being set up. They remembered stages, a boxing ring, and a high wood gantry built as a mezzanine for people to watch from. From chatting around, they knew it would basically be a free for all. Come when you want, turn up to an event, wait for a free spot, compete, and get right back in line. Someone would be there tallying for each town. “So I dunno, do we want to all stick together, or are people gonna split and do their own thing?”

“Well I think we should at least check out the games together, seeing as we agreed to do them.”

The group agreed, and they headed down through the city. The sun was shining, the rain slicked streets from last night now dried. They heard the sounds of birds keening and skreieking, swooping down and stealing food out of people’s hands. Dozens and dozens of people were moving through the city, pennants and streamers everywhere. There was bunting through the streets with dashes of blue, green, and red. The whole city was alive, with crowds moving about in the direction of the docks. They followed down as the noise increased. The group stood, looking out over the docks at the majesty and incredible mess of noise, people, and activity. There were probably twenty or thirty rings and stages, little arenas. Where the dock opened up, they saw a number of boats racing around marked buoys in the harbor.

Two boats sailing towards each other, and as they looked closer, they saw people on the small masts holding oars in place of a lance. The boats grew closer and closer before almost colliding, the lances striking. One small figure was flung from the mast and into the harbour to a tumultuous cheer.

There was a clanging of metal, and they saw two people going at each other with blunted blades and simple armour. Cannonballs were hurled through the docklands. There was a rack of targets, a number of figures against them, stringing bows and letting loose arrows, blades, and axes. There were stands everywhere, shops selling food and drink, as well as scarves and things to wear of all sorts. It was a full festival atmosphere.

The games included the sailors joust, rigging climbing on a high longship, cannonball hurling, sailing, fishing, and greasy wyvern wrestling. There was a sand ring, and a small blue draconic figure about two or three meters in length, shining and slippery. People stepped into a ring next to it, and the wyvern reached up its wings. Like a giant dog, excited and happy, it bounded about, staring competitors down and rising above them before tackling. The two rolled in the dirt, a cloud of dust billowing as they tried to pin each other down. The wyvern easily gained bearing on the person, their two wings driving their shoulders into the ground with ease. Its neck dipped down, an enormous forked tongue running up the side of the person’s face as a bell rang. They saw people diving off the aft of a ship, a sign nearby explaining they were diving for cannonballs. They saw platforms of people wrestling and fighting with blunted blades. There was archery and axe throwing, and a long trestle table where people were gorging themselves on pies, putting back pints of beer and ale.

Boblem was still eyeing the wyvern. “I’d like to do that, that looks like fun!”

“Boblem, I think you’d be good at that,” Renard encouraged.

“I think that looks like fun, the wrestling!”

“And if anything else, you could tell the wyvern just to let you win, right?”

“Like wrestling the hogs, you know?”

“I think you should!” Renard smiled.

“You can do that,” Elyse shook her head. “I’ll wait over here.”

Renard led Boblem over to the wyvern. They headed down, pushing through the crowd. The cue was not very long, though lots of people were there to watch. One orc stepped out, looking dazed as he collected his things. He lifted a hand up, and everyone let out a massive cheer. A smaller half orc addressed the crowd. “Come on, step up, step up! Who’s gonna take him out? Who’s gonna take a stand? Who’s gonna match the draconic lineage, this mighty beast!”

Boblem lifted his hand. “I’d like to try it!”

“Sir! Step forward, step forward. Please please, if you will.”

Boblem passed his hat off to Astra. “If you don’t mind?”

“Of course, do you want me to hold your backpack?”

“Yes, and the staff?”

“Yes,” Astra took the items as Boblem entered.

“Step right up, step right up! I see you’re representing Wilson’s Landing, what’s your name sir?”

“Boblem!”

“Boblem, wonderful, wonderful, take that down,” he called to someone else, a human to the side scribbling as they put up a tally and pulled out an hourglass, prepping it. “Okay, the challenge is to see how long you can last before being pinned by the wyvern. This may hurt, you may get thrown around a little bit. Are you prepared to do this sir?”

“Aw, this sounds like so much fun,” Boblem grinned.

“He can handle it!” Renard called from the stands.

“He is gentle,” the announcer informed the boy. “Okay? He was born with no teeth.”

“What’s his name?” Boblem asked.

“I… do you know what, I’ve never asked, but…”

“If you want, I can ask him.”

“You are more than welcome to sir. He’s very friendly. He is big…” he glanced over his shoulder where the wyvern was kicking up spirals of dust, looking out to Boblem. A row of horns flipped up on the top of his head. It approached the edge of the ring, its neck winding over to look out over them.

“So cute,” Astra cooed. Elyse was backing away, very uncomfortable.

“Well sir, if you’re ready, step into the ring!” The announcer moved back, clapping his hands as Boblem rolled up his sleeves. “Let’s see how long Boblem, from Wilson’s Landing, lasts against the mighty wyvern!” He glanced to the human keeping score. “Ready?”

“Ready,” they nodded. A bell rang, and the hourglass locked into place as sand began falling.

Boblem stepped into the ring, a sand pit about twenty feet in diameter. There were close to a hundred people watching around. He looked up, and the faces all blurred, yelling and cheering and raising drinks. The rest of the group watched as Boblem approached, and the wyvern rose up to dwarf him. Its eyes looked down on him, its body staying in place, but the head and neck moving and winding.

Boblem spoke to it in Draconic. “Hi, what’s your name?”

At that, its head reared back in surprise. The crowd only saw Boblem grunting and rasping at it. “Name?” the creature asked.

“What do you call yourself? What do your friends call you?”

The wyvern looked around in confusion. “Play? Play.”

“Play? We can play,” Boblem grinned.

The head reared back, diving forward towards him like a striking snake. He stepped round it, dodging at the side. He pulled down, grabbing the back of its neck and using its own weight as it moved forward. It slammed into the dirt, and he put his chest down on the back of its neck. The head turned around, wiggling under him. “Play play play play play! Fun fun fun fun fun!”

The wings beat against the dust, and Boblem managed to lever himself into position, putting his elbow in the crease between the wing and the neck. One wing was solidified down, while the other beat in the dust. A cheering scream emerged from the crowd. The orc stepped back in shock. “It’s supposed to be how long they last! I’ve never seen someone hold it before!”

“You having fun?” Boblem laughed.

The creature wiggled. “Fun yes fun!”

“Go on, Boblem!” Renard yelled from the side. The crowd took up the call chanting,  _ Bob-lem, Bob-lem, Bob-lem! _ The boy pet the creature a little as he held it.

It’s head swung past, trying to knock him off, but he was able to duck. A wing came up, and he slid his leg out over the membrane of muscle to push it down. It was pinned in place. The tips of the wings flapped a bit before it gave up. The head snaked around, good-naturedly bumping against the boy. The head was the size of his torso. Boblem rested his forehead against the wyvern’s. “Fun!” it grunted.

“Fun?”

“Fun.”

“Fun,” Boblem grinned, standing up. Pushing himself off, the creature rolled up to its full height. Its wings flitted out, shaking itself as a cloud of dust washed over Boblem. Its head butted his forehead again. There was a beat of silence before the bell rang out.

“People of Lakeside!” the announcer grinned. “You have witnessed a sight we have never seen before! Need I not tell you that not many people successfully wrestle the wyvern to the ground. Most of them walk out of here battered and bruised. How you doing Robert?” he grinned over to the previous contender, who shakily raised a hand. “We’ll call that three points for Wilson’s Landing!”

A cheer erupted from the blue clad people in the audience, the other colors respectfully applauding. The announcer shook Boblem’s hand. “I think he took an affinity to you, you know?”

“It was lots of fun! That’s a good wyvern you got back there.”

“He’s a good boy.”

Before leaving the ring, Boblem pressed his head to the creature one last time. “Friend,” he spoke to it, giving it a final pet.

“Friend!” the creature brightened.

It turned, dipping its head into a large open trough of soft food. A new challenger entered the ring. The wyvern made short work of them.

“Boblem, that was amazing!” Renard complimented the boy.

“It was amazing,” Sariel smiled.

Boblem was grinning ear to ear. “That was really fun guys! I think you should try it. I ended up a bit greasy though.” He looked down, realizing how dirty he was. Lots of dust was stuck to him.

“Do you want me to sort that out?” Astra offered.

“Yes, if you don’t mind.”

With a quick spell, the dust fell off. A number of people around them gasped in surprise at the magical display.

A small child looked up at Astra with wide eyes, mouth agape. “Papa what’s that?”

“We don’t say that,” the parent chided. “We say, who’s that?”

“Papa who’s that?”

“...I don’t know.”

Cassian redirected the attention to the farm boy. “It’s Boblem, the champion wyvern wrestler.”

“Champion, icon, legend,” Elyse grinned.

“Truly,” the father nodded, leading the child back into the festival as Boblem blushed.

Astra let a few more sparks fly from his hands for the kid, who looked back in amazement, tugging on their father’s hand.

  
  


Cassian wanted to try the diving. They headed up to the Orustes, one of the larger ships. There were twenty or thirty people onboard, including two water genasi, a triton, and a number of elves. Other contestants gave Cassian a nod as he boarded, stretching and readying themselves. Most of them had stripped some clothes, topless or wearing some sort of binding.

Cassian pulled off his armour and some clothes, folding them into a neat pile. A smaller gnome made their way over to him. “Signing up? Wilson’s Landing?”

“Quite.”

“Okay, there is a cannonball, a shot, below this ship. Three each. First to bring it back up to the surface,” they snapped their fingers, “Wins the mark.”

He hadn’t realized there would be a strength aspect. “Okay,” he nodded, a bit less confident.

The rest of the group watched from the side. Renard whispered over to Astra. “You wanna inspire him a little bit?”

“I mean, I could, but I don’t think magic would be allowed.”

“Just a song, Astra,” he goaded.

Rolling his eyes, the bard pulled out his lute, playing the song Cassian’s shell had sung to him. Like stamina rising in him, the wizard felt the hairs on the back of his arms and neck rise up, his pupils dilating as the magic hit him.

A water genasi moved to the aft of the ship, nodding at him as he stepped forward. “Welcome. I’m Akarel.”

“Cassian.”

“Pleasure. Seems we don’t have anyone visiting from Chidon Pier today. Might just be us in this bout.”

“Maybe so. May the best one win,” he glanced at his opponent.

“May they indeed.”

The bell rang, and Akarel leapt backwards, diving off the back of the ship. Cassian didn’t even hold his breath. A second passed as he broke the surface of the water, bubbles streaming past his face as he swam down, easily accustomed to this environment with his new ability. He pushed down, and the light dimmed after a few feet. He saw the form of Akarel next to him, carving a path through the water. They were about ten feet away, the sea floor forty or fifty feet down.

He swam, matching pace with Akarel, who looked over to him with surprise. They picked up speed and he did as well, moving under the shadow of the boat. He looked, and after a moment, he saw a large lead shot hidden under some detritus, pinned with a blue stripe. It was the size of his head. He put his hands around the cannonball, squatting on the floor. Looking up to the surface, he pushed off the floor as he began to move up. Akarel was struggling with their own ball as well.

He swam, legs kicking as the weight of the cannonball kept him down. His opponent caught up to him. Both of them kicked their legs frantically, making only a little bit of ground. If he didn’t keep up the momentum, he would move back down. Both of them started to sink to the bottom.

The rest of the group watched the still waters. “Think he drowned?” Elyse joked.

“They’ve been down for awhile,” Sariel added.

Boblem glanced to the girls in alarm. “Don’t say that!”

Akarel’s chest was inflating and deflating as he breathed under the water, looking at the elf quizzically. Cassian sank to the ground as his opponent kicked off again. He watched Akarel move upwards, a plan formulating in his mind.

A stream of bubbles surrounded the wizard as he disappeared, reappearing thirty feet higher in a misty step, matching pace with the water genasi. Akarel’s legs were kicking furiously, and they didn’t seem to notice the magic. Cassian had boosted himself, but both of them were sinking again. Kicking with all his might, the wizard pushed to the lead, his head breaching the surface. The others looked down to see the familiar warm brown skin tone of Cassian, black hair plastered to the side of his face as he whipped out. A cheerful yell rang out as a rope dropped down next to him. He held to the rope with both hands, the cannonball nestled in his arms as he was yanked up. A second later, Akarel breached, head nearly going down again before they pulled themselves back up, latching onto the side of the ship.

Cassian handed the ball to the nearest person, and it dropped heavily from their arms, rolling along the side of the ship. He was welcomed aboard with cheers.

“Well done, Cassian!” Boblem called.

He flipped his hair back, giving the crowd a little bow. A tally was marked off for him. Akarel climbed up on a rope, shaking his hand with a quizzical look. “I didn’t take you for a sea elf… huh.”

“I’m not,” Cassian grinned.

They blinked. “Oh… curious. Enjoy the games.”

“You too.”

The water genasi dried off, putting their clothes back on.

Renard had not been looking. After the first minute when the wizard hadn’t reappeared, he had turned away, unable to watch.

Elyse grinned over to the prince. “He’s alive, don’t worry.”

Cassian returned, glistening from the water as he set about dressing. Renard was still not looking.

“It was very impressive,” Sariel nodded.

“Well done,” Elyse agreed.

“Shame we couldn’t see more from up here,” Astra lamented. “You just kind of disappeared for a couple of minutes, and then appeared.”

“Games are often like that,” Renard lifted his head, focusing on Astra. “You don’t see that much.”

“Quite a heavy cannonball,” Cassian admitted.

“You did really well though,” Astra smiled.

“Thank you.”

“Were you alright being in the water for that long?” Boblem worried.

“Oh, it doesn’t bother me at all.”

“That’s impressive!”

They made their way off the ship, back into the hubbub of the games.


	25. Storms And Squalls, Episode Twenty-Two

They walked about the docks. Renard was much more comfortable now that Cassian had dressed. Elyse glanced over to the rigging climbing, which looked similar enough to what she had climbed before. Being a nautical ship rather than aerial, it was slightly different, and a bit higher, but basically the same.

“You think you want to?” Renard asked, noticing her gaze.

“Yeah… I’m just,” she rolled her shoulders, “I mean, I’ve been fighting all sorts of monsters with this injury, so I don’t see why it would hold me back now.”

“Or maybe you should just get it seen to first,” Astra advised. “Before doing any harm to that.”

She shrugged. “You guys seem to want to do this right now.”

“I don’t mind if you want to go to the temple, and get that seen to,” Renard offered.

Cassian nodded. “The games are going to be here for the next few days.”

“Exactly,” Astra agreed.

“Yeah,” Elyse fiddled with her outfit. “I mean, not everyone has to come, it’s fine. But I would appreciate some company.”

“I’m not,” the wizard declined.

“I said that I would, so I’ll come,” Boblem volunteered.

Elyse smiled at him. “Thank you.”

“I’ll come, I'd like to see it,” Sariel added.

“I told you I’d come with you,” Renard followed.

She glanced around at them all. “Thanks, guys.”

“I have some of my own business to attend to,” the wizard repeated.

“That’s fine, you said.”

“I’ll catch…” Cassian made a point to look at Renard, “ _ You _ later.”

“Fine,” he shrugged.

The group walked off. “Never seen a temple,” Astra commented.

“Me neither,” followed Boblem. “What do they have in there?”

“Dunno.”

“Depends on the God,” Sariel explained.

“Depends on the Gods, so do the Gods like, live there?”

“No,” Renard glanced to the tiefling.

“Not as such,” Sariel agreed.

Elyse shrugged. “The people who worship them, I guess.”

“Do they live there?” Boblem pressed.

“Sometimes,” Sariel offered.

“There will be…” Renard trailed off, trying to find a way to explain, “Priests, and clerics, and particular people who are absolutely dedicated to worshipping their Gods. They will look after the temples, and give offerings. Provide opportunities for other people to come worship, and give advice.”

“Offerings, you say?” Boblem echoed. “Like what?”

“Like gifts, or money, that some people leave,” Sariel explained.

“Do the Gods take it?”

“Sometimes it goes towards the temple.”

“That’s nice.”

“But some people think that it brings favor, with the Gods, if you leave them things.”

“Hmm.”

They headed off through the town, into the busy square. In Tempest Square, the blue-grey cobblestones led to the statue on one end, the city hall, and the Temple of Kord. A stormy grey, stone built temple, it was rectangular, and about sixty feet wide, stretching back at least one hundred and fifty feet under a flat roof. It was mostly unembellished, but very finely made, the stone water smooth and very well built. In the front, facing the square, were four pillars of deep blue granite, flecked with lighter veins of silvery grey. A heavy black door made of reclaimed wood lay beyond.

As they approached, it opened, and a few people walked out before the doors closed back again. They walked up to the pillars, standing outside the entrance of the temple.

“Kind of intimidating, isn’t it?” Astra worried.

“It’s just a building,” Renard assured him.

Elyse reached into her pouch, putting a hand on her arcane focus before walking inside. They pushed open the doors, revealing a small space before them, about ten feet deep, built of featureless stone slabs. There was an endless wall of water coming from the roof, pouring over in a slit from the ceiling and into a channel on the floor before disappearing to the sides. There was quite a roar. “Is this normal?” she asked.

“Temples are built differently,” Renard explained.

There was nobody around. After standing around for a few seconds, someone walked through the wall of water, soaked. They nodded at the group as they passed, pushing through to the exit. They didn’t seem to be a cleric or a priest, just a regular visitor.

Astra looked at the water. “We have to walk through the water to get in?”

“I guess,” Elyse shrugged.

“I imagine so,” Renard agreed. He walked up to it, stepping through. As the rest of the group followed, Elyse felt her tiefling disguise fade away.

“Great,” she huffed.

“Don’t worry about it.”

They stepped through into a much larger room. There were pews on either side of the room, facing each other and arranged in a semicircle, built of stone coming from the floor. Beyond the altar was a much smaller doorway. Probably to the priest’s chambers.

There were three priests, two of whom were attending to people that were sitting on pews, speaking to them quietly. Within thirty seconds, the water had miraculously dried from the group. A few people looked up, noticing them, but nobody came over to address them.

Elyse took it all in. The walls were the same blue-grey stone. There were no hanging decorations or pieces of art, but where the pillars met the ceilings, there were embellishments and carvings of crashing waves and ships with bolts of lightning and clouds all around the top. The priests were in sleeveless tunics that went past their knees, with sturdy dark boots. The tunics were similar in color to the walls, and they wore driftwood circlets around their heads.

“This what you were expecting?” Renard prompted.

“I didn’t know what to expect, I’ve never been inside an active temple before.” Steeling herself, Elyse walked up to the priest near the altar.

He was an older man, humanoid, with dark brown skin, and a short cropped white beard. Puffy white eyebrows raised as he looked up at her. “Good afternoon.”

“Hi.”

“Enjoying the games?” he busied himself with materials on the altar.

“Yeah, um, I was wondering, um… a few things I need, but first of all, mostly healing? And maybe someone, if anyone’s capable of sending a message for me?”

“Healing can be offered. Our cleric who is able to send messages isn’t with us right now, but when they return, we can see about that. Healing is a service we can offer. Which of you is it?”

“Me.”

“Oh, well, you can,” he nodded to the smaller door, “We can do that in the privacy beyond the door, if you wish.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Do you have time now?”

“Yes.”

“Wonderful. Well, if the rest of you have anything?” he glanced to the others. “Otherwise, I can… your name?”

“Aisha.”

“Aisha. I can take Aisha, and- ”

“Will someone come with me?”

“Someone can come with you.”

“I can go with you, if you want,” Astra offered.

“Thank you,” she nodded.

Renard put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a squeeze. “You’ll be okay.”

“Thanks.”

Astra gestured to the door. “Got you sapling. Let’s do it.”

The priest looked to the other three. “Find rest here. Your friends will be with you shortly.” He motioned through the door, and Elyse and Astra followed. He walked down a small corridor before taking the second door to the left. It was a small room, empty and featureless save for four or five beds, simple and hardy. There were basic materials, a few towels and linens. He gestured for her to sit on one, taking a seat on the other.

He nodded to them both. “What can I aid you with?”

Elyse took off her waterfall jacket, turning around to show him the hole burnt in the back of her tunic, the skin underneath purple and corroded. “That’s the main one. There are some others, but… this one won’t heal on its own.”

“Oh, oh my,” he looked over her back. “I can have a look at that. It will take some time… it may take a few hours.”

“Does it cost anything?”

“Unfortunately so. I’m afraid that the materials that will be drawn into this enchantment do have a cost.”

“That’s fine. How much?”

“Thirty gold pieces.”

“Okay.”

“Please,” he motioned to the bed, instructing her to lie down on her front. She kept the tunic on, but she unlooped one armhole to expose the wound.

Astra watched the man stand up, sitting in the middle of the room. He crossed his legs, lifting his head up. He began to chant in a language only Elyse understood, beseeching the Lady Kord for strength and wisdom and insight. It sounded like rushing rain. After five minutes, he stood, placing his hands on Elyse’s back. It ached at first, and he began to massage a purplish oil onto the wound. She had stared at him with wide eyes as he prayed, and when he touched her she tensed up completely, gritting her teeth. The process would last for about three hours. Someone came in at one point to grab supplies, but they quickly left.

Elyse spoke first. “You were speaking Fulgan.”

“No, maybe a similar dialect, but I’ve never heard it by that name. Aquin.”

“Oh. That’s the language… that’s what they call it in Sanskra?”

“Maybe, I’ve not been to Sanskra. Perhaps.”

“Can… can you tell me anything about Kord? I don’t know much about the Gods.”

“I can.” He launched into an explanation, recounting what she had heard before. He spoke of warriors and storms, sailors in stormy seas. He spoke of how she was depicted, and informed her she was much more on the side of order than chaos, which sometimes fell into martial law and the law of battle and war. But he explained that this temple was more about helping sailors, and looking after people in stormy times. She was noble, and unrelenting, like a storm. He spoke for at least half an hour, talking very passionately, and very clearly knowledgeable. He continued working at her back, a touch of cold when his blue-grey bracelets hit her back. Astra watched sparks of blue energy drift off his hands and soak into Elyse’s skin.

Astra doodled in his book. Elyse fell silent again for a bit, still tense, but allowing herself to relax. Eventually, she asked, “Have you ever heard the name Shah'rivar before?”

“Can’t say I have, no.”

“And you, you pray to Kord, and do you speak to her?”

“I speak to her. Can’t say she speaks back, well, not directly.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sure you’ve heard the storms. I believe that’s Kord’s way of speaking to us.”

“Hm. Strange.”

“The crash of thunder is her, calling out to those faithful.”

Elyse thought on this for a moment before shaking herself. “Do you have contact with other temples to her? Other places?”

“Occasionally we send acolytes over to other places. But, I’ve been here most of my life.”

“Do you know if there are any in Ospeia?”

“Most likely. I would believe so, but I wouldn’t know for certain.”

She went silent again for a bit. After a long pause, she spoke again. “This might seem like a strange question, but… can you heal minds in the same way you can heal a body?”

“Not really, no. That is beyond my power, unfortunately.”

“Or what about your cleric? You said they weren’t here? Like if someone… if someone… if there were things they couldn’t remember… is there a way to make that come back?”

“There are people other than those inside the walls of a temple who can heal minds and hearts. Look to your friends,” he glanced to Astra with a nod. “This is not the place for that. It can be for some, but.”

She fell silent again.

Outside, the others took seats in the pews. A cleric came out, explaining that it would be a few hours. “We can wait,” Renard nodded. “I mean, I promised Cassian I would do something with him, but… You two can wait here or go off and do whatever you like, I suppose. I'm sure they can tell Elyse and Astra that we can meet them back at the tavern.”

“We can do, if it’s going to take that long,” Sariel considered. “I mean, I don’t really have anything to do here, particularly.”

“I’ll wait a little longer, but if you two wanted to go and shop, or watch the games?”

“There’s nothing I need shopping wise. What about you?” she glanced to Boblem.

“I dunno. I was thinking, y’all are always journaling. Maybe I should get one of those,” the boy considered.

“Would be nice,” Renard grinned. He turned back to Sariel. “Didn’t you want a diamond?”

“Oh, yes,” she recalled.

“So perhaps, Boblem can go looking for a journal, and you can go looking for a diamond. I’ll go find Cassian.” He informed the cleric to let Elyse know to meet them back at the tavern. They passed on the message, poking through the door to tell Astra.

“I’ll see you both later than, I suppose,” Renard nodded to the druids as they left, parting ways.

“Alright, We’ll meet you back at the tavern,” Sariel agreed.

Boblem tipped his hat. “See you in a bit.”

  
  


In the time that had passed, Cassian had bought materials for his own project. He was sure to pull out a letter from the Merchant’s Guild he had in his bag. “Discount for good rating?” he asked the clerks. The price for everything was about fifty gold, but they were able to lower it to thirty for him. Satisfied, he brought everything back to the tavern, wrapping it as two halflings helped him carry everything back.

Renard wandered back to the square, waiting for the other man. After a while, the unmistakable figure appeared, heels clicking on the cobblestone. He looked up. “Cassian.”

“Renard.” The wizard glanced around, not seeing the others. “Everything alright in the temple?”

“Yes, Elyse is getting healing, it’s just going to be a few hours.”

“Right. Well, I suppose if you’ve been here before, do you know of anywhere?”

“I mean, I haven’t been here specifically to go sword shopping- ”

“So we should ask around,” he finished.

“Shot Square, north of Gullery Lane,” Renard suggested.

“Lead the way.”

They walked up through Tempest Square, along Gullery Lane and past to the edge of town. Shot Square was quieter, and a lot of places were closed. They went past one or two closed blacksmiths and weapon sellers, and they were able to find one after a while. They went in, and saw an orc working and stopping things up. There were racks of weapons in cabinets all around. It was quiet, and a bit dusty. The orc looked over in surprise as they entered.

“Oh, welcome!”

“Good afternoon,” Renard greeted.

“How can I be of service?”

“I’m looking for a shortsword?” Cassian inquired. “Fine made, preferably some sort of enchantment, maybe, to upgrade its abilities?”

The orc retreated a bit. “Oh, enchantments, I don’t know about that. But I’ve got plenty of fine weaponry. Don’t need to be messing around with any of that magic,” he waved a big, heavy green hand in his direction. “Don’t need to worry about that. Trust me, when you see my stock, you’ll know.” He turned to Renard. “Something for you sir?”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“Okay, okay.” He moved to the counter rolling out a leather wrap. There were a number of blades. Three caught their eyes. A light, balanced shortsword with an ornate, black pearl studded hilt. Another, cherrywood hilted with red wrapped leather, a cold black steel scimitar. There was also a small, narrow, stiletto blade with a black hilt and crossguard.

“Any of these catch your fancy?” Renard glanced to the wizard.

“How could they not!” the shopkeep proclaimed. “Pick them up, try them on for size.”

Cassian didn’t seem impressed. “I’m sorry, like I said, I was after something a bit more magical. Could you point me in the direction of a different seller?”

The shopkeep sighed. “I dunno. Check up Misen street. All sorts of weird stuff up there if this isn’t good enough for you,” he folded up the leather. Renard put a hand on his face in embarrassment. The shopkeep sat back in an old rocking chair. “No, it’s fine. It’s fine.”

“Your work is beautiful, my friend is just very particular,” Renard apologized.

“Arcane user would prefer an arcane blade,” Cassian shrugged.

Renard rolled his eyes, ushering the wizard out of the shop. “Come on, Cassian.”

“Thank you,” the elf called back to the shopkeep.

“Have a pleasant day,” the orc grunted back.

“You too.”

The owner grumbled something about the folk from Wilson’s Landing as they left.

They headed off in the direction of Misen street. They walked up a lot of old, more intricate, and more detailed buildings. They passed pillars and carvings, flowers hanging outside in window boxes. They walked through residential and retail areas before a place caught their eye. A simple sign hung outside in dark wood with gold lettering read  _ Oskin’s. _ There were no windows.

“I think this place looks good,” Renard nodded.

“Oskin’s. Worth a look inside?”

“Yeah.”

They pushed the door open, smelling dust and old wood. It took Renard’s eyes a second to adjust to the dim light. There were racks and racks of old clocks, individual chunks of armour, broken statues, weapons hanging from the ceiling, piles of objects creating little alleyways, items stacked on top of eachother. As they poked around, something clicked in the distance. They stepped over a couple of goblets that had rolled up to their legs. Around the corner, a big fat tabby cat meowed, looking up at them before disappearing into the junk. The pair looked at eachother, unsure.

  
“Well, possibly,” Renard shrugged. “Good afternoon?” he called out.

“Good afternoon!” a voice called back. “I’m coming, I’m coming.”

The pair shared another look, travelling further in. The shop was much deeper than they had imagined, and they headed through the labyrinth. Piles towering over them, they stepped past one that wobbled, trying to hold it steady. They found what was maybe the desk, but they couldn’t be sure if it was also for sale or not. A figure came around from the side, a very tired, very old elf, with pointed ears that were slightly drooping. They had thinning white hair, and wore half moon spectacles. He was wrapped in an old bedgown, and he closed his book as the pair stepped into sight. “Ah, ah. How have you found yourselves here?”

“We’re looking to purchase, uhhh…” Renard looked to the wizard.

“Arcane sword,” he finished. “Preferably a shortsword?”

The man seemed impressed. “Wonderful, wonderful. Any sort of preference, Master, on…?”

“As long as it can deal a good strike.”

“Ohohohoho! Yes, of course, of course. Bear with me…” he disappeared into the junk.

A minute went by. Five minutes went by. Fifteen minutes went by. The pair left behind shared multiple uncertain glances before they heard footsteps softly plodding back.

“Wonder if it’s worth the wait,” Cassian mumbled.

Renard shrugged. “Places like this normally are.”

The man came back with two long packages wrapped in linen. Very gingerly, he placed them down on the counter in front of them. He turned and pulled something else out from a near pile. It looked to be a long, twisted, serrated piece of shell, about a meter long. Twenty centimeters from one end was twisted, wrapped, and rounded. Beyond that point, it spread and narrowed out into, unbelievably, a blade of some sort. It widened at the tip, jagged and curved. It was unlike any weapon Cassian had seen before, deep blue with white at the tips of the serration.

The man opened the other two packages as well, very gently, and the wizard saw a teal tinted blade, a scimitar seventy centimeters long. The hilt was silver white, the blade itself teal turning to almost white. It looked incredibly sharp, and incredibly old. The final item was a deep metallic blue blade, much wider, probably ten centimeters wide and fifty centimeters tall. It spread the full width before opening and widening out, almost like the head of a hammerhead shark, two equal points poking out to the side. There were holes punched in the tip of the blade, and running down the central column were runes he didn’t recognize. It was a very finely made hilt, black leather wrapping around the pommel with a jewel inset.

“Did you make these?” Renard asked.

The man shook his head. “No, no. I’m a collector, not a smith. But these are something special.”

“Oh…” Cassian’s eyes fixed on the latter weapons. “What can you tell me about these two?”

“Finely made as you can see, made respectively by dwarves of the sea, the Kehragir,” he pointed to the flat sword, “And elves of the sea, the Mel’ahrren,” he pointed to the scimitar. “Enchantments placed on both of them. The blades will never dull. Should you find yourself in battle with these, you’d have a trusted companion at your side.”

“Right… any particular abilities?”

“Not that I’m aware of, but perhaps.”

“Interesting. And the price of both?”

“For the star steel blade, 300 gold pieces. For the scimitar, 155.”

Cassian looked them over. The runes on the dwarven sword suggested some further power, but he couldn’t be sure what.

“They’re both very well made,” Renard nodded to the shopkeep. He picked up the scimitar, and it felt like he was holding nothing at all. He moved it around in his hand, and it cut through the air.

Cassian watched him. “Do you mind?” he held out a hand. Renard passed it over.

The shopkeep pointed to the other blade. “Forged from a meteorite that fell into the sea. Created in the heart of a volcano under the sea. Something special, hence the price.”

The other sword was heavy, a dense weight to it. “This would deal quite a blow,” the wizard observed, looking over the other blade.

“Both would surely. In the hands of the right wielder.”

Renard watched Cassian look over the blades. “What are your thoughts?”

The wizard motioned to the dwarven one. “I believe that this one has something more to it…”

“Okay. Like the javelin?”

“Like the javelin. But, after my… well, even before, I don’t have the gold to back it up, unfortunately.”

“Are you adventurers?” the shopkeep asked.

“Some may say.”

“In a way,” Renard followed.

“If you have trade, I can perhaps lower the cost,” the man offered. He glanced to Renard. “Your mask sir, that’s finely made. Should you be willing to part?”

He retreated a bit. “No.”

“Understood.”

Cassian glanced into his bag. “I have… 130 that I could spend on it, but…”

The shopkeep shook his head. “Alas, I could not part with such a treasure- ”

“I can give you the rest,” Renard offered.

Cassian glanced up. “I suppose I could pay you back when we hand the map in.”

“Or you can just owe me a favor.”

Cassian started back at him, unsure how to respond.

“I want you to have a sword, Cassian,” Renard insisted. “It’s gonna be incredibly beneficial to all of us. It’s a good sword.”

The wizard screwed up his face for a moment, considering. With a sigh, he held out his hand for a shake. “Then a favor it is.”

Renard rolled his eyes behind the mask before shaking the hand. Cassian was pleased with the small victory for contact.

“With that blade sir, you’ll have two companions by your side who are worth their weight in gold,” the shopkeep smiled, glancing between them.

The wizard blinked in surprise. “Are you talking about Renard?”

“Yes! That’s no small sum he just lent to you sir!” he responded, a bit indignant.

Cassian eyed the prince. “He’s… alright.”

This time, Renard was surprised.

“Well nevermind, nevermind,” the shopkeep put the other two swords back, pulling out a beautiful scabbard, black leather inlaid with elements of turquoise. It looked similar to the armour Cassian had. The man opened the buckles and placed the blade into it, handing it over. The wizard affixed it to his belt.

Renard set about counting the other 170 pieces of gold. “Where did you get that one?” he wondered.

“Oh it was brought to me, by a dwarf actually,” the shopkeep explained. “Said it was an old family relic, didn’t have a need for it anymore.”

“Does it have a name?”

“The sword? No. Perhaps it has a name, but not one that I’ve heard of.”

“You have to name it,” Renard glanced to the wizard.

“It was made by the Kehragir. The dwarves of the sea. If that helps,” the seller offered.

Cassian looked down at the blade. “If it comes from the ocean, it is as strong as I am. I’ll give it a fitting name. Undertow.”

Renard nodded. “I like it.”

“Don’t get caught in it.”

Renard chuckled a bit as the seller continued to speak. “I like that. Can I interest you in anything else? We have many cups, many chests…”

Renard glanced around. There was a lot of crockery, cutlery, old shiny plates made of fine material. There were hinges and buckles and clasps, racks of belts, elements of clothing. There was a little bit of armour, no full plates, and a ¾ a set of armour in the corner, but old, dented, and battered. There were flowerpots of fine materials, sextants and compasses. A couple of books, though no spellbooks. There were a few instruments, and he picked a lute down off the shelf, asking the price.

“For that beauty? I’d say twelve pieces of gold, considering how much you’ve spent here already.”

Cassian looked at him in question.

“It just looks nice,” he explained. “I know Astra likes instruments, I dunno.”

“I’m sure he would appreciate it,” Cassian replied.

“Belonged to quite a famous musician,” the owner continued.

That sparked Renard’s interest. “It did?”

“Although the name escapes me… I’ve had that piece for a very long time. And I’ve been around for a very long time.”

Cassian met the other elf’s eyes in solidarity. He would guess that man to be about 800. At the realization, the wizard let out a low breath.

The lute was forest green, a black lace trim around the side. The man couldn’t find a matching bow, but he offered  _ a _ bow. Renard passed over the gold, and the lute was placed in a box for him. Remembering at the last moment, he asked if there were any diamonds available in the shop.

The shopkeep frowned. “Um, I mean, I have diamond jewelry if you’d be so interested? Diamonds by themselves no, but there are jewelers around the city.”

“Okay, that’s fine.”

“I can find us a fair price on diamonds,” Cassian assured him.

“Sure.” He turned back to the man behind the desk. “Thank you.”

“Your patronage is much appreciated. Enjoy the games.”

“Thank you sir,” Cassian nodded. The two left, closing the door behind them.

The shopkeeper turned to look back through his store. “Right. Mittens?”

_ Meowwww. _

“Don’t take that tone with me.”

  
  


The two druids stepped out of the temple. “We can get you a journal,” Sariel nodded.

“Yeah, if you don’t mind coming along,” Boblem smiled.

“Of course.”

They found one easily enough, and Boblem passed over two silver for it. On their next stop, Sariel bought 50 gold’s worth of diamonds. They found some extremely small ones, filling a small pouch with them that could be tied around something for keeping. She put it around her neck.

“Fancy,” Boblem grinned. “You look fancy.”

Boblem dropped a bit more on diamonds, collecting 100 gold’s worth. They had a sack of uncut jade and onyx from the temple that they traded in, earning them yet another 50 gold’s worth of the little diamonds.

  
  


In the temple, Elyse spoke to the priest again. “So this Aquin you speak. Did you learn it before you became a priest? Or is that something to do with…?

“No, I learned this in the service of our Lady. Many of the priests speak Aquin.”

“Huh. Uh, why?”

He chuckled. “You know what, that’s a good question. Many of the texts of her are written in that language, and to understand all that is written of her, and where she’s from, you have to speak the words.”

“Do you have any of those here?”

“We have some, yes.”

“Could I look at them? I’m a researcher, I’m just interested.”

“Regardless, when you’re finished here, you can have a look. Now might not be the best time. When you’re done. Is there anything you’d like to know? I’m happy to answer questions.”

“I don’t really know what to ask? Obviously there’s a connection with storms and the water. Do priests to her use magic?”

“Occasionally.”

“Elemental magic?”

“Yes. When water and air meet, is where you find a storm. Many of us speak Ouran as well.”

“What’s that?”

“Another dialect.”

“Of?”

“Of the Primordial Languages. There are four dialects,” he explained.

“Primordial?”

“Terin, Ignan, Ouran, and Aquin. They’re composed of four major elements which buildup most of our world. There are the sub elements of course.”

Elyse started laughing.

“Something funny?” he prompted.

“That’s fine, don’t worry. But you’ve never heard of Fulgan?”

“No. Must be a very specific dialect.”

“I guess so.”

He shrugged. “Like I said, there are other sub elements. There are planes where other dialects and peoples come. The plane of mud, and ash. Where the planes of earth and water mix, the eternal fields of mud. Where the planes of water and air mix, the plane of storms. There are many.”

“Do you know anything about that?”

“Yes, of course, that’s where the Lady is from.”

“What?”

“The plane of storms is either where the Lady is from, what she made, or simply a manifestation of her. It’s not so much a physical place you can be, at least not for us.”

Elyse furrowed her brow, mumbling to herself. “Why’d he not mention that…”

“I’m sorry?”

“Um, nothing, uh, that’s really interesting. Thank you.”

“That’s okay. Maybe the books will clear some more things up.”

“Yeah. I don’t suppose while I have you here, you can do anything about the scar on my face? I’m guessing it’s probably too long gone.”

He looked over. “This won’t scar. You’ll be fine. It’s fresh. You’ll be alright.”

“You can heal it?”

“No, but time will. This might be with you for a month or so. It looks like a deep cut. Whatever did that was likely deadly.”

“Mhm.”

“Don’t worry. While the skin is fresh and tender it might draw some attention, but you’ll be fine. This won’t last too long. The tissue is healing.”

“Oh. Okay. That’s good to know. Do you know when that person who can cast the sending message, will be back?”

“Perhaps tomorrow. I couldn’t be certain.”

“I guess I’ll come back then. Who should I ask for?”

“Ask for me. Raela. And with that,” the man leaned away, “You should be done.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you, thank you for your patience today.”

“Of course,” Astra smiled.

“Thanks Astra,” Elyse nodded to him.

“Wasn’t anything to sit here with you. How do you feel?”

She felt surprisingly better. Astra looked to see that the wound had faded to a dark purple bruise. The flesh had knitted back together, with a bit of collected blood under her skin, but the width of it was halved. Her shoulder felt a little bit tender from his knuckles working in the magic.

“I’d advise you take it easy,” the priest cautioned.

“No rigging climbing competition,” she shrugged.

“Tomorrow, perhaps. Maybe not today. Rest on it for today. And if you’re going to compete, then good luck.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m from Wilson’s Landing myself,” he grinned.

“Oh, I’m not, just travelling through there and they were like,  _ do you wanna do this thing, _ and everyone else said yes.”

“They’re very welcoming.”

“It was a nice town.”

“You’d do well to find yourself there.”

“How much do we owe you for healing her?” Astra wondered.

“Thirty gold pieces.”

Elyse passed over the coins.

He took her hands. “May Kord’s strength find you both. Guide you on your path.” He led them to the door, pointing to where the books were as they thanked him. “I have other business to attend to, but, find yourself here should you ever need help again.”

Elyse looked through the books for relations to anything she had heard of. There was no mention of Shah'rivar, though there were connections aplenty between Kord, the plane of storms, and the plane of light. It was a subplane, where the planes of air and water met, a metaphysical realm beyond her understanding. There were tales of people who had visited the ends of elemental planes and doorways between them, whether by the infamous stair through the city of Sigil, or through portals that manifested in the mortal plane. Where the two met, air and water, was the plane of lightning and storms. There were plenty of writings and references that this was either Kord herself as the manifestation of it, that she was born there, or that she made it. Multiple academics had conflicting opinions and theories.

While she browsed, Astra checked his bag. Knowing how the water had washed off Elyse’s disguise, he was a bit nervous to look, but everything inside seemed alright. They bid their goodbyes, and walked back through, soaked for a moment before the water began to run off them. It was late afternoon, the games still ongoing.

The group congregated once more. “Is anybody hungry?” Renard surveyed.

Cassian was the first to answer. “Yes.”

“I could eat,” Sariel agreed.

“Yeah, me too,” Elyse followed.

“There’s a tavern I ate at the last time I was here. It’s called the Flying Ferrelsman,” Renard suggested. “It’s very good.”

They agreed on the plan. “I like your new sword by the way, it’s very fancy,” Sariel nodded to the wizard.

He glanced down at it. “Oh, thank you.”

“A very exciting purchase,” Elyse grinned.

“A very exciting purchase.”

“Can I- ”

“Oh, Astra!” Renard picked up the new lute. “I didn’t know whether this was overstepping the mark, because you already have one, but it was beautiful and I just thought…” he held it out.

Astra stared at it for a moment. “Is that for me?”

“Yes.”

“You, bought something for me?”

“Yes. You don’t have to accept it, I understand you already have your own, just… The man in the shop said it once belonged to a very famous musician.”

Astra looked quite shocked and overwhelmed.

“It’s beautiful,” Elyse approved.

“That’s what I thought. I don’t know anything about instruments whatsoever,” Renard explained, “But I thought it was pretty.”

Sariel observed the gift. “See how it sounds.”

Astra took it. It needed a tuning.

“Looks lovely though,” Boblem defended.

Astra beamed. “Thank you so much.”

Renard smiled back. “That’s okay.”

“No one’s ever bought me anything before.”

“Ever?”

“No. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Astra set about tuning it.

“This shop, is it the same place you got your sword?” Elyse asked.

“Yes,” Cassian nodded.

“What, magical curiosities and things?”

“If you’re looking for someone to shift some of that stuff on, I’d imagine he might be willing to trade,” Renard suggested.

“Yes, he has a cat as well,” the wizard recalled. “Strange creature, but. Cats are nice.”

Boblem looked very excited. “A cat?”

“Cats are nice,” Sariel smiled.

“Elyse,” Cassian gestured to his sword, “I was wondering if you might take a look at it. It’s got some runes along, so we think it might be like the javelin, but we couldn’t quite...”

“Ah, of course. Maybe wait until we get back to the inn,” she agreed. “But I’d be happy to look at it for you.”

“Couldn’t quite figure it out myself.”

“That’s fine,” she grinned. There was a definite weight lifted off her, now that she had been healed.

Renard led them to the tavern. It was mostly quiet, most people still out at the docks. There were a few reluctant bar staff, aimlessly tidying things that were already clean. They perked up when the group came in. “How are the games going?”

“Fantastic,” Renard smiled. “Two winners here,” he explained, Cassian’s voice echoing his words.

“Champions Cassian and Boblem,” Elyse announced as the boys waved.

“Ohoho! Come in, come in. A drink for you two then,” one clapped. “Take a table, any one, they’re all free. Food?”

They agreed. They sat, and drinks were brought over. Cassian passed his to Elyse, but she didn’t drink it this time. Food was brought over shortly as well.

“I’m gonna pay for your food, since you waited with me for so long,” Elyse informed the bard. “And you can’t say no.”

“And I’m paying for yours,” Cassian pointed to Renard.

Renard glanced at him. “Do you have any money left?”

“Yes, little bit.”

“Fine.”

A modest meal was brought to them all for three silver each. There were plates of steaming curry with orange spices, sweet and spicy. Astra opted for the meatless choice.

Renard pulled off the scarf to eat, keeping up the hood and mask. “This has been pleasant so far. Nobody has tried to arrest us. Nobody has tried to kill us.”

“No arrests. A good day,” Elyse smiled.

“You feeling better?”

“Much better. Yeah, I don’t think I realized how bad it actually was, since I’ve just been putting up with it and ignoring it.”

“Doesn’t sound like a good idea,” Boblem worried.

“No.”

“It looks a lot better than it did,” Astra agreed.

“It really does. Thank you, for waiting that long.”

“Of course. You’d do the same for me.”

“How did you two do?” Renard nodded over to the druids.

“We got what we needed,” Sariel replied.

“He got a journal?”

“I got a journal!” Boblem announced.

“You did?” Astra smiled.

He pulled it out. It was full of plants and leaves patterned over the cover.

Renard examined it with approval. “Did you get a quill?”

The boy looked down with the realization. “Oh. I didn’t think that far ahead…”

“I have a spare,” Elyse assured him.

“Do you?”

“Yeah, I’ve got loads.”

“Aw, thank you!”

“And your diamonds?” Renard looked back to Sariel.

She motioned to the small bag. “Got 200 gold’s worth. Not quite enough for what we need, but we’ll get there.”

“That’s a lot,” Astra whistled.

“It’ll come in handy sometime,” Boblem agreed. “Hopefully it won’t need to, but knowing what we’ve been up to lately.”

Renard agreed with that. “Cassian says he can get a good price on diamonds, if we want to get more.”

“Oh, we should have waited for you then,” Sariel apologized.

The wizard wasn’t bothered. “Oh it’s alright. I was off doing my own thing.”

“Maybe you can go with them for the last of it,” Elyse suggested. “Put some of the group fund towards it.”

“Sure.”

“What do you need it for?” she turned back to the druids. “Would it be used up by it?”

“Yes, it would,” Sariel explained.

“Oh. Nevermind then.”

“Why, what were you thinking?”

“Well, I have a diamond. But if it gets used up, I can’t give it to you.”

“Must be special.”

“What diamond is it?” Boblem asked.

Elyse pulled out a necklace from under her top, a gold chain with a very roughly cut diamond on the end. “I use it for spellcasting, so it can’t get used up.”

“That’s fair enough. I say you should keep it.”

“Yeah, I kinda need it,” she tucked it back away.

“Anything else anyone needs to do this afternoon? Besides, potentially climbing some rigging,” Renard glanced to the sorcerer.

“Uh, I was told I should wait until tomorrow. I’m inclined to listen. But um, might be good to go flog off some of this stuff? Since I just spent thirty gold on getting myself healed. I dunno, lighten the load a little bit. Maybe look around for some shops interested in buying a few things while I’m here.”

“After the games tonight, Astra, you could make a ton of money playing your music.”

“Yes,” Elyse encouraged. “Definitely.”

“Oh yes,” Cassian agreed.

“WIth that new lute!” Boblem grinned.

Elyse had a teasing grin on her face. “I can be your hype man again.”

“That did seem to work out quite well,” Astra laughed.

“How about you, Ren?” Boblem looked over the table. “Is there anything you wanna do?”

“Any games you want to play in?” Sariel followed.

“I mean, I’d like to fight in the melee when it rolls around,” he admitted. “But no, I’m obviously, like I said, here for different reasons.”

“Do you need us to help you look into anything?” Elyse offered.

“I need to find information on the Weeping Eye. It’s what I missed in Sanskra. It’s getting quite pressing, so.”

“You mentioned, what was it, city hall? Before?”

“It’s closed today, apparently, so that’s no good to me.”

She shrugged. “Well we could go tomorrow, if you want. I’ll go with you, or I’ll go for you if you need someone too, like I said.”

“I feel like there’s probably other people we can ask around here, I just don’t know where to start. And it’s not easy when you’re trying to… not to be recognized. This is frustrating, I just don’t know where to start.”

“Like you said to me, chin up, right? We’ll find something, I’m sure. Can always just ask about rumours and news in taverns and things. You never know who might know things. Maybe Pebble might- no, we already asked him, didn’t we…”

“Where is Pebble? I haven’t seen him since we got here,” Sariel wondered.

While they were sailing up, they had seen him on the aft of one of the ships, lifting someone up and onto his shoulders. He was definitely in Lakeside. “Maybe we can try and find Pebble,” Elyse suggested.

Renard was looking thoughtfully into the distance. “Maybe.”

“We’ve got the whole night we’ve got to spend here anyway. I mean, you say you don’t want to be recognized, then just tell me what you want to ask people. I’ll do it,” Astra offered.

Elyse nodded as well. “Yeah, same. Happy to help.”

“Gods, I don’t know where to begin, apart from…” he trailed off. “Because if they found out in Sanskra… I don’t know.”

“That’s fine.”

“Just asking people where I can locate them. And I’m not looking for a fight, I’m just looking to speak to them.”

She rubbed her chin in thought. “Okay. Well, maybe we could pretend we wanna hire them for something?”

“Maybe.”

“People would probably point us in their direction.”

Astra glanced across the table to the wizard. “Cassian, you think those people you mentioned back in Sanskra would be able to help? You said you’d heard of them before?”

“No…” he grimaced. “I don’t think that’s the right track to go down. Unless we want to bring more unwanted attention to ourselves.”

“Which I don’t want to do,” Renard agreed.

The sorcerer glanced around the group. “What people?”

“The Gorgon,” Cassian whispered.

“I’m sure we can find something, some way. I’ve done plenty of… asking around to find information before. I’m sure I can be helpful, I’m sure someone else here has too. We’ll find something.”

Renard sighed. “Yes.”

“We’re a team, after all,” Astra replied.

“We are… well, we’re a team for Wilson’s Landing, apparently.”

“And we’re doing really well!” Boblem grinned.

Elyse smiled back. “I feel like we’re carrying the entire town.”

“You two did fantastically,” Renard encouraged.

“I’m sure you’ll do great as well when you play!” Boblem smiled.

He shrugged. “I find myself a little more distracted than I was yesterday when we signed up.”

“That’s fine,” Elyse reassured him.

Sariel watched him closely. “Has something changed?”

He looked at his hands. “I dunno, just…”

“Have a lot on your mind,” Cassian finished.

“I know how that feels,” Elyse replied.

Renard gave a half smile. “Starting to weigh on me a bit.”

“We’ll help you. We can start poking our noses around tonight, maybe. While there are festivities going on, I don’t think it will seem as strange.”

“Maybe someone will get drunk and say too much.”

“Yeah,” she laughed. “We do have a lot of booze.”

“That is easy to prey on,” Cassian gave a sly smile.

She turned back to Renard. “It’ll be fine. Don’t worry. So, where was this shop you guys went to?”

“Misen Street,” Renard explained.

“Oh, I was told about that by the woman in the inn. I was asking the person in the inn about where to go buy and sell antiques and things, so that’d be the place.”

“This guy’s probably your guy. He’s got lots of cups.”

“Lots of cups,” Cassian echoed.

Elyse checked her bag. “Well we have cups to sell, so clearly he likes cups.”

“He was just a collector of pretty much everything.”

“Oddities? My kind of guy.”

“Probably the oldest person I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” Renard considered.

“Older than Cassian?” Boblem asked.

“Oh,” the wizard shook his head, “In his 800s for sure.”

“Impressive,” Sariel replied.

“Wow,” Elyse grinned. “That’s incredible.”

Cassian made less enthusiastic sound in response.

They finished eating, and they headed to Oskin’s. Elyse sold off six nice rubies, one dirty ruby, seven pieces of gold jewelry, two golden candelabras, two golden gem encrusted goblets, a few circlets, the copper snake bracelet, and a few more stones. He didn’t take the other glaive, the jewelry, the teardrop crystal, the copper candlesticks, or the giant coins, but he offered 125 gold for the rest. She haggled a bit, and he revised the offer to 140.

“Much better. Thank you.”

The man chuckled. “That’s my pleasure, not used to being robbed in the daylight.”

“Not robbery, just business,” she smiled.

“Ohoho, just a joke, just a joke.”

“Are you selling any arcane items at all?”

“I’m afraid your compatriots have emptied my stock today.”

“That’s fair.”

“I might have a potion or two, see what I can do about that.”

“What kind of potion?”

“Potion of superior healing,” he offered. “Maybe one of greater healing, I couldn't be certain.”

“You could probably tell, I’m sure,” Renard glanced to Boblem.

“Yeah, I can try,” the boy agreed.

The man went to the back, pulling out one bottle. Boblem recognized it by color as a potion of greater healing. He swirled it around. “Yeah, this definitely a greater one,” he informed them.

“How much?” Sariel asked.

“250 pieces of gold,” the man stated.

They confirmed for a moment, remembering that Boblem was already making a few more potions. “It’s more important, perhaps, that we buy the rest of the diamonds first,” Renard suggested.

“I think so, yeah,” Elyse agreed, turning back to the man. “Nevermind, might come back.” She lowered her voice a bit. “I’m also looking for lockpicks, tools of that nature…”

The man retreated. “No, no, I don’t sell anything of that sort!”

“Anywhere here that might?”

“In no respectable establishment would you find such things, please!”

“You don’t know what I’m gonna use them for,” she grinned.

The man huffed. “I should be changing my locks, is what I…” he trailed off, muttering.

“Any adventurer needs something like that,” she countered. “But fine, don’t sell it to me, I’ll go elsewhere.”

“No self respecting… Can you believe this, Mittens?”

_ Meow. _

Sariel and Boblem were petting the cat, who had rolled onto its belly, loving it. The man thanked them, but very brusquely ushered them all out of the shop.

Sariel, Boblem, and Elyse all called back to the cat. “Bye, Mittens!”

_ Meow. _

  
  


They stepped out on the street. “We heading back to the tavern then? The Towering Lord?” Astra checked.

It was early evening. The games were still on, but most shops would be closing. “I think that’s good for now,” Renard agreed.

Elyse glanced down the street. “I wanted to find some other stuff while we’re here, but we can go tomorrow.”

“Well I don’t know if there’s anything we can do tonight if you wanted to help me find information, otherwise we can just wait until city hall opens.”

“Wouldn’t hurt to go to some taverns and ask some questions, maybe. Might even find something at the inn, though I wouldn’t want to do that so close to home, as it were.”

“Is there anything you already know?” Sariel pressed. “That you can tell us.”

“Anything that might help?”

“I know that they are…” he chose his words carefully, “A company of mercenaries, who were hired to do a job. And what I want to find out from them is who hired them.”

“Okay. Yeah, I guess if we pretend we want to hire them, ask around, maybe find some information? Or do you not want- would that be a bad idea, from what you know of them?”

“Mercenaries are hired for all sorts of reasons, but, from what I’ve gathered, everything I’ve learned so far… The Weeping Eye doesn't have the best reputation, so. Probably not going to look particularly great on us, going around telling everyone we want to hire them specifically.”

“Okay. Well, I guess we don’t have to tell people why we’re looking for them. Are they known for being…. Would anyone in this town find it contentious if we said we were looking for them because, we didn’t like them? In the way people in this town do?”

“I don’t know. I’ll be honest with you, I only found out who they were when we were in Farrelstadt.”

“Okay. Who did you find that out from? That might help.”

“Captain Kolz. The day after you disappeared.”

“I remember Kolz,” Cassian nodded.

“He was an old mercenary captain, managed to get some information out of him.”

Elyse raised her eyebrows. “An old mercenary captain of thiers?”

“No, no. Some other company, as far as I can tell.”

“I mean I’ve worked with plenty of mercenaries, but I don’t know if that knowledge is going to count for anything here.”

“I think what we need to find is somebody in Lakeside who would know rumours about them. Like I said, they don’t have the best rep. I don't think they have the best rep within Shadebourne either. So, I don’t know. I’m not exactly good at this sort of thing, this is not my… field.”

“You look around, see the area at night, see who comes your way, and…” Cassian shrugged.

“Ask questions,” Elyse finished.

“Ask questions.”

“As you can imagine, that’s not something I’ve done very often,” the prince admitted.

Elyse grinned. “Don’t worry, I think me and Cassian have you covered. We can disguise ourselves anyway, so it doesn’t come back to any of us.”

“Exactly,” the wizard agreed.

“In which case,” Renard continued, “I do know where the seedy part of town is.”

“Yeah?” Elyse looked to the others. “Should we go now? Does everyone wanna do this, together, or would it be wise to, maybe, have fewer people around for this sort of thing? I don’t know, depends.”

“We could wait at a tavern,” Boblem volunteered. “So it doesn’t look like we’re all crowded in one space.”

“Astra could play some music,” Renard considered.

“Yeah, that would be a good distraction as well,” Elyse agreed.

The bard nodded. “I can do that.”

Renard glanced over. “You can?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you.”

“Earn us some more money,” Elyse grinned.

“Earn Astra more money,” Sariel countered.

There was a residential area off the docks called The Squalls, or, on the north end of town were Flotsam and Jetsam, two neighborhoods that weren’t the nicest. Renard led them through the center of the city, passing the cartographers’ guild and making a note of that for later. Things were dying down, the crowds thinner as people left for the day to get drunk at the taverns and continue the celebrations. As they walked on, they heard the thunking sounds of something metallic hammering into wood. Where they passed the galleries, people were throwing knives and blades and axes.

Cheers went up as a red skinned, white shirted character took a bow, pulling out another knife from somewhere and flicking it into the gallery, hitting a target dummy without looking. He turned around, and they saw a dashing face with wavy long lack hair, pulling a hat off to reveal a pair of horns before taking a bow. He looked up, catching Astra’s eye to give the other tiefling a wink.

The bard blushed heavily blue as they walked on.

Moving through the docklands and past the ends of the platforms, people were beginning to pack things away. They made their way to the quieter part of town, with buildings leaning on each other, and more puddles and broken flagstones around. There were shouts as two people were pushed out of a door, throwing punches at each other as glass smashed.

“Well, I would say this is probably the start of the rough part of town,” Renard announced. “So, do your thing.”

“Maybe Cassian and I can disguise ourselves,” the sorcerer planned. “Ask some questions. And if anyone else wants to get in on that too, maybe Astra can play some music somewhere, cause a little distraction.”

“Yeah, of course I can do that,” the bard agreed.

Boblem shifted his feet. “I think I would just be in the way if I came with you, so, I’ll go with Astra.”

“Same,” Sariel agreed.

“Yeah, hang around and throw a couple of coins into his bowl like Elyse did,” Renard grinned.

“Hype him up,” the sorcerer smiled.

“Yeah!” Boblem nodded with enthusiasm. “He deserves it.”

“You might not be comfortable with it,” Elyse warned, looking to Renard, “But I can make you invisible, if you’re really worried about being seen.”

He hesitated for a moment before agreeing. “Do it.”

Elyse cast her disguise, transforming herself into the lilac tiefling once more. She sent the invisibility spell over to Renard, who flinched as he disappeared. Pins and needles surged through him. As he looked down, it was very unnerving to not be able to see his hands. Glancing up to a window, there was no reflection. “I hate this,” the disembodied voice echoed. “I think I’m gonna be sick.”

“Well, just try not to be sick on me,” Elyse shrugged.

“Oh, do it,” Cassian leaned in with interest. “I want to see if it’s invisible as well.”

Elyse gasped. “Yes, do it!”

Renard rolled his invisible eyes. “I’m not actually gonna be sick.”

“Actually,” she rounded back to Cassian, “I can tell you from experience that anything that is expelled from you while you’re invisible then becomes visible. It’s very funny.”

“That’s rubbish,” Cassian scoffed. A middle aged, battle scarred, balding human male took his place as he cast his own disguise.

“Ugh,” Renard glanced over Cassian’s new look in distaste. He turned his head back down the street. “Let’s do this.”

Elyse nodded at the empty space. “So we’re just asking for information on the Weeping Eye?”

“Or anyone who might- ”

“Or anyone who might know where they are. Okay.”

The closest place they found,  _ The Creeping Vines, _ had loud music blaring from inside, and a lot of noise. It seemed busy enough. Pushing open the door, they headed in. They winded down a set of stairs, curling down in a half circle. It was a wide open bar, packed with about fifty people, and someone playing music badly on the other end. “Wanna do your thing?” Elyse encouraged.

“I can certainly do that,” Astra nodded.

Sariel looked to the green lute. “Try the new one out, maybe.”

“I will be.”

Asta waited ten minutes for the other person to finish their performance. He politely applauded as they bowed, and when nobody else seemed to step up, he took the stage. A fair few people glanced over, taking in his appearance. There weren’t many tieflings he had seen, short of the red one they had passed on the docks. It didn’t take long to captivate the audience, pulling them in with his songs. Laced with magic, the notes weaved through the air. He could almost close his eyes and see it reaching out into everyone’s ears, raising the hairs on their arms and backs of their necks. The rest of the group heard it emanating not just from Astra himself, but from the floorboards, the rafters, and the corners. Before long, most of the crowd was stamping or clapping in rhythm, suitably distracted and enthralled.

Sariel and Boblem threw some coins over. “Wow, Verdant Astra everybody!” the boy called. “He really is great!”

Cassian scanned the room. There was a light grey skinned woman with dark eyes and hair, almost reaching 6’ 6”, sitting at the bar. She only occasionally glanced over, sipping her beer as if the lute was distracting her. Giving a nod to Elyse, the wizard walked over, leaning over the table. Elyse stood behind.

The woman glanced over. “Am I in danger? Is this a shakedown, what is this?”

“No. Interested in finding out about mercenaries,” Cassian explained. “Seems like an interesting establishment.”

“You’ll find mostly fishers here, but. What sort of work you after?”

“There is a band called the Weeping Eye? If you’ve ever heard of it.”

“We just want to locate them,” Elyse added.

The woman shifted. “I thought you were looking for work. No worries,” she turned her head away.

“You offer work?” Cassian pressed.

“I do, but, if you’re looking for someone else then, why you come to me?”

“Thought you might know.”

“For a price, maybe. Maybe I’ll know. What’s it worth to you?”

“Not sure. Just interested.” He shot a different voice into the woman’s head.  _ “You should tell the man what he wants to know.” _

She instantly fell off her chair, and quickly bolted out of the tavern.

Cassian shrugged to Elyse. “Just asking friendly questions.”

“You didn’t even touch her,” she looked to the wizard in confusion. She lowered her voice. “Did you do something?”

He winked.

Elyse laughed and winked back.

A few people glanced over at the commotion. “Had too much to drink, you know,” Elyse covered. They nodded and turned back to the performance. Pebble was in one corner, drinking with a few other people, but he didn’t seem to have noticed the others. “Could go to Pebble. Might be drinking with other mercenaries.”

“Did you not ask him before about this?”

“Yeah, but his other friends might know something.”

“Maybe so.”

Elyse made her way over. “Pebble! It’s Cordelia, remember me?”

The tortle looked up, confused for a moment before he realized what was happening. “Oh, Cordelia… You’ve done something with your hair… your horns.”

Elyse put a hand up to her horns, where some jewelry dangled off. “Yeah I got that added recently, I really like it.”

“Oh… maybe I’m too old to keep up with this. Okay, okay. Come, drink with us. And who’s your friend?”

“Artigan,” Cassian answered.

“Artigan, Cordelia. Sit, sit, we’ll find a seat.” He dragged a few around. “Where are your friends?” Elyse pointed over to the bard. “Oh! I couldn’t see, I couldn’t see…”

“The world famous Verdant Astra,” she grinned.

“A pleasure to be in his company again. I should have recognized his music.” His eyes swept the crowd. “Ah, and your tall friend too. And the little one.”

“Who are your friends?”

“Well, this is Mick, and Neeby.” One half orc, and one full orc.

She took their hands, “Pleasure.”

“Nice to meet you,” they responded.

“They in your line of business as well?”

“Mick?” Pebble prompted.

The person across the table nodded. “Aye, most of my life. Just here having fun, no business.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Elyse nodded. “We were just…”

“Trying to gather some information,” Cassian finished.

“Yeah, we need to locate a mercenary called the uh, Weeping Eye, was it?” she glanced around the table.

“We heard they are less than favorable,” Cassian assured the group.

The two orcs shared a glance. “You won’t find them here, I don’t believe. But they’re a nasty bunch. Bad reputation.”

“That’s what we’ve heard,” Elyse agreed.

Cassian pressed on. “Who do we ask to find out more?”

“They operate out of Shadebourne,” they suggested. “That’s sort of their main operating area. I mean, you could check with the Watch, if they have any contracts with them. Frankly, I doubt it.”

“Have they been known to take up contracts with them?” Elyse wondered.

“No, no. But, I haven’t got any other ideas.”

“Don’t suppose any rumours that they might have been pursuing a job around here, or anywhere near here recently?”

They eyed her suspiciously. “You’re very interested in these folk… have they got something of yours? Someone?”

“No, just trying to gather information.”

“You sure? They’re known for that sort of work.”

She leaned in. “What sort of work?”

“Dark dealings in the night. People go missing.”

“Well, I’d guess that would be in line of what I’d heard before.”

“Stay clear.”

“Perhaps we are trying to prove such things,” Cassian suggested.

“Perhaps. Who knows. I’ll ask around, I’ll pass to your friend here if I hear anything.”

“That would be helpful, thank you,” Elyse nodded.

Renard was hovering close, watching all of this. Astra was still performing, now singing as well as Sariel and Boblem clapped along. “Wow, he's amazing!” Boblem called.

The night went on for a bit, some of them drinking or dancing. They asked around a bit more, confirming what they already knew, but they didn’t gain any new leads. The disguised pair had to slip outside to recast the spell after a bit, and soon the group had reconvened inside, sitting on upturned barrels as they watched the end of Astra’s performance.

A figure slid up to the two of them, sitting behind. “I hear you’re looking for mercenary work. Some names have been thrown around. The Weeping Eye, is that right?”

“Maybe so,” Cassian drawled.

They turned, and recognized the figure they had seen throwing knives at the galleries earlier. Now he wore an open jacket over his shirt, with a wide brimmed sailor’s hat and a long yellow feather coming out the top. Two curving horns poked through over deep crimson skin, a fine mustache on his top lip. “Aerenthias Van Wymarck. I believe I have some information that might help you.”

“Oh really?” Elyse leaned over.

“Allies, friends. People who are asking around about the same thing. We might be of some use to each other.”


	26. Aerenthias Van Wymarck, Episode Twenty-Three

As Aerenthias took a seat, an invisible Renard had to quickly move to a different chair. The tiefling kicked his feet up onto another upturned barrel, displaying long, high boots that came to his thigh, black leather with gold buckles. He swept the hat off his head, a bit of a struggle to maneuver it up through the horns, but he managed. He was relatively tall, wearing dark leather trousers and a yellow sash around his waist, with a loose and open shirt. On top of that was a leather jacket with buckles and straps for weaponry, though all he carried was a small dagger.

Cassian introduced himself. “Artigan.”

“Zavine,” Elyse nodded.

Pebble looked over, confusion on his face as he processed the new alias. “Zavine… okay.”

Aerenthias leaned over. “So, I hear you’re looking for a mercenary band?”

“Information on them, perhaps,” the wizard evaded.

“A particular mercenary band. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t heard of them. I might know someone who’s looking for them as well. We might have common interests, common goals. They’re not with me right now, but they’re in the city. How long are you staying about?”

“We’re staying for the games.”

“We’ll be here awhile,” Elyse followed.

He nodded. “Can I find you here? Are you staying around? In this place, I mean?”

“Closer to Tempest Square,” they explained.

“Easy enough to find. Okay, we’ll… not right now, but perhaps tomorrow I can bring them along, arrange a meeting.”

“Can you tell us anything about this person before we go running off to meet with them?” Elyse pressed.

There was a roguish grin on his face as he raised his eyebrows at them. “She’d rather keep some personal details to herself at the moment, I believe, but she’s trustworthy.”

“There are others travelling with us who are interested,” Cassian added. “Just as a pre-warning. They may be with us tomorrow.”

“Don’t be alarmed,” Elyse followed.

Aerenthias looked them over. “Savory types, I assume?”

“Of course,” the wizard assured him.

“Wonderful. Might I buy you all a drink?”

Elyse grinned. “Sounds wonderful.”

“Stick around.” He stood, his tail swishing through, a gold ring pierced through the end. He walked to the bar, holding his hat against his chest.

The others made their way to the table. Astra had made a total of 22 gold and 7 silver in tips, though mostly from copper coins. “Pretty good haul,” Elyse approved.

Boblem grinned. “Well done!”

“Don’t quite know what to do with all this money that I keep getting recently,” the bard blushed.

“Buy magic items,” Elyse suggested.

“I mean, sure, but I don't know what I’d use them for.”

“Hang onto it, maybe something will present itself,” Sariel advised.

“By the way, this guy we’re talking to knows me as Zavine,” Elyse informed them.

“Artigan,” Cassian offered.

Astra nodded. “Artigan and Zavine.”

“Going to lose track of all your aliases,” Sariel grinned.

Pebble rubbed his face. “I’m really struggling here.”

“Sorry Pebble,” Elyse grinned.

“Me too,” Boblem offered.

He shrugged. “Glad we’re on the same level. Maybe just keep one element common each time you do it?”

“That would make it really obvious though,” she countered.

“I agree,” Cassian followed.

“Maybe I’m not cut out for this,” the tortle sighed. “I should have listened to my mother and been a fisher. No matter, no matter,” he pulled over some more crates for space. “Haven’t seen your friend in awhile.”

“Renard?” Astra guessed.

“Oh, he’s about, doing his own thing,” Elyse covered.

Cassian spoke to the air. “If friendship be with us tonight, give us a sign.”

Renard flipped the wizard off. Then, realizing he was invisible, he flicked the elf’s head.

“There are friends in this room with us,” Cassian reported.

Elyse looked to the ceiling. “Maybe he’s closer than we think,” she grinned.

Aerenthias sauntered back over. “Oh wonderful, you brought friends.”

“These are the ones we talked of,” Cassian nodded.

“My my. You are a handsome bunch. I’ll be needing more drinks.” He left again, returning with a carafe of iced wine, placing it on the table.

“Thank you,” Boblem accepted one.

“Very kind of you,” Elyse grinned.

He poured glasses out for the group, raising one. “To new beginnings.”

“To friends,” Astra added.

He grinned across the table. “To friends.”

They drank, Cassian sliding his across to Elyse once more.

“Maybe we can talk at another point, when there are less ears around,” the man considered. “But, your friends here tell me that all of you are looking for a band of mercenaries known as the Weeping Eye.”

“We are indeed,” Astra nodded.

“As I mentioned to them, I have a friend who might be looking for something similar. Might be conducting similar business. Perhaps we can conjoin paths.”

“If you’d all be comfortable with that,” Elyse surveyed the table.

Renard bent to whisper in her ear. “Ask him why his friend is looking for them.”

“Why is your friend looking for them?”

“I’d rather not divulge that information right now. Perhaps you can ask them tomorrow, in person,” he apologized.

“It would be useful to know ahead of meeting this person, anything you can tell us.”

“I’m sure it would, but there are some things that unfortunately, I’m not at ease to share quite yet.”

“As long as you can guarantee there are no crossed wires and interests here,” Cassian warned.

“I’m fairly certain. In fact, I could guarantee it.” He smiled, two sharp fangs where his incisors were, similar to Astra’s. “Well, if we’re done talking business,” he lifted his glass once more.

“Let’s drink,” Elyse grinned.

“I suppose if there’s nothing else we can talk about without your friend, we might as well move from that conversation,” Astra agreed.

He nodded. “They’ll be around tomorrow.”

“One last thing,” Elyse took a sip. “Where do you want to meet tomorrow? In the square, or?”

“That’ll work.”

“Most people know where the Temple of Kord is?” Astra glanced around.

Aerenthias glanced over to the bard. “I’ve frequented it.”

“Great. That’s a good meeting point then.”

“Shall we say sunset tomorrow?”

“Sure,” Elyse agreed.

“It’s been a pleasure.” With that, he slid his hat deftly over his horns, tipped it, and finished his drink. “I look forward to seeing all of you tomorrow.” He raised his eyebrows at Boblem, then Astra. Boblem blushed.

As he turned, his tail flicked Astra on the shoulder. The door shut behind as he left.

“He is suave,” Sariel smiled.

“He was interesting,” Boblem agreed.

Elyse grinned at the bard, who was drinking heavily. “Astra, he was so hot, you have to go for it.”

“Go for what?” Boblem asked.

“Nevermind,” she grinned, taking her own drink.

“I really do appreciate having you around, Boblem,” Astra smiled at the table.

The boy grinned. “Thank you! Nice of you to say. Don’t know what brought that up though…”

Elyse glanced over to him. “It’s very refreshing.”

Pebble chuckled. “Quite the charmer, looked like.”

Renard whispered to the sorcerer again. “Elyse, how long do I have left on this invisibility thing?”

“About fifteen minutes. Wanna get out of this neighborhood?”

“Our disguises as well,” Cassian reminded her.

“Sure.” She turned back to the tortle. “Pebble, it’s great to see you again.”

He smiled. “Wonderful to see you too. Will you be at the games tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I wanna compete.”

“Have you competed yet?” Astra wondered.

“Aye,” he smiled.

“What did you do?”

“I think I threw a cannonball all the way back to Wilson’s Landing.”

“I would have loved to see that,” Elyse laughed.

“You’ll see it again tomorrow, I’m sure.”

Boblem smiled. “What team are you representing?”

“Wilson’s Landing, of course.”

“Well done!”

“Boblem here wrestled the wyvern,” Cassian nodded.

“No…!” Pebble gasped.

“And won,” Sariel added.

Elyse pointed to the wizard. “Cassian won the diving.”

The tortle laughed heartily. “I’m impressed, I have to say. Though I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve seen what you and your friend can do. Alright, enjoy your night.”

“We’ll see you tomorrow?”

“I’ll be back at the games.”

“Have a good evening,” Astra smiled, standing up.

“You too.”

“Good evening Pebble!” Boblem waved as he stood.

They made their exit, and dipping into an alleyway, dropped their disguises. Cassian let out a sigh as he settled into his own form, examining himself.

“I feel sick,” Renard put a hand to his mouth.

Elyse shook her head. “I love being invisible!”

“How?”

“It’s amazing, you're so alert!”

“No, magic feels horrible,” he shuddered.

“All magic?” Sariel asked. “Does it all feel the same?”

“In my experience… I hate the sensation of it, coursing through your body, it’s just…” he looked around at the blank faces surrounding him. “I realize this is not the right people to be telling this to.”

“Maybe not,” Elyse teased.

Cassian looked him up and down. “Perhaps you’ll just have to get used to it.”

“Well if he doesn’t like it, he doesn’t have to like it,” Astra defended. “I don’t like using weapons.”

“Fair,” Elyse shrugged. “I mean, if you can cast it, or if you learned about it, maybe you’d be more comfortable with it.”

“I think maybe we should move on from the conversation…”

“I think Astra’s right,” Renard followed.

“Okay,” Elyse put up her hands. “Just trying to help.”

“Let’s get some sleep?” Boblem suggested.

It was still early evening, a few games still going on. “I’d like to walk back through the docklands, if that’s okay,” Renard replied.

They agreed. The sailor’s joust was over, but there were still tournaments going on, people fighting with blunted blades, shooting bows and crossbows at targets and dummies, hurling cannonballs. There was a long line of people with rods extended over into the lake, fishing. There was a stand where people could compete, but at this point it had degraded into smoking pipes and chit chat, nobody keeping tally anymore, or catching anything. It was oddly reminiscent of when they met Boblem and Sariel for the first time, only a few days ago.

“Feels like we’ve been friends for a long time,” Renard nodded over. “Looks like the docks in Mirrortail.”

“I guess,” Elyse chuckled to herself.

Sariel glanced along the water. “Seems so long ago.”

“So many things have happened since,” Boblem agreed. “When I was in the farm, years just kinda seemed to go into one another. Not much changed. But boy, being out there in the world with you guys, things keep changing constantly.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Elyse shrugged.

“Not necessarily bad.”

“How long ago did you leave the farm?” Renard wondered.

“I’m not sure. Perhaps around a month? Haven’t been very far, I guess.”

Elyse furrowed her brow. “And you hadn’t left it before then? At all?”

“Not really. I mean sometimes I would go into the woods and explore with my mom whenever she’d come visit. We would go and she would teach me some magic, introduce me to some of her friends.”

“Her friends?” Renard prompted.

“Yeah, she had lots of friends. They would teach me magic as well. They could do all sorts of cool stuff.”

“Sounds awesome,” Elyse grinned.

Astra looked concerned. “Did you not see your mom often?”

Boblem looked down. “No, she would kinda… come and go.”

“Like your farm,” Sariel thought.

“Yeah. She always found her way there though. I’m sure some way, I could do that as well.”

“Must be hard not seeing her that much,” Astra comforted.

Boblem’s face darkened a bit. Astra took his hand, giving a squeeze before letting go. “It is what it is,” the boy shrugged, giving the bard a squeeze in return.

“Well you’ve got us crazy lot in your life now.”

“Yeah.”

“Never a dull moment.”

“Again, sorry,” Elyse grinned.

“It’s not a bad thing,” Boblem repeated. “I’m very entertained.”

“Not just you,” Renard peeked at the sorcerer. “Got locked in dungeons and fought manticores and chased by bandits. This has been a pretty wild couple of weeks actually.”

“I’ve had wilder,” Elyse smirked.

“And wilder is yet to come,” Cassian predicted.

Renard nodded. “I’m sure.”

“Do you think?” Astra looked over to the wizard..

“Oh yes,” he continued. “If there’s anything from the past experience of this week to count for.”

“Does make me worry a bit, about what the creature in the pyramid said,” Boblem admitted. “About a year? What that could possibly mean…. Like, if it were to take away this year of our lives, I would have just… never met any of you. I wouldn’t have had adventures.”

“That’s really sweet,” Elyse replied, “But if that was the case, wouldn’t it have already happened?”

“I dunno. I just worry about it. What it might mean.”

“Me too.”

“Cuz a year, you guys have proven to me, can be quite meaningful.”

She frowned. “Yeah. Well if I do go to the library, I was planning on trying to do some research into sphinxes. I don’t know if it will turn anything up, or it might just make me go around in circles in my head, so maybe it’s not even worth it.”

“Look, the way I see it,” Renard cut in, “If we worry about it and we overthink it, we’re just going to waste a lot of time.”

“Exactly. And we’ll probably make it much worse in our heads than whatever it actually was, so.”

“Any case, I feel like we won’t find out for a year.”

“Start worrying in eleven months,” Astra grinned.

“I guess we shouldn’t worry twice,” Boblem agreed.

Renard straightened. “We’ll be a year older then, and I dunno, better suited to fighting sphinxes, or whatever we need to do.”

“Think we’ll still be together in one year then?” the boy smiled.

“...Maybe.”

Elyse grinned. “Do you think it’s just gonna turn up in a year and be like, okay, fight me? Was that the deal?”

They laughed.

Renard rolled his eyes. “No, no I was suggesting that maybe- ”

“I’ll give you a year to train! Fight me!”

“I was just suggesting if it came and it wanted something we weren’t willing to give, and, I dunno…”

“We’ll see, I guess.”

“We’ll figure something out, I'm sure,” Boblem smiled.

Renard looked over the others. “Where does everyone want to be in a year?”

“Oh boy…”

“That’s a big question,” Sariel thought.

Elyse’s face went completely sour.

Cassian shrugged. “Anywhere.”

“Maybe too big a question,” Renard backtracked.

Boblem turned the same question on him. “Where do you want to be in a year?”

“Home.”

“Shadebourne?” Sariel glanced at him.

Renard looked around, clearing his throat. “You maybe have that impression from all my costumes, but I’m not from Shadebourne.”

“Didn’t think so.”

“But I don’t really want to talk about home right now, so.”

“Fair enough,” Elyse agreed.

Sariel nodded. “In a year, then.”

“In a year,” he grinned back. “I dunno.”

“Maybe the sphinx will take you home. In a year,” Elyse teased.

“Wouldn’t that be nice.”

As they walked through the docks, Renard idly looked at the boats. He recognized several of the ships he had travelled up with, but none from before he had met this group. This side of the docks wasn’t where the trading ships docked though, this was just fishing. If he went to the east side, he might recognize a few boats.

Astra looked out over the crowd. “Does anyone want to do anything else with the games tonight? Watch any, or take part, or?”

“Looks like they’re all just smoking or drinking at this point,” Renard shook his head, glancing over the area. There was still axe throwing, archery, knife throwing,and the like, but the events on ships, rigging climbing, sailing, and jousting, were finished. There were a couple of people smacking the nine hells out of each other in padded armour and shields, fighting with blunted swords, wrestling, and boxing. There were still crowds, though less lively than earlier in the day, with more people moving in and out of taverns. “I wouldn’t mind hitting some people with a blunted sword just to get some stress out,” he admitted. “Don’t really care if I win or not.”

“You know what, that actually sounds amazing,” Elyse grinned.

They wandered over to the event. There was an elven person with a full head helmet, pointed ears poking out the side. They wore padded armour with a few plates on the top, a small steel buckle shield, and a shortsword. They were facing a human of similar build, wailing down blows on each other. Neither seemed particularly skilled, the elf deflecting many blows. After two minutes of parries and strikes, blades deflected, the elf kicked out the human’s feet, holding the sword at their throat as they fell back to the ground. A cheer went up, and both of them removed their helmets. They were brought to the front, the elf’s arm raised with a green ribbon fluttering.

“I’m sure you could beat them,” Boblem encouraged.

Renard appraised the arena. “Maybe. I don’t know, I just feel like hitting a few things. Might feel better.”

“We’ll cheer you on.”

Elyse went to stand in line behind him, and thought better of it. “I don’t really want to fight  _ you, _ feel like you’d kick my ass.”

“That wouldn’t win any points for Wilson's Landing,” he assured her.

“I’m sure they do it by teams,” Boblem agreed.

They cued up. They watched one more fight before Renard headed in. He was handed a blunted sword, some armour, a shield, and a helmet. On the other side of the arena was a young man around his age. With coppery skin and long white hair, he had slightly pointed ears, probably a half-elf. He limbered up, looking over. A group of three or four people were behind him, slapping his back, whispering in his ear, and pushing him forward. He kicked a bit of dust around.

Renard took off his own sword belt. Stripping down to his shirt, he dumped all of his clothes and armour into Cassian's arms. The wizard seemed surprised, but he held them. Renard put the leather on, and attendants helped to tie it around. It wasn’t what he was used to, but he had trained in this type of gear before. He took the shield and sword, not the best equipment, but usable. The helmet went over his head, the familiar feeling of cold steel at the back of his neck. Rolling his shoulders, he strode forward.

The half-elf stepped up, raising his sword to him, the point in the air. Renard raised his, and they tapped theirs together before his opponent stood back in a ready position. Renard just waited.

The half-elf lunged forward with a strike. Renard tried to parry, but it landed forward, hitting him. The notes of Astra’s music found their way into his helmet, filling him with the same adrenaline Cassian received before.

He moved forward to attack, but a shield came up to block, his blade glancing off it. With blinding speed, he moved again. Taking advantage of the opening, he struck at their ribs. They grunted as it slammed, a hefty hit.

The half-elf swung wildly, going wide. Renard stepped to the side, swinging back. The sword rang off their helmet with a heavy blow and his opponent went to the dirt. He lay still for a moment before groaning, pushing themselves up. Renard offered a hand, which the man took, pulling themselves to their feet. His opponent slid off their helmet, looking a bit groggy.

They panted. “Well fought.”

The martial stepped in. “People of Lakeside, we have a champion. For Wilson’s Landing!” They glanced at the victor. “Your name?”

“Renard.”

“Renard for Wilson’s Landing!”

A cheer went up. “You go Ren!” Boblem called.

“Made short work of you, Areth,” the martial glanced at the half-elf.

“Don’t need to remind me twice,” they huffed.

The martial nodded at Renard. “Good work.”

“Anyone else?” Renard called to the waiting line. He wasn’t done. That was too quick.

“Is no one else willing to take on the challenge of Renard de la Mer?” Astra called to the crowd.

A raspy voice responded. “I’ll take him on.” A large orc figure stepped in. “Might need a bigger sword than that though.”

“You only get the one,” the martial shook his head.

“Heh. Fine. Do as you want.” He disregarded the shield offered to him, taking the shortsword before grabbing another from the rack. He turned to face Renard. “Let’s go.”

“Bring it on,” Renard challenged in Orcish.

He grunted the same in return.

Renard lunged in, going right for his legs. The orc snarled as the first blow hit. Renard swung around, hitting the other leg, relentlessly slamming down blows. Before the orc could even get a strike on him, he went down.

The martial walked in, about to announce the victory when the orc stood back up. “Again!” he snarled, swinging out far too recklessly. Renard delicately stepped back as the blade went wide. The orc swung once more, hitting a strike against his knees.

Taking advantage of the forward lean, Renard slammed the pommel down on his opponent’s back. They growled, swinging an arm as they tried to bat the sword out of the way. Renard struck again, pushing him down into the dirt.

The orc pulled himself up, going for another attack. He lunged towards him twice in quick succession. Stepping back, the blows grazed off his armour.

“You should give this up,” Renard spoke in Orcish again, but they only snarled in response.

Renard slammed one sword out of the man’s hand, then the other. With a foot on his chest, he kicked him back, and the orc fell on his butt. He pointed his sword at their chest. “Don’t get up again.”

The orc raised his hands, conceding. “Well, I’ve gotta get up at some point,” he rasped.

Renard held out a hand, helping him up to his feet. The orc pulled at the hand, and Renard realized how heavy they were as his opponent stood.

The orc nodded at him. “I’ll buy you a drink sometime. That was good, I needed that.”

“Me too.”

The orc walked out, his head hanging a little lower. There was a bit of teasing from a few of his friends on the other side. He swore at them in Orcish as Renard watched him go.

“That counts as two wins, right?” Sariel pressed the martial.

“Fortunately so,” they agreed.

Elyse smiled. “Two for Wilson's Landing?”

“Two for Wilson’s Landing.”

“Three,” Cassian argued.

Renard shed the armour, handing back the equipment. Attendants put them back on the rack as a few more people stepped in.

“Short lived, but,” Renard shrugged as he returned to the group.

“Looked like you needed that,” Elyse grinned.

“Wasn’t much of a fight.”

“You were amazing,” Boblem smiled.

The people of the town were mostly fishers, with no real fighting experience. “Wasn’t much of a match, to be honest.”

Elyse chukled. “I’m sure we’ll have a decent match for you soon, don’t worry.”

“Don’t say that,” Astra chided.

“Yeah, that’s quite threatening,” Renard eyed the sorcerer.

She put up her hands. “I’m not gonna do it. Anyway, I wanna have a go.”

She stepped into the ring, facing a young half-orc lady.

Astra called to the crowd, “Wow, have you seen Aisha the storm wielder? Here from Wilson’s Landing!” With a smile, he began his music once more.

The half-orc readied herself, sprinting forward towards her. She swung, but it didn’t hit. Elyse dropped into a low stance, taking her own swing. The weight of the sword wasn’t what she expected, and it missed. The half-orc swung at her a second time, missing once more.

As she went to a knee, Elyse threw a swipe to the side, making contact. The half-orc flipped her blade around, stabbing up into Elyse’s ribs.

She swung back. Another miss. The half-orc, a miss. Elyse, miss. Half-orc, miss. They smacked at eachother’s shields, hitting against armour. Finally, Elyse landed a blow. Wearing her down with a series of attacks back and forth, Elyse launched in, the half-orc pressing forward, trying to kick at her legs. Elyse backed away, and as she stumbled off balance, the half-orc swung down on her leg, catching her off guard.

She pulled up her foot, kicking Elyse in the chest. Getting frantic, sweat pouring down the inside of the helmet as her breathing came sharp and heavy, Elyse jumped back, just jabbing into her, punching the shield into her waist. They were both panting heavily, on their last legs.

The half-orc hit again.

“You’ve got this!” Renard called out.

“You can do this Aisha!” Boblem supported.

Elyse swiped forward, but her foot slid on the sand, causing her to miss. The half-orc took advantage of it, striking Elyse down to the floor. 

“A point for Chidon Pier!” the martial called.

A cheer went up as the half-orc pulled off her helmet, dropping it to roll in the sand. A green-grey hand came down, and Elyse took it as she was pulled up. “That was close. I enjoyed that,” the sorcerer smiled.

“Well fought. I’ll be back here tomorrow,” the half-orc nodded. “Maybe I’ll fight you again. Pleasure.” They turned back to her group of friends. “You see that? That’s how you do it!” She turned to the one Renard had beaten. “She’s more muscular than the last one! You’ve got no excuses.”

Elyse returned to the others, sweat dripping down her face as she took off the gear.

“Well fought,” the martial nodded.

“You did well,” Renard encouraged as she stepped out.

“I’m out of practice,” she shrugged.

“Then we can practice.”

“And you just got healed,” Boblem pointed out.

Astra gave her a look. “You were told not to do anything until tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I was,” she laughed.

“And you almost had her,” Renard continued.

“If it was a magic match I would have entirely obliterated her.”

“Oh yes,” Astra nodded.

“That’s not even a question,” Renard agreed. “I’m just saying, if you want to practice, we can spar.”

“Okay,” she nodded.

“I also need to practice,” Cassian added.

“Oh yeah, you have your new sword.”

“I do.”

“There’s not anywhere in the tavern we can,” Renard thought. “Though we could somewhere in a field.”

“On the boat?” Astra offered.

“Also not a great place for sparring. I don’t want to be knocked overboard.”

“We wouldn’t be trying to,” Elyse countered. “But now that you’ve said it, it’d be funny.”

“Wouldn’t be funny.”

“Sorry.”

Renrd looked over at her. “I can’t swim, so. Not even as a joke.”

“Oh.”

Cassian glanced at him. “You’d be fine.”

“Yeah,” Elyse grinned. “Cassian, the champion diver, would be there to fish you out.”

The sun had set by now. The wizard handed back Renard’s things.

“Thank you,” Renard took the items, choosing to simply carry the coat back.

Cassian pointed to a few holes in the fabric. “You know I can fix this for you, right?”

“Yeah?” He shrugged. “I don’t care.”

Cassian rolled his eyes. “Okay.”

“Back to the inn?” Elyse offered.

Astra was looking to another event. “I’d like to try the crossbows. It’s been a few years since I’ve touched one, but.”

“You can use a crossbow?” Renard asked, surprised.

“Maybe. It’s been a few years.”

“Well why not, right?”

“Yeah, you could go,” Elyse encouraged. “Out here it doesn’t really matter as much as it does… in other places, so.”

“You wouldn’t really be hurting anything either,” Boblem thought.

“Yeah, exactly,” the bard grinned. “Might as well see if I can do it.”

“You should,” Renard smiled.

Boblem looked excited. “We’ll cheer you on.”

They got up close, only a few people around. “You coming? You playing?” Someone called.

The bard smiled. “Sure, you got crossbows?”

“We got some, we got some. What’s the name?”

“Verdant Astra.”

“Verdant Astra, for WIlson’s Landing.” They turned. “Mark it off Reggie! Let’s go!” they snapped their fingers.

A small figure with green skin and long pointed ears moved from the crowd. They had black clothes and a hood up over a cocky grin. “This is Ellie from Felricke,” the announcer introduced. “Go on, line up.” Astra stepped forward, and was handed a simple crossbow with five bolts. “Five shots, most shots on the target win.”

“RIght, okay.”

“Line up. Verdant Astra gets the first shot.”

Astra lined up, placing his feet in position. Looking down the sights, he pulled the trigger. It kicked back into his shoulder, and with a whistle it struck into the center.

“Yes Astra!” Renard called from the stands.

Boblem followed. “You go Astra!”

“World famous archer!” Elyse continued.

“I’m really not,” Astra informed the others around him. “Been ten years since I’ve used one of these.”

“Still so talented!” Boblem shouted.

As the cheers went on, Astra’s opponent hit their own mark. The second round, both their shots just skimmed the target, barely lodging in.

Reloading, Astra shot another. This one stuck to the head of the target, wobbling on the side, but still in. Ellie’s went wide.

“Oooh, taking the lead,” the announcer grinned at Astra.

“I don’t need that kind of commentary,” Ellie hissed. “Not while I’m working.”

“It’s just beginner’s luck,” Astra apologized.

“Right.”

Astra shot another, and the bolt split down the first bullseye. Distracted by the incredible shot, Ellie let another go wide.

“Yes Astra!” Renard yelled. Everyone leaned over and cheered.

The announcer held the final bolt away from the bard. “You’ve won. You’ve gained too much of a lead, Ellie can’t even shoot anymore. Unless you wish to?”

“I might as well,” Astra grinned.

“Go on!”

The bolt hit the edge again, straw leaking out of the target. Ellie missed once more, throwing their bow to the ground and stomping off.

“Verdant Astra for Wilson’s Landing, mark it down!” the announcer called.

“Yeah, that’s my boy!” Elyse shouted.

Astra returned to the others. “Well done Astra,” Sariel nodded.

“Thank you!”

“Didn’t know you could do that.”

Renard was beaming. “You’re good at that!”

“Thank you, it’s been a long time since I’ve tried to use one of those,” he blushed.

“Apparently you’re still just as good!” Boblem countered.

“Wouldn’t know it,” the announcer nodded. “You’re a fine shot.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Ruined my bolt.”

Astra winced. “I’m sorry about that!”

They shrugged. “Price of entertainment.”

“I can pay for it?”

“No, no, no.”

“Champion shouldn’t pay for anything,” Elyse teased.

The announcer grinned. “Exactly. Thank you kindly,” they took the crossbow, handing them to the next competitors.

“Is there anything you wanted to do Sariel?” Renard looked down to the smaller elf.

“They don’t have any magic contests,” she shrugged.

“Wanna do the rigging climbing,” Elyse looked to the ships, “But it’s not gonna go up again until tomorrow.”

“They have knife throwing?” Sariel considered.

They went. Stepping up to the dagger throwing range, a bit more confined and smaller, there was an older orc gentleman who gave her a nod as she approached, smiling silently. She nodded back.

A half-orc approached her. “Will you be competing? You might be one of our last.”

“Okay.”

“What’s your name, miss?”

“Sariel.”

“Take these,” he handed her three small throwing blades. He led her down the alley, past a few more orcs. One of her opponents bent down to her. “Here, let me.” He took the knife, putting it the other way in her hand. “You’ll throw better like that.”

“Okay…”

“Take a shot, go on.”

It went wide, thunking into the wood behind. “Good try,” the orc nodded. “Watch this,” he threw, his knife hitting the outer ring of the circle. “Go on.”

Sariel gave him a sideways glance, not enjoying how he patronized her. She threw another, the blade going wide and sinking into the wood wall. The orc threw one, hitting.

Sariel threw her third, and it skidded across the floor. The orc’s missed as well, clattering off the rails.

Two more knives were handed to them each.

The orc bounced another off the rails. This time, Sariel’s dove right in the center.

“Well done Sariel!” Boblem called.

Astra applauded. “Yes!”

“You’ve got this, Sariel!” Renard called.

“This is why the ice knife never works,” she called back to the others with a grin.

“You should be using real knives,” Cassian smirked back.

She threw the final knife, and it stuck straight in the center as well. Distracted, her opponent’s final throw stuck into the side of the wall. He gave a deep laugh. “Good job!”

She tilted her chin up at him.

“A mark each,” the announcer tallied.

“You did amazing,” Astra grinned.

“Well done,” Elyse agreed.

She shrugged. “Not my forte.”

“You excelled in it,” Cassian countered.

“You did really well,” Boblem agreed.

Elyse gave a matching shrug. “Sword fighting isn’t mine. You did great.”

“Thanks,” she smiled.

Elyse took a turn. She stood up against a human, who didn’t introduce himself. Her first went wide while his hit, but her second, third, and fourth hit in tandem with her opponent. He was looking at her coldly. The final throw, he missed, and hers dove in.

“4 each. Another draw,” the orc nodded. “They’re doing well down in Wilson’s Landing. A mark on each, once again.”

Another round of applause. “Well done Aisha,” Boblem grinned.

“Good job,” Astra followed.

As they left, people began to pull the knives out and pack things away. It seemed the event was over for the evening. “Everyone had enough fun?” Renard surveyed.

“Yeah, come back tomorrow I guess,” Elyse nodded.

“You both did pretty well.”

“They wouldn’t have had a chance if it was magic,” Sariel lamented.

Astra grinned. “I do believe that.”

“One day, maybe we’ll find a contest that's about throwing bolts of lightning and stuff at people,” Elyse grinned.

“That would be fun,” Cassian nodded.

Astra looked out to the town. “Should we head back to the tavern then?”

“Yeah.” Elyse turned to the wizard. “Did you want me to take a look at that sword when we get back?”

“Yes, that would be wise,” he nodded.

They walked down, past the pig racing. There were a few drunk people lined up outside the rather boisterous event. They could see a long track where big, big pigs were lined up on one end. People were fitted with saddles as they rode and raced down the track. Boblem stopped in his tracks.

“Boblem, you look excited,” Renard grinned, noticing.

Boblem was beaming. “Oh we  _ gotta _ do this! Oh, we gotta do this.”

“Did you do this on your farm?” Elyse teased. “Is this a farm thing?”

“Maybe? But I didn’t win anything for it.”

“Boblem’s gotta do this,” Renard grinned.

“If you can wrestle a wyvern,” Elyse nodded, “I feel like- ”

“You can ride a pig.”

“Yeah.”

“I wasn’t really competing with the pigs,” he admitted. “Anybody else wanna join me?”

“I might,” Astra grinned.

Cassian was quick to respond. “Absolutely not.”

“You can take this one,” Renard agreed.

Elyse laughed. “I’m okay.”

“Sariel?” Boblem offered.

“Astra, Sariel, you should,” Renard encouraged. “Come on, the three of you.”

There was a pen of pigs, and the track was wide. They could probably all race at the same time. “Pigs, pigs, pigs!” Boblem started to chant.

“Do it, do it!” Elyse encouraged. “When are you going to get the chance ever again?”

“Tomorrow!” Cassian countered.

They were all chuckling by now. “Come on, all three of you. It’ll be fun,” Renard pressed.

Sariel sighed. “This is the silliest thing I’ve ever done…”

They stepped up to a group of a few people staggering off and laughing, one covered in mud. The announcer turned around, and they were surprised by how much the man looked like the pigs themselves. “You here to race?”

“Yes, I think, I believe we are?” Astra glanced around, still unsure.

“Wonderful, my name’s Tommy. We’re sort of wrapping up for the evening but… Come on! Let’s get you saddled up. Right, have any of you ridden before?”

“I have,” Boblem raised a hand.

“Not a pig,” Sariel answered.

Astra grinned. “Not at all.”

“Ah, then this might be a learning curve for all of you,” Tommy nodded. “Not much to bear in mind. It’s a straight track. First one there gets it. Lemme see if I can rustle up a few other people so you’re not just competing amongst yourselves. Gimme a minute. Why don’t you go get acquainted with the swine?”

He led them to a wide open pen of pigs, about ten in total. Very, very big pigs. All of them were wearing saddles with basic bridles and reins, custom built. They were big, hairy, and a bit smelly. As they approached the gate, Boblem used his magic to speak with them.

He greeted the pen with much enthusiasm. “Hello piggies!”

They snuffled and grunted. “Hello!”

“Which one of y’all is the fastest?”

“Me!” “Me.” “It’s me.”

One butted another, pushing forward. A large, very broad shouldered pig with two little tusks appeared. Mostly grey and black, it had a wide pink belly wobbling underneath. It definitely had muscle. “Me, me, me.”

“Oh I like you,” Boblem grinned, petting it.

“Good pet, yes, yes, yes,” the animal snuffled under him.

Renard watched Boblem make snorting noises at the pen. Cassian looked on with disdain. “This is utterly grotesque.”

“I’m inclined to agree,” Renard admitted.

Elyse grinned at the wizard. “Not a fan of animals, are we, Cassian?”

“Not all animals,” he answered.

Astra looked to Boblem. “Which one doesn’t mind me riding it?”

“Which one of you are okay with being in the race?” the boy asked.

“Me.” “Me.” “Me!”

“You all like this?”

“Yes.” “Yes!” “Yes.” “I like it.” “Me too!”

“I think they’re all having fun, Astra!”

The bard put a hand out into the pen, and a pig gave him a kiss.

“I see you’ve chosen your compatriots!” Tommy walked back in.

“Wait! Have you chosen, Sariel?” Boblem looked to the elf.

There was one snuffling at her, and she gave it a little scratch on the nose. “Hello.”

The gate was opened, and the three pigs were marched out as they were led to the beginning of the tracks. There were three half-orcs on the other side of the divider, looking over. They were laughing, and quite a bit sauced.

“Right!” Tommy clapped. “Everyone, here’s the rules. A to B, get to the end fastest, first one there wins the mark. No punchin’, no kickin’, and don’t hurt the piggies, strict rule we have to enforce. Are you ready? Saddle up!”

The pigs were put into their bay, snuffling at troughs as the adventurers tentatively stepped up, straddling the pigs over a basic leather saddle. As they sat, they realized it was not very stable. As the bellies moved and jiggled, so did the saddle. They realized that they may not stay on these.

Boblem leaned over to his pig. “What’s your name?”

“Terrance.”

“You got this Terrance!” he whispered.

“Yeah!”

Sariel scratched hers behind the ears.

“I hate this, but I can't look away,” Cassian groaned.

The crew of orcs on the other side sat, almost falling off. One of them wasn’t even holding the reins, just grasping the saddle as they looked around nervously.

“Take your marks!” Tommy called.

A bell sounded, and all the gates were lifted up on a hinge. The pigs began snuffling and cantering forward, a cloud of dirt and dust kicking up as the piggy legs and tails bounded off. Boblem and Astra pulled ahead, their pigs galloping up as both legs flicked out at once in a very odd gait. Sariel was a bit behind. One of their competitors pulled between Sariel and the bard, with Boblem taking a clear lead.

It was very bumpy, their seats getting thrown about. The saddles were not very tightly secured. The speed was too much for Boblem, the saddle slipping off the side. His shoulder hit the dirt as Terrance skidded to a halt. Boblem was on the ground, full belly laughing as Terrance snuffled next to him, laughing in his piggish way before dropping to his back, belly in the air.

Another orc picked up, on pace with the others as Sariel took the slight lead, Astra just behind. At the same moment, the two of them crossed the finish line. About a meter behind was an orc, followed five seconds later by the other two.

There was a cheer from the stands. “This is very silly,” Sariel laughed.

Astra was close to tears from laughing. “This is probably the most silly thing I’ve ever done!”

The pigs moved up to a trough at the end, full of food that they buried their snouts in. They tipped forwards, and the attendants took their hands to guide them off the pigs. The workers hauled away the animals, leading them back to the pen. Terrance was collected by an orc, and Boblem collected himself, holding his stomach as it hurt from laughter. “Thank you Terrance!” he called.

The pig grunted back. “Thank you.”

Renard watched them all return. “You guys did… great?”

Elyse was in tears with laughter, drinking her little bottles of booze. Cassian’s eyes were wide in the horror of what he had witnessed.

Boblem looked to the winners. “Wow, you guys are both naturals. You’d do great at the farm.”

“Now you smell of pigs,” Renard grinned, looking over them.

“That’s something I’ve never done before,” Sariel laughed, “And I don’t think I'll ever do it again.”

“I’m pleased to have the experience,” Astra agreed, “But I’m pleased to leave the experience behind.”

“You’re so good at it!” Boblem encouraged.

“Thank you,” he laughed. “Good job Sariel,” he reached out to shake the elf’s hand.

“Congratulations,” she shook.

The pigs watched them go. “Did anyone check to see if there were bath facilities at our inn?” Elyse giggled.

“Not at our tavern,” Renard sighed.

Astra began to clean the dirt from them with his magic. “I could burn all your clothes,” Elyse teased.

“No, I’d rather not!” the bard replied.

Boblem hugged his overalls protectively. “Absolutely not!”

They began the walk back. “This has been very fun,” Renard smiled. “This is exactly what I was hoping for. Not like any tournament that I’ve ever seen before.”

“It’s a nice distraction,” Elyse agreed.

“It is.”

“We seem to be very good at many things,” Boblem commented.

Renard shrugged. “I’m just good with my sword. You all did fantastically.”

“I dunno about all of us, with those piggies,” the boy giggled.

“Boblem, you wrestled a wyvern. And won.”

“That was incredible,” Elyse agreed. “A slippery wyvern as well.”

“It was all very fun!” Boblem grinned. “I love competitions like this.”

Renard looked across the town. “I did enjoy participating.”

“Maybe more tomorrow,” Elyse smiled.

“Maybe.”

“I still want to do the climbing.”

“We’ve got time to spare until we meet Aerenthias,” Astra replied. “But let’s get back and just… get back,” he laughed again.

  
  


They made their way to the tavern, unimpeded. A fair few drunken sailors and fisherpeople waved at the group on the way, cheering and trying to high five them or clink bottles with them.

As the rest of them filed inside, Cassian stopped the prince, putting out an arm to block his way.

Renard sighed. “Yes?”

“I just wanted to… seriously express my gratitude for the sword, earlier. I don’t think I quite got that across at the time?”

“It’s fine, just make sure you make good use of it.”

“Yes, and um…”

“And you owe me a favor.”

“I owe you a favour, and I would… appreciate some lessons, at some point. If, you don’t mind.”

“Sure, I can do that.”

“Yes, I…” Cassian trailed off, giving a short, dry laugh, “Understand things might be a bit different on the road from the lifestyle you’re used to, but…”

“Excuse me? What are you trying to imply?”

“Things might not be as cushy as they are at home, but I appreciate… what you’re doing.”

Renard looked at him another moment before clearing his throat. “Right. Fine. Yes. You’re welcome.”

Cassian furrowed his brow, giving an unsure grin. “Oookay? Have I hit a nerve again?”

“No, I just… I haven’t been making a big deal out of the fact that… I think  _ you’ve _ been making a bigger deal out of the fact that things haven’t been that comfortable than I have, so.”

Cassian blinked, taken back by his reaction. “Well, yes, they haven’t been. And I thought that maybe you shared the sentiment?”

Renard looked back at him, wary. “I do, but we do what we have to do.”

“And I agree?”

“Fine!”

Cassian shook his head. “Ugh.”

There was silence for a moment as they looked away from each other. Renard crossed his arms. “We keep… doing this, huh?”

“Yes.”

They met eyes again. “Yes, I can give you… sword fighting lessons, I suppose. Just don’t worry about the money or anything, it’s not that important to me.”

Cassian glowered. “Oh right, mommy and daddy probably pay for it back home,” he scowled.

Renard’s face contorted in anger. He grabbed the elf by the collar, pulling the wizard very close to his face. Cassain didn’t resist.

“What the fuck did you just say?” he whispered.

There was a heartbeat of silence before the familiar faux pleasant smile crept back over the wizard’s face. “I said, mommy and daddy probably pay for it back home. Not used to spending this much, out of your own pocket.”

Renard stared at him for a moment before shoving him, very hard, against the tavern door. He stormed away, wandering off down the alley.

Cassian went after him, his footsteps echoing about ten feet behind.

“What do you want?!” Renard called over his shoulder.

Cassian didn’t have an answer at first. “...Last time I left you alone in the dark. Maybe this time, I’ll…” he trailed off. “Maybe we should just try and talk this out.”

Renard rounded on him, shoving the man hard against the wall. “Listen here. I’m not interested in being friends with you. I’m not interested in any of the snide remarks you have to make to me. So I’d appreciate you keeping your mouth shut from now on.”

Cassian smirked. “I’ll keep  _ your _ mouth shut.”

He kissed him.

Using the momentum, Cassian flipped them around, pressing the prince up against the wall. So caught by surprise, Renard had no chance of resisting. He didn’t stop him, going completely still in shock. After a moment, he very gently pushed Cassian away. The wizard retreated, but he still kept an arm up against the wall, leaning over him.

Renard opened and shut his mouth a few times, at a loss for words. “...Uh… um…”

He kissed him back.

Now it was Cassian's turn to be shocked. It was slightly odd, feeling the metal of the mask press against his face.

In a graceful movement, Renard slipped out under the other man’s arm, very quickly heading back towards the tavern.

The wizard called gently after. “Said you were frustrating. Got to work it out one way or another.”

Renard went into the bar, buying himself a bottle of wine for two silver before heading straight upstairs. Elyse and Astra were already in the room, and he sat on the bed, staring at the floor in shock.

A few moments later, Cassian knocked on their door. Elyse used her mage hand to open the door.

The wizard had a wide, self-satisfied grin on his face. “Care to take a look at the sword, Elyse?”

“Yeah, that sounds great!” She stood, noticing Renard’s demeanour. “Are you okay?”

He didn’t look at her. “I’m fine.”

“Oh, you can come with me, Sariel, and Boblem,” Cassian beckoned the sorcerer. “It’s fine.”

Elyse glanced back at Renard. “Okay...”

“I’ll wait here,” Astra nodded as she left.

Elyse stepped into the hallway, eyeing Cassian with suspicion. “What did you do to him now?”

“Oh nothing,” he shrugged.

“Pissed him off again?”

“We just had a conversation.”

“He’s  _ drinking." _

“People can drink. He’s had a long day.”

She rolled her eyes. “Okay, sure. Let’s look at this sword.”

They entered the other room, and Cassian put the weapon on the floor. The blade was a deep blue, fading to black. It was wider at the base before angling out at the top, bronze runes inlaid all the way down. It had bronze banding, a black leather wrapped hilt, and a heavyset dark blue jewel at the base near the pommel. He pointed to the runes. “I don’t know if you understand the language at all?”

She wouldn’t have, but with the dwarven ear cuff, she did. She recognized the item as dwarven, and the runes not so much letters or words as a magical inscription. “Yeah, I can read them actually. Something to do with water and defense, some kind of enchantment I guess.”

“Well it came to the right owner,” he nodded appreciatively.

“Yeah, this thing is amazing,” she ran a hand over it. It was heavy and dense, the blade impossibly sharp. She dared not run her thumb over it.

“Undertow, is the name I have given it.”

“That’s a good name.”

“I like that,” Sariel glanced over.

“Thank you,” he nodded.

Elyse took out the battered old journal, tracing lines of static and laying out the materials for her identification ritual as Cassian took note of her strategy. She reached out, and a gust of wind opened the door behind her before shutting it again. The blade began to spin and swirl, lightly hovering over the wooden floorboards. Elyse had her eyes closed, occasionally whispering and muttering as she reached out to the essence of the item.

This was a shortsword made by Kehragir, the sea dwarves. She determined that what the shop owner said was true. This metal fell from the sky in a star, into the sea, forged in the heart of an underground volcano. It would never dull, remaining permanently sharp, and would be almost impossible to break as well. There was an enchantment that could be activated once a day with a command word, which would cause the wielder to appear as if water was pouring down in front of them, obscuring them from vision.

Elyse came out of the trance, her eyes flickering for a moment.

“You learn something?” Cassian prompted.

“I don’t think this could have gone to a more perfect owner,” she grinned.

He leaned over with interest. “Do tell?”

“It’s dwarven in make, made by sea dwarves.”

“Yes, the owner said so.”

“He told you that already? Okay, well, it will never dull, and it’s almost unbreakable no matter what you do to it, which is useful in itself. But there is a command word and an enchantment attached to it. It can cast a blur for you, make you appear as though you’re behind, like, a wall of water. And your enemies will find it very difficult to hit you.”

“How appropriate,” Sariel nodded.

Cassian was beyond pleased.

“You’ll have to spend some time studying it before you can use it, but it shouldn’t take too long,” Elyse added.

“That’s alright, I can use tonight’s meditation to do that,” he agreed.

“Yeah, so, good find.”

“Thank you for your help on the subject.”

“That’s okay. I did have a couple of things I wanted to ask you, actually. If that’s alright.”

Cassian glanced to the druids in the room. “Among company, or...?”

“In private, if you don’t mind?”

“Sure, we can take a walk.”

“Yeah, I don’t know where to go if we leave the room,” Boblem apologized.

“That’s fine,” Elyse shrugged. “Well, first thing, I don’t care about anyone knowing about this,” she pulled off her jacket, showing the massive hole in her tunic with the bruise underneath it. “The injury that was healed,” she explained. “If you don’t mind at some point fixing this tunic?”

They made their way into the hall as the wizard looked it over. “Sure, I have a spell that can.” 

“Yeah, I’ve seen you use it on your own stuff before.” A little needle of ice sprang from Cassian’s nail, zipping through, white splashes of water knitting together the fabric, leaving it good as new before the needle rolled off. “Cool trick.”

“Come in handy throughout my career, so.”

They walked down the hall. “Your magic is arcane in nature, like mine, I guess?”

He raised a brow. “Yes?”

“I was just wondering, what it feels like when you use magic. And your arcane focus, the wand, I’m assuming…”

“Mhm. Just, sensation?”

“Yeah.”

He thought. “Magic… from my understanding, blends with the user. You’ve seen the way that Sariel and Boblem cast, flowers may spring forth for them. For me, I find kinship with the ocean. When I cast, it’s like… cold water, through my veins. Springing forth, like sea foam.”

“And, how does it make you… feel? Like, emotionally?

“Powerful.”

“Yeah,” she looked down. “Hm. Thanks.”

“Is that all?”

“Um, you’re… I’m just curious, your focus. Did you… did you make it yourself? Or did you buy it, or did someone make it for you?”

“I made it. Just cobbled it together with things I found.”

“Yeah. Hm. And did you use anything before that, or?”

He shrugged. “I made it for the purpose of studying magic.”

“So it was your first arcane focus?”

“Yes.”

“Ever?”

“Yes.”

She pursued her lips in thought. “Okay. Nevermind.”

“Are you not…?” He looked over the sorcerer, appraising her. “It’s quite violent when you cast, isn’t it...”

“It can be.”

“Does it hurt?”

“No.”

“But, it seems to take a lot out of you.”

“Sometimes. It varies, but. Most of the time, it’s… Like, when I’m casting, I’m complete? Like in that split moment that I cast the spell and I connect to the focus. Like I’m about to understand something and then it just goes. If I could just cast like that, all the time, constantly, I would. Just to feel that way.”

The wizard took a deep breath. “Elyse. Sometimes it’s nice to burn candles. But, a candle can last for a very long time, with a cautious and well kept flame, or… you set it truly alight, and the wax is gone in minutes. Don’t set yourself alight too much. It would be a shame if you flickered out.”

She was silent for a few beats. “Thank you.”

“No problem. Now go sleep, if you’re going to climb all that rigging tomorrow.”

They headed back to their rooms. Boblem and Sariel went to take turns bathing. There was a small area downstairs, a room off the kitchen where the staff could fill a copper tub for them. They took their clothes to wash as well.

  
  


Renard was drinking wine. Quite a lot of wine. The bard sat next to him on the bed, holding his new lute.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

Astra gave a soft smile. “Thought you said you didn’t want to drink anymore, after last time.”

“...Yeah I did, didn’t I.”

“You did, you’re right.”

Renard stared at the bottle. “You want some?”

“Sure.”

Astra took a sip. It was alright. Not the best.

“We should try and finish off the last of that map,” Renard suggested. “And hand it in.”

“Tomorrow, I can do that,” Astra nodded.

“Sure.”

“And, I was wondering if you could do me a favour. Just, it’s been a few days since we’ve left Sanskra…”

“Okay?”

“And I don’t know how to take the armour off.”

Renard blinked, looking over at the tiefling. “...Oh. Right.”

“I’ve never worn armour before. And he just put it on me in the shop, and then I walked out and didn’t know how to take it off.”

“I remember it was quite a debacle putting it on, fifteen minutes or something- ”

“It’s been three days, Renard,” the bard pleaded.

“I can help you with that. Stand up.”

He stood. “Okay.”

“Just put your arms up, I guess. Uh…” He began to undress Astra. It was not something he had ever done for someone else before, but it was simple enough. He undid the straps at the ribs and shoulders, lifting it off as one full piece. He tried to explain what he was doing as he went, and it only took about a minute.

Astra stretched, rolling out his shoulders. “Thank you!”

“It’s okay… you should have said something sooner, Astra.”

“Didn’t want to be a bother.”

“Right, well. Okay, we should probably clean this, and…” The bard gave him a blank look. Renard spent the next few minutes explaining how to clean and keep armour.

“Thank you.”

That done, he pulled out the map to finish it up. The two of them set out the whole thing, and it was fairly extensive. When it came to placing Sanskra on the map, Renard hesitated.

“As far as I remember, this place was just a lagoon,” Astra decided.

He chuckled. “Yeah.”

“No city.”

“It’s probably for the best that we- I mean, if they’ve sunk it now, it is just a lagoon.”

“Exactly.”

He drew a lagoon.

Most of the map was filled, drawn with beautiful detail. Renard was also sure to omit the temple by the dryads, but he kept it on his own map. “That’s gonna be great,” he approved. “That’s gonna be a ton of money. If you don’t mind, I’m just going to put that away and drink the rest of my wine.”

“We can talk or something,” Astra offered. “Get you out of your head.”

“Sure.”

“You go into your head a lot when you’re stressed out, or something’s happened. It’s not exactly a good thing to do, because then you end up just going in circles and circles, asking and answering questions of yourself that you just don’t know the real answer to.”

Renard put a hand on his head, his mind hazy. “That was a lot of words, Astra.”

“I know. You did give me really bad wine.”

“I’m not used to… talking, very much. About how I feel.”

“My mom used to say the best way to feel better is to talk it out.”

“That’s not something I spent much time in my life doing. There was someone I used to share stuff with, but. She’s….” he trailed off, shaking himself. “I don’t think she’s with us, anymore. So.” He cleared his throat. “Thank you for being here. Wouldn’t know how to start.”

“That’s alright. If you ever do know how to start, I’m always there. To listen, offer advice, or just give the occasional  _ mhm." _

“It’s appreciated,” he grinned for a moment before turning serious. “Do you dream?”

“Quite vividly.”

Renard sighed. “Suppose that’s what most people would say.”

“Well, everyone’s different. Like Elyse said, maybe you’ve had dreams but you just don’t remember them.”

“Maybe.”

“It’s been a stressful couple of weeks, so.”

“I dunno,” Renard shrugged. “Twenty-three years without dreams, you think I’d remember one or two.”

“You’re only twenty-three?”

“...Yes? I’ll be twenty-four in a couple of months. Why?”

“Just, it’s just, young.”

Renard looked over at the tiefling. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-six.”

“We’re not that much apart!” he defended.

“Still young.”

“Dunno,” he looked back to the bottle. “Feel like twenty-three has dragged on for decades. Can’t imagine how it feels for Sariel and Cassian.” At that thought, he drank some more wine.

Astra took another drink as well.

“It’s pretty disgusting, isn’t it,” Renard admitted. “Didn’t realize cheap alcohol tasted this bad.”

“I don’t really know the difference at this point.”

“Someday I’ll get you some expensive alcohol, and you can see what you’ve actually been missing. Not this... utter piss we’ve been drinking.”

Astra grinned. “Thank you for the lute, by the way. You didn’t have to buy it, but I really appreciate it.”

“It’s fine! I appreciate you playing your music.”

“You do?” he glanced up.

“Yes.”

Astra smiled. “Thank you.”

“Music brings a lot of joy. And, I don’t know, it’s just good to have you with us on the road playing all the time. It’s distracting. In fact, if you wanna get me out of my head… music is a good way.”

“I can do that.”

He started to play. Shortly after, Elyse returned to the room. She sat and chatted with the other two, drinking and enjoying the music. Cassian returned to his own room, studying the sword for a bit before he gathered up his things, excused himself, and left to work on his own project.

As soon as he was drunk enough, Renard slept. More half-visions and memories came to him. A pair of shoes, and he looked up to the bottom section of someone’s robes. Hands, clutching at them, balled up in fists. Shoulders shaking and chest aching as weeping cries poured through him.

He woke up sobbing. He dried his face, dressing and putting the mask back on as quietly as possible to go outside for air.

The night was dark, still, and cold. There was noise in the distance of revelers far off, but the street itself was quiet.

He took a stroll towards the east docks, past familiar buildings where he had been before. There were lots of ships, docked up. There were several people, some slumped in alleyways, some perched up against crates and boxes. People on the docks were working, loading things on and off ships. Dawn was only two hours away.

He didn’t linger long. He took a stroll down past the ships, heading back to the tavern. There was one familiar ship. The Keycutter. Interesting, he didn’t know it came up this way. There was no one onboard working on it. He waited downstairs in the tavern, sitting in a corner and waited for the staff to begin serving breakfast.

A server came out, noticing him. “Bad night?”

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“Don’t you worry, I’ve got you.”

There was a warm glow from the kitchen as the oven was lit. Fifteen minutes later, a steaming plate of eggs and sliced cured mets were brought out and placed in front of him. He nodded in thanks, pushing the food around on his plate until the others came down.

  
  


The rest of them woke to another day in Lakeside. Elyse had her arcane focus wrapped tightly in her arms, noticing the indents left in her arms as she woke. She gave a curious glance to Renard’s empty spot, but didn’t give it much notice.

As they headed down, Elyse spoke to the bard. “I just, I really want to thank you, I don't think it came across… for staying with me at the temple. I know it was a long time.”

“You’ve already thanked me. It honestly, if we were there for longer, it really wouldn’t have mattered. I just wanted to be there for you.”

“Yeah but, kinda boring for you, I guess.”

“Not really. I’m used to spending time on my own, so I can fill up time doing my journaling.” He noticed that her bruise had reduced to the size of a gold piece. “It seems to have been working.”

“Yeah, I feel a lot better.”

“Don’t worry. You’re my friend.”

“Thank you.”

Astra smiled, nudging her with his arm. He planted a small, friendly kiss on the top of her head. Elyse melted.

Cassian waited for Sariel and Boblem to wake so he could go down with backup.

Sariel rose first. “You’re up early.”

“Usually am.”

“Not this early.”

He shrugged. “Why are  _ you _ up this early?”

Hearing the conversation, Boblem woke, putting the pillow over his head. “Why are any of you up so early?” he groaned.

Sariel was still focused on the wizard. “Sleep well?”

“Yes?”

“Alright,” she backed off.

“Don’t sleep much. Was busy.”

She shook her head, grinning. “Meditate well, then?”

He grinned back. “Yes. Breakfast?”

“Okay. Boblem?”

The boy sighed. “Yeah, I guess sleeping isn’t much of a choice anymore.” He ruffled his curls, stretching to change out of his pajamas.

“Still aching from yesterday’s festivities?” Cassian asked.

He nodded. “Wrestling the wyvern and then falling off the hog.”

“You must be quite bruised.”

“Have you ever ridden a horse before?” Sariel asked the wizard. “You know how it feels when you get off a horse? It’s kind of the same getting off a pig.”

“Ah. I imagine, much wobblier.”

“In a strange way, yes.”

“Especially falling off!” Boblem added.

The group reunited downstairs. Breakfast was brought out, steaming plates of food. They were fed heartily. Renard was still pushing food around his plate, not paying much mind to the others.

Sariel watched him carefully. “Rough night?”

“Didn’t sleep well, is all.”

“Again?”

“Yes.”

“Another dream?” Boblem prompted.

“I guess, I…”

“Bad one?”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”

Sariel looked over to Boblem. “You know, people say  _ I’m fine _ when they’re not.”

“Oh yeah, I know that  _ I’m fine," _ the boy nodded.

Renard kept his eyes on the table. “Fine, I’m not fine, but…”

Elyse waved Boblem off. “He clearly doesn’t wanna talk about it, so…” She looked back to Renard. “It’s okay.”

Boblem changed the subject. “Look forward to seeing you climbing later.”

“Thanks. We’ll see, it’s been a while.” She looked confused for a moment. “...I guess.”

“Are there any other events people want to do today?” Sariel surveyed.

Astra thought. “I think we did most of it yesterday, but we’ve got an entire day to kill before we meet with Aerenthias tonight.”

“Yeah, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I want to go back to the temple again,” Elyse admitted.

Boblem swallowed a bite of his food. “Shouldn’t we also give that map somewhere?”

“Yeah, that too.”

“Astra and I finished it yesterday,” Renard explained. “We can take it in.”

“Thank you for finishing that!” Boblem smiled.

“That’s okay,” Astra replied. “Was good fun.”

“We should get quite a bit of gold for that, I guess,” Elyse approved.

“We filled in all the way to Sanskra.”

“...You, you didn’t… mark...?”

“We didn’t add Sanskra,” he answered.

She nodded. “Okay, good. Well, they wouldn’t find it if they went there now anyway, but I don’t know how long they’ll stay down there.”

“Probably for the best,” Boblem confirmed.

“Yeah. I don’t think they want to be on any maps, we should respect that. So yeah, we hand in the map, we do some more sports. Aerenthias is meeting us at the temple, so I don’t mind waiting until later to do that. But there’s also still some more stuff to sell, and some more stuff we need to buy, if you guys still need to buy diamonds.”

“Yeah, you should do that,” Renard agreed. “Don’t know where we’ll end up going, once I get the information that I need.”

“Yeah, do you want me to go to the city hall for you today?”

“Maybe. Let’s get everything else out of the way first.”

Elyse shrugged. “Well I’m going that direction anyway. So, if you come with me to the temple again, I can go for you. Unless you just don’t want to be in that area at all.”

“I think I’m just going to... take some time today…”

“Wanna be alone?”

“Maybe.”

She considered. “Is that safe? Not to be patronizing, just…”

He sighed. “No, it’s fine, it’s a fair question. I’ll turn in that map, and get out of myself. Yes, maybe city hall later, but just sort out what you need to sell first. And make sure you buy those diamonds. What I was going to say was, it may be difficult if you come with me for whatever I’m doing next. And I want you to have all the spell components and everything you need, so. How much more do you need? Any other potion ingredients?”

Sariel and Boblem discussed, agreeing they could use some more of both.

“I’d prefer to stay in the room, and work on something,” Cassian interjected. “But if you go back to the tournament, do give me a knock.”

“Yeah,” Elyse fished in her bag, “We’ve got these rubies to sell. I don’t know how much we should be asking for to get a fair price?”

Cassian held one up, taking a look. He wasn’t quite sure. “Thirty-five to forty each?” he suggested.

“Okay. That’s pretty good. And I also found this,” she pulled out the teardrop crystal.

He looked it over. “That one, closer to sixty. You could maybe even haggle up to seventy if you were feeling bold.”

She grinned. “I may just do that.”

“I’m sure you could.”

Renard passed over 150 gold to the druids. Sariel took the money with wide eyes. “Are you sure?”

“I think it’s important we have this stuff. So just… please. Rather than not buying everything you need because you haven’t got the money, just take that and buy it.”

“Okay…”

“I did finish another greater healing potion, if anyone wants it,” Boblem offered.

“Well done,” Sariel nodded.

“Thank you!”

Elyse glanced in her bag. “I have a normal one. Does anyone else have potions at the moment? Do we want to spread them out?”

“Astra, do you want it?” the boy held out the vial.

The bard seemed a bit surprised. “Sure, I can take it.”

Elyse looked over to Renard. “Do you have any?”

“I don’t believe so.”

“You can have it then,” Astra held out the potion.

He took it. “Thank you.”

“I think we should spread out the ability to heal,” Elyse strategized.

“Yeah,” Boblem agreed. “I’ll make another one for each one of you.”

“I do have one that I picked up when we first met,” Astra reminded them.

“Only problem is, it won’t taste as good as the sweet tea.”

“That’s true.”

“Didn’t know I’d look forward to drinking a health potion,” Elyse grinned.

The group went about their day. Sariel and Boblem spent another 100 gold on diamonds, using the remaining 50 for potion ingredients. Elyse was offered 30 gold per ruby, and 6 for the more rugged one they had acquired from the bandit camp.

She held the teardrop crystal in her hand. “I’ve got a lot of stuff here… and I know it’s very valuable. I think we can do better.”

The shopkeep hesitated, thinking. “32 each. And 50 for the quartz.”

“I think this is worth more. I have a friend who is a really good jeweler, and he told me it was worth at least 65.” Just in case, she sent a bit of friendly magic into the air to persuade the clerk.

They let out a long sigh. “I guess. You’ve been such a good customer.”

They traded. “Don’t suppose you’re interested in these gem encrusted goblets as well?”

“Not really my thing. But thank you.”

“No? Alright. Thanks very much.” She walked out, very quickly.

Sariel, Boblem, Astra, Elyse, and Renard made their way to the cartographers’ guild. They followed directions to a dome shaped building, with a beautifully carved door, and a representation of their planet, Varhya, above them. They saw the continents inscribed, the great rift at the south pole, and many details across the entire thing.

They walked into a central, open area, with curved desks around the sides. There were ten or fifteen people drawing maps and charts, working with heads down by small lamps, scrolls and scrolls of parchments and paper across every surface. Struts and beams held up the wide dome structure, light pouring in through glass. The beams were gorgeously detailed with more writings, illustrations, and artwork.

As they walked to the center, they approached a C shaped desk. An older half-orc in a knitted sweater with mutton chops and a balding head stepped up to them, speaking in a droning voice. “Welcome, welcome to the cartographers’ guild. How might I be of service today?”

“We’ve got a map that we’d like to hand in,” Astra grinned.

“We made a contract,” Renard explained. “In Mirrortail.”

They nodded. “Wonderful. Have you got your seal, and your writ of decree?”

“Yes we do,” he pulled it out.

The half-orc took it, reading over the letter. “I’ll hang onto this. The map, if you will?”

Renard handed it over. The half-orc rolled it out, looking it over for a minute. He raised his eyebrows. “This is good work. My name’s Larence.”

“My name’s Verdant Astra,” the tiefling smiled.

It was a bit hard for the group to keep a straight face under the man’s monotonous voice. “Wonderful, wonderful. I’ll speak to the accounts, and we’ll get your payment sorted out. Will you be taking up more contracts? This is good work.”

“Possibly not immediately,” Renard considered, “But what else do you have available?”

“We are searching for the location of a shrine in the Sleeping Dragon’s mountains, between Elenithil and Shadeborune. It’s a fixed price contract.”

“What kind of shrine?” Elyse pressed.

“I’ll find out the details.”

“We’d be interested to know more,” Renard agreed.

“Of course, I’ll be back.” He turned around, slowly plodding off. After ten minutes, he returned with a fairly weighty coin purse made of purple felt material, with the sigil of the cartographers’ guild emblazoned on it. As he set it down, it spilled out a bit. It looked heavy. “As promised, 860 gold pieces for your hard work. We appreciate it, be more than happy to have you again. The shrine, I am told, is a burial sight of a hero long forgotten. Entombed within the Sleeping Dragon mountains. Should you find the location of said shrine, report back to us, we will pay a fixed price of 1800 pieces of gold.”

“We’ll take it,” Renard nodded.

“I’ll write you up the writ.”

“You said it was near Elenithil?” Elyse pressed.

“Between Elenithil and Shadebourne. It’s in the mountain range. Can’t tell you where, otherwise we’d be there ourselves.”

“Thank you, yes, we’ll take it,” Renard agreed. He glanced over the others. “You don’t all have to come along for the ride, but I’m interested.”

“I am as well,” Elyse assured him.

Astra grinned. “We’re going that way anyway.”

“The name sounded really cool,” Boblem smiled.

“Proof of location can be brought to our guild headquarters in Shadebourne,” Larence drawled. “Should you so wish. Have a pleasant day.”

“You too!” Boblem waved.

“I am.”

“Is he though?” Boblem whispered to the others as they left, giggling. Renard tucked away the new writ and materials.

“That was the most delightful man I’ve ever met,” Elyse teased.

Renard shrugged. “Cartographers are sometimes like that.”

“Very sunny disposition,” Boblem joked.

“Well, there’s still more things to sell,” Elyse glanced at her bag, “But I think we’ve done pretty well, so if we want to stop and do something else I’m fine with that.”

“Did you want to climb some rigging?” Renard prompted.

“Kind of.”

“Do you want to head down there then, and…?”

“Yeah, my shoulder is feeling a lot better now, so I think I can handle it.”

Renard nodded. “I will return to the tavern, and tell Cassian you’re going down there. And maybe stay, at the tavern.”

“Do you want me to come back to get you for the city hall, or not?”

“You can come knock, I’ll tell you more about it.”

“Okay. You can head back. Hope you’re okay.”

Renard waved to the others. “I’ll see you all later.”

They exchanged goodbyes, and headed down to the docks. One again, they found themselves in the hustle and bustle of everything. They made their way to the deck of a ship, where teams and individuals were scuttling up rigging, retrieving a pennant before swinging back down, the crowd erupting in cheers each time.

At the tavern, Renard gave a single knock on Cassian’s door. “They’ve gone down to the games,” he called through the wood. Without waiting for a response, he went straight into his own room. Inside, Cassian shrugged, too engrossed in his work to spectate at the docks.

Elyse lined up. Her opponent was a small gnome, who introduced themselves as Jerris, giving her a wink as they rolled their sleeves. They prepped on opposite sides of the ship. The rigging had been restrung so that it went from one ship to another, pointing out. If they fell, they'd fall into the water.

She stood ready at the rigging, looking at the gnome on the other side. Grinning a bit to herself, she cast a subtle spell to increase her dexterity. The bell went off, and they began to climb. She soared upwards, scuttering like a monkey, but the gnome was keeping track with her. She took a slight lead as her hands purchased before she even saw what she was grabbing. Looking up, she was just five feet away, but the gnome was barely behind. She scuttled up with blinding speed, reaching the pennant just before the gnome grabbed it. She yanked it off to the side. Elyse fell for a second as the rigging swayed underneath her, catching herself on a line to steady herself. Hair blowing in the wind, she raised the pennant to a cheer.

“One more for Wilson’s Landing!” a voice below shouted.

She kicked off, letting the line wind her down as she soared to the deck. The gnome climbed down after. “Well done!” they nodded. “You got me there, but I had you on the ropes!”

“Maybe next time,” she grinned.

“Next time, next time.”

As she returned, Elyse was visibly elated. Her shoulder didn’t hurt at all.

“You did really well!” Astra grinned. “How are you feeling?”

“Good actually, for once.”

“Good.”

“Well done,” Boblem smiled.

She looked back to the rigging. “I missed doing that.”

“Is there anything else anyone wanted to compete in?” Sariel asked.

Astra shook his head. “I think after all the excitement of yesterday, it’s nice to have a chilled out afternoon, before we meet up with the… the person from yesterday,” he looked away.

A sly smile grew on Elyse’s face. “Looking forward to that, are we?”

“What?”

They walked along the docklands, eating and chatting, watching the activities. Before they knew it, early evening crept in. Sunset wasn’t too far off. The games would slow down tomorrow, it might be easier to do the city hall and temple visit the next day. “We should go get the others,” Elyse decided.

They headed back to the inn. Cassian had eventually noticed the changing colors in the sky, realizing he had spent all day on his project. He tidied up, putting everything away before waiting outside the tavern door.

Elyse went inside, knocking for Renard. There was no answer, he was asleep. She called through the door. “Ren? Sorry to disturb you, but it’s nearly time to meet Aerenthias now, I don’t know if we’re going to have time for city hall.”

He woke, sitting up. “It’s fine, that’s fine.”

They headed off towards Tempest Square as the sun set. Elyse disguised herself as the lilac tiefling one more, though Cassian chose not to become the balding old man again. They walked across the square, with plenty of people moving about the town. The group stood outside the steps to the temple for a minute before a figure slid out from behind a pillar.

Aerenthias sauntered forward, wearing a tightly done up doublet and leather armour of grey and black, a blue tunic underneath with the signature yellow sash at his hip. A matching feather came out of his wide brimmed hat, one side folded up. There was a pistol tucked in at his hip, a brace of daggers at his ribs, and a long, beautiful sword at the small of his back. Doeskin gloves crept up his arms, hair tied back in a loose ponytail as his boots clicked on the cobblestone.

“Well, well, well. And you brought company. My, I am lucky. Pleasure to meet your acquaintance,” he nodded to Cassian, offering a hand. “Aerenthias Van Wymarck.”

The wizard gave a polite shake. “Cassian.”

The red tiefling looked to Renard, offering his hand. “Sir?”

Renard shook it. “You’re a privateer,” he observed.

“I am.” He held the hand for a few seconds, lingering as he looked to the mask. “You’ve seen the waves too, I’m guessing?”

“Yes.”

“Your armour’s salt stained,” he grinned, dropping the hand. “I can tell.”

“Renard.”

“Aerenthias.” His gaze hovered a moment more before he turned to the others. “I believe we might have an acquaintance, sharing some common goals.” He turned. “My lady?”

Another figure stepped out from behind the pillars, similarly dressed, heels clicking on the cobblestones.

Renard’s heart stopped for a second as he saw a familiar face he hadn’t seen for a number of months.


	27. Shadows Over Water, Episode Twenty-Four

They saw a tall woman with dark brown hair. She wore a red cloak over her clothes, white trousers, and knee high black boots. She had a rapier, and a white feather coming out of a brown hat. As she stepped out, she found herself surrounded by five uncanny adventurers she did not recognize, and a familiar form. Although disguised and covered up, she could not be more certain of their identity.

The masked man stared at her. “Jocelyn?”

“Vanden?”

He backed away from the group, shaking his head. “You, you’re dead, I watched you die…”

“I’m… I’m so glad to see you… You aren’t in trouble, I promise it’s alright, I’m not here to…”

He collapsed to his knees, falling to the ground. Aerenthias backed up, looking a bit nervous.

Elyse crouched down by Renard. “It’s okay.”

He didn’t seem to hear her.

“Should we maybe… take this somewhere else?” Aerenthias suggested. “Away from prying eyes...”

“I think so,” the woman agreed.

“I think that would be best,” Elyse followed.

Boblem looked over with concern. “Renard, buddy? You wanna… get up?”

He got to his feet, not looking at anyone. “Where should we go…”

“Is there perhaps a quiet place around here? Somewhere you trust?” the woman looked over the adventurers. “Do you have rooms nearby?”

“We’ve got a tavern just down the street,” Astra suggested.

Elyse gave him a look. “Do we really wanna do this there?”

“Well where else would we go? We don’t really know the place.”

“We’ve got rooms as well, Jocelyn,” Aerenthias whispered to the woman.

She nodded. “That is true.”

“We could clear out the cellar.”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Do you trust this place?” Elyse glanced between the two.

“It’s quiet enough,” Aerenthias nodded. “It’s a tavern. Let’s go.”

“Yeah, let’s get out of the streets.”

They began their walk through the city. Renard,  _ Vanden, _ was in a fugue state, following the group as he was led on. They ended up outside a tavern named The Three Pints. They pushed in, and it was fairly quiet. People were packing things up and making things ready for the evening rush, when the games would be finished.

Aerenthias went to the bar, placing an elbow down and whispering to the bartender as he palmed something into their hand. He turned, whistling, to beckon them to a door behind the bar.

They walked in and down a short set of steps, making their way into a cellar. There were tons of kegs of ale, small casks of wine, and sacks of food lying around. It was dark, and a bit damp, with a few rats scurrying about. It wasn’t a big room, maybe 15 foot square, but it was quiet, and they were alone.

Elyse turned to Jocelyn. “You wanna tell us what this is about?”

“Will you give us a minute, please? I would like to speak to him.”

“Sure.”

Jocelyn led the prince away to the side. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause you undue stress.”

“I just, I simply wasn’t expecting to see you,” he stuttered out. “Ever again.”

“Nor I, if I must admit.”

“Why are you here?”

“I’ve been looking for you.”

He sighed. “Right.”

She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Are you with these people of your own volition? They haven’t taken you captive?”

He gave a small grin. “Yes, I’m... no. No, they haven’t. They would never.”

“Good. Good.”

“I suppose you’re here to take me home.”

“Well, I suppose at some point, if you wanted to return, but I…” He was already shaking his head as she spoke. “I was rather interested in finding you first, and seeing that you were alive.”

As the others stood around, waiting through the whispered conversation, something suddenly clicked for Cassian. Renard had told them he was a prince, but there was a new name now. Vanden. The wizard had heard that name before. Vanden was a prince of Mirrortail. Vanden was  _ Cassian’s _ prince.

“I think there’s a lot to talk about,” Vanden continued. “It’s probably about time, I owe the others a bit of an explanation. Come on then,” he led Jocelyn back to the group.

Aerenthias had lit some candles. He pulled out a few planks of wood, setting them in the middle of scattered casks, creating a makeshift table. “Well, we haven’t got anything to drink, but the table’s a good start.”

“Yes, thank you,” Jocelyn gave a small smile.

The prince cleared his throat. “Everyone, this is Captain Jocelyn D’Fabron. The Commander of my Royal Guard.”

“At your service,” she nodded.

He took off the mask. Cassian saw his face for the first time, and it was unmistakable. The wizard put a hand on his brow, turning away, unable to look at him directly.

“I’m Boblem,” the boy tipped his hat.

“Boblem, nice to meet you,” Jocelyn smiled.

“Verdant Astra,” the bard offered. “You can call me Astra.”

“Pleasure.”

Elyse shrugged. “Well, I guess if you trust her, and we’re going to be working together, there’s no point keeping this up.” She dropped her disguise.

“Oh! Hello,” Jocelyn greeted, a bit surprised.

“I’m… Elyse.”

“Hello Elyse.”

“Sariel,” the smaller elf introduced herself.

“Sariel,” Jocelyn noded back.

The wizard was still silent. “And that’s Cassian,” the prince supplied.

She looked over to him. “Cassian. Good to meet you.”

The redhead shifted in his seat, his freckled face finally bare. “I think it’s about time I told you all a few things…”

“Yeah,” Elyse gave him a look.

“Okay. My name isn’t Renard…”

“Yeah, I figured,” she grinned. “It’s fine.”

“It’s Vanden. And, as you know, I’ve been looking for the Weeping Eye. They, um…” he took a steadying breath. “This is hard to talk about.”

“Take your time,” Sariel comforted.

He paused, and then began his tale. “Four months ago, the palace in Mirrortail was sieged. We were… almost entirely overthrown, and….” he trailed off again. “Whoever hired these mercenaries, they… took my father and my older brother captive and… I need to find out where they are so I can get them back.”

Elyse took in the information. “Okay...”

Astra nodded. “We can help you with that.”

“Yeah, then that’s what we’re gonna do.”

“We’ll get them back,” Boblem agreed.

Vanden swallowed, not finished yet. “The reason I’ve been hiding my identity is… they accused me of treason.”

“So they think you did it. You hired them,” Elyse realized.

“They think I orchestrated it.”

“Why would they think that?” Boblem asked.

Elyse was similarly confused. “Yeah, why would…?”

“I don’t know,” he shook his head. “I don’t remember… what happened during the siege. I… I couldn’t vouch for myself, and…” he stopped, unable to continue.

“You fought valiantly, for one,” Jocelyn consoled him. “They attacked, and, we fought tooth and nail. I… my soldiers were overrun.”

“You two are still alive, though,” Astra countered. “That’s something to be thankful for.”

“Yes.”

“How?” Vanden turned to her. “I watched you go down.”

She shrugged. “By the grace of the Gods, I live. Trust me though, it was a hard fight.” She took off her glove, unbuttoning part of her shirt to roll up her sleeve. From the elbow down was a copper arm, a mechanical hand. It softly whirred as she tensed it. LIke the buzz of an insect, tiny gears whirred inside. She rolled down the sleeve again.

Vanden’s mouth dropped agape at the sight. “I’m so sorry…”

“Oh, it’s alright. It’s quite good… I rather like it.”

Vanden put his face in his hands.

Elyse leaned forward to Jocelyn. “So, do you have any information that you could bring to the table here? Anything for us to move forward?”

“Well,” she began, “I’d heard rumors that the Weeping Eye... Have you heard of such people?”

“From him,” Elyse gestured to the prince. “From Vanden.”

Vanden turned to his bag. “Okay, um…” he pulled out all of the notes he had been scribbling, laying them down on the table. Scrawled across them was everything he could possibly remember, and everything he knew about the Weeping Eye.

Currently, he knew that they centrally operated out of Shadebourne. They were technically a mercenary company, but they were little more than a band of thugs, taking up contracts for coin. They had a reputation for violence, taking on a lot of contracts that were morally dubious, if not completely heartless. Other contracts had been taken out on them, to stop some of their reprehensible activities. In the battle at the castle, they had seen a number of gnolls in their ranks. They were humanoid, hyena-like creatures who stood at seven feet with huge hunched shoulders, matted fur, and a long canine snout. They hadn’t been bearing a specific insignia or color, just wearing blacks and greys, with the occasional flash of red. Nothing would mark them out, though the makeup of their company did give out their identity. Punctuated through that night was the howling and cackling of hyenas. Something Vanden had never heard before, and that he hoped to never hear again.

Vanden walked around the table, going through the notes. As he concentrated on speaking tactically, he began to slowly calm down. The pages were covered in sketches and maps of weak points in the palace, where things had happened, trying to figure out why they had failed.

Aerenthias stood, putting his hands on the table. “Well, I’m not making myself useful around here. I can meet you later, but I’ll call in some favours. I know some people around the city. I’ll see what I can find out.”

“Thank you,” Vanden nodded.

“There’s an underbelly to this city, and damned if I won’t poke it.” He tipped his hat. “See you later.” With that, he turned on his heel and walked out.

Sariel considered the notes. “Have they demanded a ransom on your father and brother?”

Vanden swallowed. “I wouldn’t know. I was in the dungeons.”

“Have you heard anything?” Elyse pressed, looking to Jocelyn.

She had occasionally seen Mattijn, the other of Vanden’s brothers, around the palace. But he had been withdrawn, completely shut off after the attack. And she hadn’t seen the others, or recieved a note of ransom. “No. Not as far as I know.”

“I hate to ask this, and I’m sorry,” Elyse prefaced, giving an apologetic look to Vanden, “But do you know that they’re definitely alive?”

“I have been… somewhat shut away from the inner circle, shall we say, of the palace,” Jocelyn explained. “I was in the infirmary for around three months. I am technically still in recovery.” She had been under the impression that Vanden’s oldest brother and father had been simply locked away in recovery as well.

“D’Fabron, I have no idea where to start,” Vanden gazed across the papers.

“Nor I.”

Boblem shifted. “Do you know of anybody that would have been interested in hurting your family like that?”

“I’m sure any royal family has enemies of all sorts,” Elyse shrugged.

“Plenty,” Vanden agreed. “Although, it seems rather extreme.”

“And particular feuds, or?”

“That’s the thing, we’ve been in a time of peace for decades. There’s nothing I know of that would cause anyone to do this.”

Cassian was still silent. He thought about his work in Mirrortail. As a tailor, he had heard people around the city gossiping. In his  _ other _ kind of work, rumours were quelled almost instantly. There was a complete lockdown on any information, with nobody coming in or out of the palace. It was just as concerning as hearing this. His alarm bells had rung, but he hadn’t received enough information to piece things together until now.

“Captain,” Vanden asked, concerned, “if you’re looking for me, who else is looking for me? Did Mattijn send you?”

She shook her head. “No, absolutely not. I believe they don’t even know I’ve... Well, I’ve left my guard in the charge of my lieutenant, but as far as I’m aware, my absence is… somewhat unknown, I suppose. Trying to keep that.”

“So you’re getting yourself in trouble by being here?”

“Well, I don’t know about trouble. Hopefully not.”

“That’s typical of you,” he gave her a small grin.

She laughed, smiling at him for a moment. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re alive,” she collapsed into her hands for a minute before coming back up. “So, forgive me, how... ? Where did you all meet, are you all…?”

“We just kind of ran into each other in Farrelstadt,” Astra smiled.

“Farrelstadt, yeah,” Elyse agreed. “Then met up again in Mirrortail, and…”

“I went to Farrelstadt,” Jocelyn nodded.

“I’ve only been travelling for a handful of weeks,” Vanden admitted. “I was probably locked under the palace the entire time you were recovering.”

Sariel gazed over at the prince. “How did you escape?”

“Some of the staff helped me. I don’t know if they were caught.”

“So when did you first leave Mirrortail?” Elyse questioned. “You went straight to Farrelstadt?”

“It took me four weeks to get from Mirrortail to Farrelstadt. And when I met all of you, that was really some of the first contact I had with people.”

“Culture shock, then,” Astra grinned. Vanden chuckled a bit.

“The thing with your memory…” Boblem wondered, “How long has that… been like that for? You said you couldn’t quite remember some things…”

He darkened. “That’s… something that’s been with me for a long time. My, my memories are… fragile, and… I can’t trust them.”

“So it’s not just the night of the attack,” Elyse clarified. “It’s longer than that?”

“Since I was a child.”

“That must be frustrating,” Astra apologized.

“Very. Very much so. But, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is finding these bastards.”

“Nothing really has changed. Between us and you.” Astra glanced over to Vanden, holding his eye. “You’re still the same person, and we’re still going to have your back no matter what.”

“I appreciate that.”

“As Renard or as Vanden,” Boblem smiled. “You’re still our friend.”

“I’m glad you found such company,” Jocelyn nodded to the group, looking at Vanden.

The prince gave a smile to the boy before turning back to the table. “I don’t know where we should go from here, but, perhaps we should rest, and…”

“Yeah,” Elyse agreed. “Is Lakeside a good place to search for information on these people, or should we move elsewhere, after Aerenthias has done his thing?”

“If we can get to city hall tomorrow, that’s a good place to inquire about the mercenary companies in Shadebourne. They have quite a strong connection.” He sighed. “But apart from that, I don’t know. Whatever you all need to do tomorrow, just, carry on with your days.”

Sariel glanced across the group. “I think this rather takes precedence, don’t you?”

“We can go shopping anytime,” Elyse grinned.

Vanden gave a small laugh. “I suppose so.”

“Your assistance would be greatly appreciated,” Jocelyn added. “Thank you.”

Astra smiled. “Anything for a friend.”

“Alright, well, have you eaten? Have you drank, yet?”

“No, and it’s been a long day of rigging climbing,” Elyse realized. “Food would be good.”

“Should we wait for Aerenthias to get back?” Astra wondered.

Vanden shook his head. “We should eat. I don’t know if he’s coming back tonight.”

“You do have a bag full of pastries somewhere,” Boblem suggested.

“They’re starting to get a little stale…”

“Probably going moldy by now,” Elyse teased.

“Okay,” he rolled his eyes.

“It’s only been two days!” Boblem protested.

“We should take this upstairs then,” Vanden decided. “I’d like to take my mind off this until I can gather my thoughts.” He gathered up his papers, and led them upstairs.

A couple of people were at the bar, eating and drinking. Some looked up at them, and the barman gave a nod as they came out, gesturing to a table in the corner. They sat down, and as the barmen saw their faces, they began pouring some drinks. Jocelyn went for the wine.

Vanden felt safe with Jocelyn. He didn’t put the mask back on.

The barman came over with a tray of sparkling water, ale, and wine.

“Much appreciated,” the prince nodded.

“I’ll have some food for you,” he informed them. The group thanked him, and he lit a fire near them before toddling back.

“So, how was today?” Vanden looked to the others. “To perhaps, lighten the mood. How was the rigging climbing?”

“Oh, I won,” Elyse grinned.

“Of course you did. I expected no less from you.”

“Well, thank you.”

“Like a squirrel up a tree!” Astra grinned. “You went up so fast.”

She shrugged. “Used to do it a lot, so.”

“I’m sorry, rigging climbing?” Jocelyn leaned over.

Vanden raised a brow at her. “In the tournament, I’m sure you’ve seen it.”

“You went into the tournament?”

“We all have,” Sariel nodded.

“Oh, he smashed the swordfighting,” Elyse grinned at Vanden. “Obviously.”

“We’ve all won!” Boblem smiled.

Vanden gestured over to the boy. “Yeah, Boblem wrestled a wyvern. And won.”

“A greasy wyvern,” Elyse teased.

“Oh, wow!” Jocelyn seemed impressed. “Congratulations!”

“Thank you!” the boy brightened. “Also rode a hog. Did not win that one, though.”

“But these two did,” Elyse pointed across to Sariel and Astra.

“Somehow,” Sariel laughed.

Jocelyn gave a slightly less certain congratulations to the pair.

“Apparently they’re quite good at hog riding!” Boblem shrugged.

Elyse tilted her chin across to the wizard. “And Cassian won the diving.”

The elf quickly glanced up, making a small sound of confirmation before looking away again.

Astra looked over to him, a bit concerned. “Do you want a drink, Cassian?”

“I don’t drink- ”

“Sparkling water?” Sariel offered.

“Water is fine,” he accepted the cup before staring off again.

Jocelyn gave the wizard a once over, but she didn’t know him well enough to notice his strange behavior. Perhaps that was just his usual demeanor.

“We also sold a lot of stuff,” Elyse continued. “Our group fund is back up to over 1,000 gold.”

Jocelyn straightened. “Impressive.”

“We turned in the map, that was part of it.”

“We took a cartography contract,” Vanden explained. “It was just a reason to get from A to B.”

“It was good fun,” Astra reminisced.

“Fun?”

“You’d call it fun?” Sariel raised her eyebrows at the tiefling.

“Marking everything on the map, yes!” he defended.

“Well, the map making was fun,” Vanden admitted.

“Not the other stuff,” Elyse took a long drink.

Boblem agreed. “The getting injured.”

Vanden shook his head. “Getting injured, and the manticores- ”

“Manticores?” Jocelyn interjected.

“ -and the whole Sanskra thing- ”

“Wreckage,” Elyse added.

“Dryads,” Sariel offered.

Boblem looked over to the very confused Captain. “We’ve fought quite a lot of things,” he explained.

Elyse frowned. “I don’t mind the fighting so much as the other stuff.”

“Just three days ago, we found ourselves trapped inside a….” Vanden trailed off, not sure how to describe the pyramid. “I think an arcane research lab? Fighting the undead.”

“Oh,” Jocelyn looked at him with concern. “Right…”

“It has been something of an adventure, I suppose.”

“It would appear so. But you all seem very capable.”

“Just about.”

Elyse smirked. “Sometimes.”

“Why thank you,” Boblem brightened at the compliment. “You seem very capable yourself.”

“D’Fabron is one of the best fighters I’ve ever met,” the prince smiled. “She taught me a lot of what I know.”

“Oh, wow.”

“Then you must be amazing,” Elyse grinned.

Jocelyn shook her head. “Hardly.”

“She is,” Vanden countered.

The Captain looked down, rubbing her metal arm slightly.

There was an awkward pause. “Well,” Elyse poked at her drink. “You said you wanted to turn the conversation to happier topics, and then we went right back,” she gave a half smile.

“Sorry,” Jocelyn lowered the arm. “So do you… I suppose, do you have any plans you’re currently working towards? Apart from what Vanden and I are, currently?”

“Big question,” Elyse chuckled. “Well, there are some things that I still need to take care of in the city, but… Like Sariel said, this kind of takes precedence.”

“I appreciate that,” Vanden nodded.

At that point, the barman came back over with a small cauldron, plunking it on the table. He placed around silver bowls and thick crusts of bread, still warm from the oven. The cauldron was full of a thick, rich tomato stew, filled with potatoes, mushrooms, leeks, and smoked peppers, with chicken thighs on the side.

Most of them tucked in, and it was delicious. Vanden didn’t touch any of the food or drink on the table.

“So, we need to think tactically,” he began. “I’ve still got no further clue where to start than we did yesterday, but I guess, just… asking them where we can find the right person to speak to, who would know where to locate these people.”

Jocelyn nodded. “We need to locate them directly, I think.”

Elyse swallowed a large bite. “Would someone at city hall be willing to divulge that information if they knew? If these people have a pretty bad reputation, maybe they would assume we were going after them? And that would be okay?”

“That is true…”

“That’s the thing,” Vanden sighed. “I’m torn between calling unnecessary attention, and outright telling people I’m trying to get help on our side. You saw how little sway who I was seemed to have in Sanskra.”

“Sanskra seemed to be a different case entirely,” Elyse countered. “They can literally sink themselves into the ground because they’re so insular.”

“Well I’m sure that Captain Kenrah still would have still run me through with a sword, even knowing who I was.” Jocelyn gave him a concerned look at that admission. “We had a run in with the Arakhian guard. Don’t worry about it.”

“It wasn’t his fault,” Elyse defended. “Sidenote…” she looked over to the prince. “You’re not… allies with Arakhis?”

“Oh no, absolutely allied with Arakhis. That’s why it concerned me so much.”

“That’s why you said it could be an act of war,” Sariel concluded.

“Yes, okay, we’ve discussed that I was bluffing, but yes.” He noticed Jocelyn’s stare again. “Look, a lot has happened. We’ve been arrested, we… almost burned down a city- ”

Elyse, Astra, and Boblem were quick to protest against that one.

“The dragonborn did that,” Elyse specified.

“Okay, our situation instigated a fire- ”

“We put down the fire!” Boblem corrected.

“And they started the fight,” Elyse finished.

The Captain stared at the group in silence for a bit.

“I’d like to point out that I wasn’t arrested,” Sariel reminded them.

Astra shrugged. “That’s true.”

“We don’t need to play the blame game anymore,” Vanden countered.

Sariel took another sip. “I’m not blaming anyone.”

“And are they searching for you?” Jocelyn pressed. “Since you were arrested?”

“Probably,” Elyse shrugged.

Astra wasn’t as sure. “We don’t know…”

“Pebble did say there were posters of our faces, though,” Boblem recalled.

“But then he also said that they sank the city, so I don’t think that they- ”

“It’s the dragonborn,” Elyse concluded.

“So,” Vanden turned back to his captain, “I think the Arakhian guard would be out for our blood.”

She stared at the table. “...Okay… alright… This complicates things, somewhat.”

“It feels like particularly bad form for me.”

Elyse shifted in her seat. “I mean, if my being with you is a problem in that way… I can always leave.”

“Elyse,” he met her eyes. “We don’t have to do this over any more times.”

They spent the rest of the meal recounting the past two weeks to Jocelyn, omitting a few of Elyse’s more personal details, and remaining at the table for a long while. After two and a half hours, the door banged open.

“Oh, here he is,” Jocelyn announced.

With an arm up on the doorframe, hat a bit askew, jacket over his shoulder, Aerenthias stepped in. Very clearly, he wore a black eye, and a little smudge of lipstick on his collar. He kicked around a chair to sit.

“You alright there?” Elyse grinned.

Vanden looked him over. “Fun night?”

“Do you need healing?” Astra offered.

He was breathing a bit heavy. “No.”

“What in Caldera have you been up to?” Jocelyn interrogated.

He adjusted his hat. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Is that a black eye?”

“Been there,” Cassian mumbled.

“And… lipstick?”

The wizard nodded. “Been there too.”

“I respect that,” Aerenthias replied. “You'll be pleased to know, I’ve gathered some information.”

Vanden grinned. “Have you now?”

“I have.”

“As well as a few other things, I can see,” Jocelyn accused.

Elyse smiled, leaning back in her seat. “Let him live.”

Aerenthias cleared his throat. “Thank you Jocelyn. Thank you Elyse.”

“Do you want a drink?” Astra offered.

“You know what, I will actually.” He took it, downing about half of it before wiping the foam from his mustache and placing the glass back down. “If there are no further comments on my appearance, thank you.”

Vanden leaned over to his captain. “Where did you find this man?”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t even ask.”

The red tiefling flashed a grin and a wink in her direction before looking to Vanden. “She’s been looking for you awhile, sir. No more the matter, I understand,” he leaned over the table. “The Weeping Eye. We’re in luck. They recently took up a contract, near Watchers Respite, in the northeast. They’re making their way back to Shadebourne. If we’re fast, there’s a chance we could catch them before they get there. They won’t be all of them, but it’ll be some of them there. They’ll be at reduced numbers. They won’t be at full strength. They’ll be tired, they’ll be hungry, they’ll be cold.”

“Do we know how many?” Sariel pressed.

“I’m not sure. A dozen, two. My contacts weren’t able to get me specific numbers, but, if we could head them off before they get to Shadebourne and the security of their reinforcements, the headquarters, we really might be able to do something. My concern is, we’re not that fast. Even with our fastest horses riding day and night, I’m not sure we’ll catch them up.”

“We’ve got a fast boat,” Astra offered.

“Is there any way to sail closer?” Elyse suggested. “And walk the rest of the way?”

He nodded. “There’s a river going north.”

“We can do that,” Vanden agreed.

“One of you have a map?”

Vanden handed it over. Aerenthias spread it out on the table, weighing it down at the four corners. He pointed to a river, a bridge crossing it, and a small village nearby, Bramley’s Nook. He pointed to a nearby abbey. “The abbey’s ruined, long gone. Lots of vantage points, hiding spots where we might be able to catch them unawares. The bridge, they don’t have any other choice but to cross the river from here. It’s high banks, steep rocky walls, fast flowing. We could sail up to the point, dock the boat, catch them as they cross the bridge. Alternatively, I’d rather not do this, but capturing them as they go through the village. There will be people around, I wouldn't want to endanger the lives of people.”

Astra shook his head. “No.”

“It sounds like a good plan,” Vanden studied the map.

“Yeah, any of those would be decent options,” Elyse considered. “I guess it depends on how fast we can catch up with them, though.”

“If there’s going to be fighting, I’d rather we don’t go anywhere where civilians could be pulled into it,” Astra warned.

“That’s a very good point,” Aerenthias nodded.

“Would the people in that town be willing to fight with us?” Elyse wondered.

“Oh, I would not want to...”

“It’s not their fight,” Astra agreed.

“They’re not the kind of people you’d want to draw civilians into fighting anyway,” Vanden nodded.

Aerenthias shrugged. “From what I understand, they’re jam makers.”

“Then we stay the hell away from there, if we can,” Elyse decided.

“The abbey?”

“The abbey,” Vanden confirmed.

“Maybe a mile out. The bridge, two or three more. But around here is the best point, I believe.”

“When do we move?” Astra glanced at the prince.

He surveyed the group. “I’d say tonight, but I know there’s other things you want to do here.”

“Well that can wait,” Sariel decided. “They’re not going to be there for long. The city will be here still.”

“I can wait,” Elyse nodded.

“Apparently no one’s been coming downriver for awhile,” Aerenthias warned. “No one’s really sure why, but something else might be there to drag us up.”

“Whatever is it,” Vanden glanced around the table, “We can handle it. What do we need? We can collect our belongings from the Towering Lord. Did you get those potion ingredients?”

“I can work on the potions in the boat,” Boblem assured him.

“Perfect. Are there any other supplies anyone needs?”

“I was trying to find a set of tools in town,” Elyse shrugged. “Haven’t had any luck.”

Aerenthias glanced over. “What are you looking for?”

“Lockpicks, that sort of thing.”

A sly grin broke over his face. “You’re going to have to tell me more about yourself, my lady, but worry not. I’ve got you covered.”

“Hm. Thank you…”

“I’ve got a spare pair somewhere.” He glanced to Jocelyn, hiding the grin. She shook her head. “I guess I better be putting my coat on, then.” He stood, pulling up his gloves.

“After you’ve dealt with this, would you need to go anywhere else immediately afterwards?” Elyse turned to the prince. “Or would we be able to come back here first?”

Vanden gave her an apologetic look. “Elyse, I can’t say.”

“Fair enough. Just wondering.”

“Alright. We walk north, to the other side of the city. We lay the boat down there, and we sail. If everyone’s ready, then…?”

“Is there anything else anyone needs to buy before we leave?” Elyse glanced across the group. “That might be useful?”

“Unless you wanna buy more ingredients,” Boblem shrugged.

“You seem to have enough to be getting on with.”

“Exactly. I’m ready to go whenever.”

“Shame to miss the end of the games,” Aerenthias grinned. “But you know, priorities.” He took off his red armband, tucking it away. “I think Wilson’s Landing was winning anyway.”

Elyse grinned. “Well, they had us, so.”

“Precisely. You’re their best chance in thirty years, I’ve heard.”

Vanden stood. “Let’s waste no more time.”

“Yeah, let’s go,” Elyse followed.

Vanden threw a bunch of coins on the table to pay for the food, tying his mask back on. Aerenthias gave a nod to the bartender, and they made their way outside, walking back to the inn.

Jocelyn took Aerenthias aside. “Before we part ways... Thank you.”

He raised a brow at her, amused. “Oh, I’m coming with you.”

“You’re coming with us?”

“If you think I’m going to be anywhere else,” he grinned, “You’re sorely mistaken.”

“Well. It’s much appreciated, thank you.”

“That’s alright. You’ve done a lot for me, and, they’re an alright bunch. I’ll stick around for a day or so. I have business up north anyway. I’ll slip off afterwards.”

“Glad to have you on our side,” Elyse nodded.

“Glad to be on this side.”

  
  


They headed north, moving up Gullery Lane and the district of Flotsam, where the houses piled on each other to make the travellers a bit claustrophobic as they went. The weight of what was happening and what they had just learned was setting in on them, but they drove forward. Jocelyn kept watch as they moved. It didn’t seem like anyone was watching them, besides the general attention of a group of eight armed to the teeth.

It would be a day and a half of constant sailing to get to the ambush point. As they walked, the city light faded behind them, and they crested a hill. Looking down, the river was before them, moving up north. It was too dark to see the range of mountains in the distance. They made their way to the river.

“Cassian, a light?” the prince called.

The wizard complied, wordlessly sending out a small dancing light. Elyse took out the bottle, glancing up and down to make sure nobody was around.

Vanden gave a grin to his captain. “You’re going to enjoy this.”

Elyse threw the bottle into the water. It broke, and Jocelyn saw for the first time the incredible sight of the Lyra Bird. Where the model ship appeared, it creaked, groaned, and swelled in size, the water lapping at the shore to deal with the displaced weight. Masts popped up, rigging unfurled, and planks emerged from where there was no physical space before a crash, and the small clipper with blue sails was bobbing in the waves before them.

Elyse grinned at Jocelyn’s gaping stare. “Right?” she teased.

“What a marvelous contraption!”

“Yeah. Found it in a rock,” the sorcerer shrugged.

“...Right. Well. Impressive, it’s beautiful.”

“My, my,” Aerenthias grinned. “What have we gotten ourselves into?”

“Come on,” Elyse hopped aboard, finally taking off her headscarf to reveal very matted hair. The blue mane, shaved on one side, came down against her back as she began working on the ropes.

Astra flicked his fingers, and the brasier onboard the ship lit up.

Aerenthias grinned at him. “That’s a nice trick,” he winked.

“Thank you. Sure, sure. Thank,” the other tiefling stammered. Their guest snapped his fingers a few times, the small flames turning off and on as they boarded.

“Aerenthias, a word?” Vanden called.

“Sure,” he sauntered down to the aft.

The prince looked him up and down. “What’s in this for you?”

He took a deep breath. “I owe Jocelyn some favors.”

“That’s it?”

He nodded.

“You realize what a risk you’re putting yourself at here?”

“A life without risk is hardly a life at all.” He bowed his head slightly. “My Lord.”

Vanden nodded. “Much appreciated. And… I hate people calling me that. It’s Commodore.”

“Of course.” He gave a salute that Vanden recognized as the naval salute.

The prince nodded and moved to the wheel, barking orders to get the sails up. Elyse did her best to help, and Aerenthias responded instantly as well, clearly someone who had spent time on a ship.

Jocelyn stood back, beaming with pride at the prince. His hands were still shaking on the wheel.

“If you want to swap out at any point,” Elyse offered, “Let me know.”

“This would be a good time for you to practice,” he admitted, “Seeing as I can’t see.”

“Oh yeah,” she grinned. “I keep forgetting that not everyone can do that.”

He passed her the wheel.

Aerenthias stood at the back of the ship, looking out. “You ready? We can cut loose.” Agreement echoed back, and he pulled a line. They drifted out and off the rocks, sailing silently into the cold and dark night.

Astra sat, playing his music and humming to himself while Boblem worked on the health potions. Elyse stood at the helm, trying to take in the ship’s reactions as she moved the wheel. Aerenthias moved next to her, offering tips and advice.

Cassian was below deck, in a corner, facing away, working madly on his project as he hummed to himself. The others had seen him bring aboard a large parcel, but they hadn’t asked.

Vanden stood near the mast, not looking at the water. He took off the mask, shoving it away, and shedding the big, nasty leather coat.

“Nice to see you looking relaxed,” Astra smiled.

“Does he ever look relaxed?” Boblem replied.

“Moreso now than he has.”

“That’s true.”

Vanden crossed his arms. “Right.”

Astra shifted on the floor. “Well, maybe relaxed is not the right word.”

“I get it.”

“It’s nice to see you smile.”

  
  


Jocelyn stood at the front of the boat, looking out. At some point, Elyse turned to Aerenthias. “So these tools… you’re willing to just give them to me? Or do you want money?”

“I mean, I won’t say no to money,” he grinned. “But I’ve got a spare pair. They’re a little bit rusty, but.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Don’t say anything to Jocelyn.”

“I won’t,” she teased.

“We’ll pretend it was just a joke, when I was talking about them earlier. Let’s leave it at that.”

“Sure, okay.”

“More to the left, you’ll hit that rock.”

She focused. “Sorry, distracted.”

“Hands on the helm, ten and two.”

  
  


The prince went below deck. Cassian quickly put his things away as the footsteps approached. Vanden stared into the corner where the wizard’s back faced him.

“Evening.”

Cassian gave a small glance over his shoulder. “Evening.”

“You’ve been very, very quiet.”

“I have a lot to think about.”

“Mmm.”

“Mmm,” he echoed back. There was more silence. “If you’ve got something to say, say it? Or else leave me to my business.”

“I’m allowed to sit below deck,” Vanden smirked. He sat, putting his feet up on the bunk. There was something quite poetically familiar about the decision.

Cassian didn’t seem to react. “No business for me.”

Vanden continued to stare at his back. “I apologize that I kept this from you.”

The wizard squirmed a little where he was seated. Ten full seconds passed before his response. “I’d say apology accepted, but I feel stupid for not noticing.”

In fairness, Cassian had never seen the prince before in person, and the royal family wasn’t the kind of thing he had really concerned himself with. But he was still angry about it.

“Truth is,” Vanden continued, “You’re the person I don’t trust. And I got wrapped up in that.”

The elf shrugged. “It’s a sensible choice, so.”

A short, dry laugh escaped the prince. “I think you’re a better man than you believe.”

There was a matching dark chuckle from the wizard. He turned his head, passing a sly grin over his shoulder. “I simply think that I am the best, so.”

Vanden let out a long sigh, fighting against a grin of his own. “Nevermind,” he stood, turning to the stairs. Cassian watched him leave before returning to his task, singing a bit more aggressively under his breath. The pendant under his shirt began to glow with warmth, and he powered on.

The prince emerged onto the top deck. “Well, he is in a filthy mood,” he announced.

“What’s new?” Elyse teased.

Boblem looked to Vanden with concern. “Are you guys fighting again?”

“Umm…” the prince went very pink, walking to the edge of the ship without answering the question.

“I mean, Cassian’s from Mirrotail,” Elyse explained to the boy. “So, he’s probably just realized he’s been travelling with his own prince this entire time,” she giggled.

Astra glanced over to the prince. “What would you prefer us to call you?”

“Yeah, do you still want to be known as Renard?” Elyse wondered. “In front of other people…?”

“In front of other people, appreciated,” he nodded. “But no, I don’t want to be known as Renard.”

“Okay.”

“When I first met Boblem, he asked my name, and I just sort of… said the first thing that came to my head,” he admitted.

“It was a nice name!” Boblem defended.

Elyse nodded. “Good name.”

He shrugged. “Thank you.”

“So your name is… Vanden?” Astra clarified.

“Mhm.”

“Alright.”

“Vanden du Argentfort.”

“I mean, it’s fair enough,” Elyse nodded. “If I’d known the full extent of my situation when I met all of you, you wouldn’t know my real name right now.”

The prince looked over to her. “How’s that not-remembering thing feel?”

Her grin faded. “It hasn’t been my entire life. I don’t know, maybe… three days? I can’t imagine it lasting that long.”

“Gets worse the longer it goes on,” he admitted.

“Yeah. I’m sorry you went through that. All of that.”

“I’ll deal with it.”

“You will. You’re strong.”

“Do the notes in your journal help?” Boblem wondered. “With memory?”

He shrugged. “That’s mostly just strategic nonsense, and… I suppose I preoccupy myself thinking how it could have gone differently if I’d just been better.”

“Because you keep going into your head,” Astra countered.

“I know that feeling,” Elyse nodded.

Vanden was staring off at the floorboards. “They… already had us, by the time anyone noticed they were there. They must have snuck in somewhere, underneath the palace, or… I don’t know.”

“They were organized. But now, we’re organized.”

“I remember when I took some of them down,” he continued. “Masks fell away, and… I recognized some faces from our own guard, so.”

“Oh…”

“An inside job?” Boblem guessed.

He shook his head. “I don’t know. I remember so little of it.”

Sariel’s silver eyes pinned themselves onto the prince’s face. “It’s your mind doing you a kindness.”

“Maybe.”

“Either way,” Astra sighed, “It’s happened, unfortunately. And going over it and over it and over it in your head is not going to change that. It’s not going to give you any answers. It’s just going to hurt you.”

“If I could just remember what happened… if I could remember anything about who they were, what they said, what they wanted…”

“Well, we’re going to find some of them,” Elyse reasoned. “So, we’ll have the opportunity to ask questions.”

Boblem nodded. “Maybe we’ll get some answers out of them.”

Vanden set his jaw. “I’m sure I will.”

“And you have people here who can…” Elyse struck a bit of a pose, “Be rather persuasive.”

He looked back up at her. “Yes, don’t think I’ve forgotten that.” There was a moment of silence, and then he called out for his captain. “D’Fabron?”

She turned at the voice. “Yes, Your Highness?”

Elyse chuckled to herself as the prince blushed for a moment. “I was wondering,” he continued, “If you could fill me in on anything that you remember from the siege.”

She nodded, and began explaining what she knew. She had been able to work out later that marks on the cliffside suggested they had sailed up to the base of the cliff, ascending it with climbing gear and ropes. They had infiltrated through the gardens, and attempted to divert the guard with a secondary team. That was what Jocelyn had initially responded to, a carriage coming to the front gate and causing a scene, starting a squabble. It drew some guards far away while the rest of the troop snuck through into the castle and began. Most of the people inside were unarmed, and it only took minutes for the mercenaries to make short work of the inhabitants. By that time, the call to arms was received. The bell rang, and the fight broke out in the main courtyard. That was where several of her men went down, but she managed to beat them back. Unfortunately, most of the damage had already been done. Their attackers retreated back over the cliff. She elected to hold the line and look after her men rather than to give chase. They had hyenas with them, covering their flanks.

“It sounds like a hell of a lot of planning went into that operation, whoever organized it,” Elyse observed.

“Yes,” Jocelyn nodded gravely. “Doesn’t help that a third of my soldiers were away at the time.”

Boblem lifted his head at this. “Must have been somebody that knew that, though?”

“Yeah,” Elyse agreed. “Did they organize it around that? Or if it was an insider, did they send them away?”

“One of my brothers was going overseas for a political meeting,” Vanden explained. “Took a third of the guard.”

“And they clearly knew to strike when the guard was diminished.”

“That’s what I keep thinking, over and over again.” He explained that from what he had heard from his brother Mattijn, his guards were attacked as well, separately, while he was away.

“Where did your brother go?” Elyse wondered. “If you don’t mind me asking. Could that be related, at all?”

“He was heading to Arakhis for a meeting.”

“Ah.”

“I don’t think they even made it. He… arrested me.”

“He arrested you?” Astra gasped. “Your brother?”

“Yes.”

“He thought you did that?” Boblem asked.

“He returned from sea, and he put me in chains, and he threw me in the dungeon. For three months.”

Astra’s face hardened. “Sounds like a bastard.”

“He wouldn’t be reasoned with.”

Elyse surveyed the prince. “Could he have had any reason to… orchestrate it himself? And fake an attack on himself?”

“That’s ridiculous!” Vanden exclaimed.

“Not necessarily,” Sariel thought. “Clears him of any blame if he gets attacked as well.”

“That’s true,” Jocelyn considered.

Elyse turned back to Vanden. “Who’s in line for the throne?”

“Is he older or younger than you?” Sariel added.

The prince crossed his arms. “He’s older than me, and the oldest brother is missing.”

Jocelyn sighed. “I mean, as far as I have been told, your father and your brother, the crown prince, are in their quarters. Resting from grievous injuries. But, I’ve not been able to lay eyes upon them, so I cannot confirm this myself. And I heard rumors of you, of which I had no idea of your imprisonment, first of all… And seeing as I was getting nowhere in the palace I thought to find you, so.”

“So what are they telling people?”

“Nothing. Mirrortail is operating as normally as it can, the guards have been forbidden to speak of the attack. I do not know who to trust, who to talk to, who to even believe. I don’t even know if I believe myself.”

“Wait,” Astra furrowed his brow, “So your brother and father are actually missing? Or are they at home, or?”

“They’re pretending,” Elyse guessed. “Someone’s lying and saying they’re there, but they’ve been taken, is what you’re saying?”

“Yes,” Vanden nodded, face contorted.

Jocelyn looked to him in concern. “Yes.”

“But the other brother is around,” she finished.

“Yes, I’ve seen him, although he has been… avoiding me. I have not had an audience with him. I have also heard that your mother is resting,” the captain looked to Vanden for a response.

The prince didn’t meet her gaze. “She isn’t.”

“Is she missing as well?” Astra worried.

“She’s…” he trailed off, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment. “No, she’s dead.”

They listened to the silence of the waves for a bit.

“I’m sorry,” Elyse offered.

“Mattijn accused me of doing it. And… I don’t remember enough to… to argue that I didn’t.”

A single flash snapped across his memory. A body thrown to the wall, crumpling down. A figure, seven feet tall, from behind. White fur. A memory he hadn’t allowed himself to think about.

He went perfectly silent.

Jocelyn was surprised by the news. She stared at him with wide eyes. “Vanden, I’m so sorry.”

His voice was flat. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is finding them, and bringing them home.”

“Which we’re gonna do,” Elyse consoled.

“We will,” Jocelyn agreed. “We will find them.”

“Maybe you should go rest.”

Vanden sneered at the cabin, stomping down the stairs. As Cassian put away his things again, he laid himself on a bunk, facing the wall.

“We can sail on through the night,” Aerenthias nodded to Elyse. “I’ve got this. Take your rest, you might need it.”

“You sure?” she asked.

“Course. Don’t worry, I’m used to sailing at night. If anyone wants to help take watch, take shifts, that’d be appreciated.”

They sailed on.

  
  


Jocelyn took the first watch as the others went to the cabins. She didn’t see anything approaching in the night.

Aerenthias broke the silence. “Got yourself into quite something, haven’t you?”

“I always do. It’s part of the job.”

“I suppose so. I’m glad you found them, though.”

“So am I.”

“Suppose the hard part comes next.”

“That it does.”

“He’s handsome, isn’t he?” Aerenthias glanced over to her. “They’re a handsome group.”

Jocelyn grinned and gave him a look. “I hope you haven’t got any ideas, Aerenthias.”

“Don’t be silly,” he spun the wheel. “I’m a professional.” The boom swung over to Jocelyn’s head. She ducked under, and it just skimmed the feather on her hat. “Would of had you there,” he teased, correcting the course. She glared at him, and he tipped his hat.

“So full of tricks,” she tutted.

“Well, we’ve got ourselves a ship now.”

“I know, I must admit this is the furthest north I’ve ever been.”

“Likewise.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “Nice to be away from the ocean, but, the comfort of water is there. Go below decks, you go rest. Bring up the others, if they want to take watch.”

“Alright.”

She swapped off with Boblem and Elyse. They climbed up to see Aerenthias at the aft, a cloak now wrapped around him.

The sorcerer eyed his back, judging his character. There was a lot to him, and she couldn’t pin him just yet. She absentmindedly put her hand in her pocket, and felt something jingle. The tools. She didn’t know when he had put them there, but she hadn’t noticed. There was probably more to the man than met the eye, but he seemed forthright, and trusted by Jocelyn.

She walked over to him, taking out the tools. “You’re really good.”

“I know,” he grinned.

“Feel like I could learn a lot from you.”

“I get told that a lot.”

Boblem noticed the glimmer in Elyse’s hand. “Where’d you get that from?”

She slipped them away, nodding at Aerenthias.

“Must have fallen into her pocket,” the man suggested.

Boblem surveyed the tiefling. “How convenient.”

He looked back to the waves. “Tell me about yourselves. What brings you on this adventure?”

“Necessity mostly,” Elyse replied. “Needed travelling companions.”

“Don’t we all.”

“Just a farm boy,” Boblem grinned. “Grandma just kinda said, go out and have adventures! So I did.”

He nodded approvingly. “I’m sure she’s very proud of you.”

“Yeah. I like your hat!”

“Thank you,” he smiled.

“Very stylish.”

“I like yours,” he returned.

“Thank you,” Boblem beamed. By now, his own hat was below deck, so he couldn’t tip it the way he wanted to.

“Could always do with a feather though,” Aerenthias suggested.

“I dunno. It’s my grandpa’s hat, so I would be hesitant to change it.”

“I respect that.”

“You could add your own little flair to it,” Elyse persuaded.

“Hm, I dunno,” the boy considered. “I guess he lent it to me for the adventure. He said he was worried my ears might get burned,” he touched the tips of his slightly pointed ears.

“I had to have this one custom made, you see,” Aerenthias pulled off his hat, revealing two holes and two slits for his horns and ears. “As blessed as I may be with these good looks, it does come with its curses. You don’t even want to see the state of my pillow.”

“Yeah,” Boblem tilted his head. “How do you sleep?”

“Not very well. Sitting up, usually.”

“Sounds uncomfortable.”

“Others have it worse,” he shrugged. “Could be a minotaur. Just the bedding situation alone, I mean… And then you’ve got clothing, doors...”

“Chairs,” Elyse grinned.

“Chairs, goodness.”

“How are doorframes for you?” she teased. “I know a couple tieflings who alway have to duck.”

“Doors aren’t too much of a bother.” The man only stood at about 5’ 10”, not nearly as tall as Boblem. “And you know, they provide a dramatic entrance and exit.”

“Yeah,” Boblem considered, “You do lean against them quite a lot.”

“It’s...” he straightened, defensive, “A silhouette is very important, you know. Watch this.” His eyes glowed for a moment, and the door to the cabins below slammed shut. A few of the inhabitants below glared at the noise.

“That’s very cool,” Elyse grinned.

Boblem had to agree. “That’s a cool trick.”

“I know,” he fit his hat back on.

The sorcerer considered him. “So you can do magic as well?”

“There are some things that come to me innately. Make lights appear, wind or not,” he snapped, dousing and reigniting the fire in the brasier that lit the ship. “And the trick with the door. My voice can appear louder, my eyes brighter, but besides that… not too much.”

“Yeah, that’s the kind of stuff Astra can do as well. Makes sense.”

“It’s in our blood. Our legacy. I’m proud of it- ”

“You should be.”

“ -But my magic is on deck. With a blade.” He gave a sly grin. “And other places.”

  
  


During their shift, Boblem watched from the prow as the sky began to tint from black, to deep blue, to a lighter blue, before the first rays of light appeared on the horizon. He wrapped himself up as the sun came up, and looked out to the river. Light spilled out over him. About a mile up ahead, there was a little islet in the middle of the river.

They pressed forward, and Aerenthias stifled a yawn. Movement sounded from downstairs as people woke up.

Boblem peered closer. It wasn’t a hill, and it wasn’t a tower, but… it was something. They grew closer still. It was a structure of some sort. Closer. Seemed like things piled up on top of each other. Growing suspicious, Boblem called forth Zip. The hummingbird appeared in his hands as the boy’s eyes went black.

Zip flew out, darting across the water and skimming the surface before soaring up. He saw piles and piles of wood, maybe forty to fifty meters high, smashed up and placed on top of each other. Masts, sails, rigging, elements tumbled and fell apart as something moved from inside.

Boblem snapped back to his own vision. Two large, leathery wings broke out from the pile. A shape began flying up and away. He forced himself to see through Zip’s eyes, still circling this funeral pyre, a monument of ruined ships. A large, blue, reptilian figure soared away, making a wide bank off of the pyre before turning back, flying in their direction.

Boblem immediately alerted the others with a scream. “Wings!”

The group clattered onto the deck in a mixture of panic and fear, looking to a small shape getting larger and larger. The hairs on the backs of their necks began to stand up. Unwillingly, Elyse felt sparks dancing between her fingertips. They looked to where Boblem was pointing, the unmistakable sight of a dragon hurtling through the air towards them.

“Oh Gods,” Vanden gulped.

It was about 400 feet away, its wings beating. The water underneath it rippled and churned, and it was bearing on them fast.

“What are we gonna do?” he called to the others for ideas.

“Is… is that, um…?” Jocelyn blanched. “What is that?”

“Blue dragon.”

“It’s a dragon,” Boblem squeaked.

“Boblem?” Cassian beseeched. “Talk to it?”

It was gaining on them.

The boy stood. “Think it’s too far away for me to be able to communicate. Do you think it might be persuaded?”

“Potentially, it’s worth a try,” Astra argued.

Given what he had seen, the ruined ships and the torn apart mass of detritus, Boblem had a feeling this thing saw them as its next meal. “It was surrounded by a pile of broken ships…”

It was closer now.

Cassian backed up to Aerenthias, and Vanden moved straight to the wheel, beginning to turn them to shore.

“If it’s destroying ships, do we put the ship away?” Astra wondered.

Elyse shook her head. “You could, but- ”

“And get in the water?” Boblem countered.

The ship began to turn, but there was no way they’d make it to shore before the dragon hit.

Elyse stared at it. “I know this is completely inappropriate to say, but that thing is beautiful…”

“Know anything about fighting dragons, Elyse?” Vanden called from the wheel.

“Read about them. Never actually seen one.”

It was 150 feet away. Jocelyn drew her pistol, aiming at it. Cassian pulled out his wand, and Elyse took out her arcane focus. Aerenthias loaded his own pistol, looking to them with a nod while Vanden readied the crossbow.

120 feet. Its wingtips scraped the surface of the water as it came towards them, growing larger and larger. It was about half the size of their ship. They had never seen a dragon up close and personal, but it didn’t take much to feel the hunger and greed radiating off from it. They saw a ridge of finned horns cresting the top of its head, a heavyset jaw full of teeth with sparks crackling off as it soared towards them, brow down. Electricity glanced off it, into the water. Its scales were a deep, deep blue, like the deepest depths of the ocean. The wings were dusted in bronze.

It flew closer. Elyse drew something out of her focus. What first appeared to be lightning turned to three rays of blue flame. She fired at it. The beams of blue fire arced out towards it as the dragon roared with an echo that shook the water, the boat itself trembling. Two of the rays hit its wings, scorching them. Whipping her focus around, she flew up onto the boom of the ship. Hooking the chain of the arcane focus around the wood, she balanced on the narrow surface.

Cassian fired an arcane bolt from his wand. An explosion of water just glanced off, with no effect at all.

It opened its mouth, and all they saw was a flash of blue white light as it exuded a line of pure lightning. Vanden, Jocelyn, Astra, and Sariel were all hit by the scorching beam, bathing them in a searing pain. The blow crackled across the ship, leaving a blackened line in its wake. Sariel went down instantly.

Fueled with rage, Jocelyn took a shot. It bounced off a scale as she reloaded. She loathed to heal this soon into the battle, but she had no choice. Scorched and shaken, all of her muscles tight, she found the strength to pop off the cap of her only potion, downing it.

Cassian and Astra understood a very heavy swear coming from Aerenthias in Infernal. He spun, ducking behind the ballistray, pistol up. He readied himself, taking a shot. They heard the blast ring out, and for the second time in a few seconds, a cloud of black smoke poured from the barrel. A small hole was torn in the dragon’s wing.

Vanden dropped to Sariel’s side, pouring his own healing potion down her throat. He screamed to Elyse, “Take another shot!”

She fired off a beam of crackling cold energy at the damaged wing, and the beast dipped slightly as the blow hit. Vanden ducked down below the side of the ship as Astra pulled around his lute. Strumming and keeping his eye on the dragon, he began to glitter with magic, sending out the music to boost Jocelyn, Vanden, and Sariel. Aiming at the dragon, he sent a hypnotic flash of light in front of its face. It blinked for a second, but the dragon pressed forward, undeterred.

Vanden grabbed Sariel, moving her to hide with him as Jocelyn ran for cover. Boblem screamed at it in Draconic. “Leave us alone!”

Elyse pulled another three blue rays from her focus, steadying herself on the boom as it swung and swayed. Its wings beating, she found an opportune moment as all three bolts of flame hit, spreading across its wings. She flew back down by Astra, heading for cover. Cassian traced a line over himself with his wand, casting a quick spell before ducking into the stairs.

The dragon beat its wings as it soared, landing bodily on the side of the ship. Its claws hit the port side, grabbing on. The entire ship rocked back as it looked to speak back to Boblem. “Your compatriots will make a fine meal. You, I’ll keep for the entertainment.”

Its huge jaws came down towards Elyse. She raised her hands, trying to draw a line of static to protect herself. Its teeth broke through the spell, biting her, but its claws skittered off the magical shield. The other claw raked over Astra before it took off again, flying around past Aerenthias.

As it flew, Vanden drew his rapier, sticking it up into the belly of the dragon. Aerenthias landed another shot on it as Jocelyn moved, pulling herself across the deck to skid to the other side. Elbowing out a plank of wood, she lined up the shot, but the blow went wide. Aerenthias tried to make the same attack, missing as well.

Sariel tried to send out a magical attack, but it didn’t take. Vanden moved across the ship, pulling out his crossbow. A bolt stuck right in its tail. “Elyse, it seems to be working!” he called out.

The dragon was moving away, banking around hard. The sorceress screamed at it, sending out the same attack once more. Astra pointed his finger at the creature, focusing his senses on it and concentrating before ducking to hide.

Boblem cast a moonbeam, a silvery pillar burning through the morning mist, which seemed to boil the water below it. It tore through its wing and howled as Boblem shouted at it. “You are not getting near any of my friends!”

Its wings were beating a bit more laboriously now. Elyse spun her focus around, launching an attack directly from it. The blow landing, she flew to the other side of the ship, ducking into half cover.

Cassian ran out between Astra and Vanden, drawing his new sword as he spoke the command word. As he pulled it across, a wave of water arched through the air, spinning around and covering him entirely. The other saw the form of the wizard shifting and blurring as the image of water poured in front of him. He gave a glance to the wand at his side before tucking it into a pocket, bringing his hand upwards. Arcane runes painted in henna glowed in sequence before the final one in his palm burst a crackling beam out towards the dragon.

It howled, soaring around to the back of the ship. Boblem heard its words growl out once more. “You will sake my hunger today!” it commanded, screaming as another burst of crackling energy soared out of its mouth.

Sariel and Boblem were far enough away from the blow to avoid it, the blast just barely scorching Elyse and Jocelyn as they tried to dodge. Vanden was hurt a bit worse, but Astra and Cassian took the brunt of the attack, the two of them falling to the floor unconscious.

Jocelyn hurried over, pushing past the others as she tried and failed to take another shot. She was too panicked to focus, the ship moving underneath her as elements of the sails began to catch fire. The deck was scorched and blacked, though the ship was still floating for now. Aerenthias missed another shot. He looked panicked as well, and very hurt.

Sariel ran to the side of the ship, putting her hands on the edge of the boat as she sent her magic down the side and into the water. She screamed as a huge wave exploded up and out, engulfing the dragon. It soared up, rocking the ship back. Her feet came off the floor for a second, floating about a foot off the aft as water soared upwards, slamming the dragon down and smashing it into the river. The boat smashed back down, coarse waves rippling out. The dragon’s body surfaced with its head lying limp, the neck snapped and torn. One wing was bent up, the other floating in the water before it began to sink under the lapping waves.


	28. The Dark Before The Dawn, Episode Twenty-Five

Boblem ran over to Astra, stabilizing him. The bard opened his mouth with a gasp. He smelled burned hair and flesh, smoke coming off his clothes and most of the ship. Parts of the sails were beginning to smoulder and burn.

“You’re okay,” Boblem consoled. “You’re okay, I got you.”

The prince grabbed Cassian, hauling him to his feet and healing him back to consciousness. The wizard’s eyes blinked open. “Did we get it?”

“Sariel took it out,” Vanden nodded.

Elyse gestured to the smaller elf. “We got it. Sariel took it down. That was awesome, by the way.”

“Remarkable,” Jocelyn agreed.

Sariel didn’t respond. The blue-white misty ball of hair began hopping around, healing them slightly.

Elyse moved over to Astra, crouching down beside him. She put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. Maybe you should go take a lie down, below decks, yeah? We can get the ship back in working order.”

The bard took a shaky, heavy breath before disappearing down the stairs, under the ship.

Aerenthias had removed his hat, putting it over his face as he sat against the side, breathing deeply.

Cassian looked around. “Where did the beast fall?”

Elyse was already running over to the edge. “Over here, Cassian.”

She looked over, watching it float. Cassian crossed to her. Sheathing the sword, he dove in. Slipping over the side, he broke the water, coming immediately to its body. He looked for anything of value, teeth, claws, scales, but it would be hard to harvest anything from underwater, though they might be able to tow it to shore. He observed the body. It was scorched and damaged in a lot of places, though the head was fine. The horns, eyes, and even the organ that produced its electrical charge would most certainly be valuable.

He climbed back to the ship.

“There’s a lot of valuable resources on that thing,” Elyse considered. “But do we have time to tow it ashore?”

“We don’t really have much time to waste,” Vanden replied. “Captain, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine, that was…” Jocelyn wiped her brow. “You?”

“I’m fine.”

“Good.”

“I’m gonna check on Astra. Is everyone else doing okay?”

“Yeah,” Elyse nodded.

Boblem looked to the other tiefling. “You okay Aerenthias?”

He raised his hat wordlessly. Cassian glanced over, speaking to him in Infernal. “Good show.” The air almost darkened around him as he spoke the growling, guttural language. Aerenthias nodded back, repeating the same to him.

Vanden made his way below deck. “Astra?”

The bard was sitting with his bag in his lap, cradling something. Vanden crouched down in front of him, gently placing a hand on his arm. It shook him from his stupor, and Astra began breathing heavily and shakily once more. “Do you want to talk about it? You told me it helps to talk.”

He was silent for a bit. “I did, didn’t I.”

“You did. You don’t have to, but, I’m extending the same offer you extended to me. That was… I’m sorry. That was a lot. A lot more than I’d expected we’d encounter.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I know.”

“I just can’t, I just keep going down how I can’t do that.”

“We need to work on…” Vanden chose his words carefully. “Strategy and defense. But there will always be things that catch us off guard. You’re still here. And it isn’t. I can’t imagine how many lives that thing took. But not yours.”

Astra was still breathing a bit ragged, not focusing on the other man. He stared into his bag.

“Do you just want some time?” Vanden offered.

“Mhm.”

“Do you want me to stay here, or not?”

“...Yes.”

Vanden took a seat next to him, quietly.

  
  


Above deck, Cassian approached Sariel. She was holding the blue spirit in her arms. He gave it a cursory smile.

“You alright?” she worried.

“Oh, I’m fine. Just sad I didn’t get to see you deal the finishing blow.”

“It was down to everyone.”

He looked her over. “I’m just proud to see our little wolf has plenty of fangs.”

She smiled. “I’m glad you’re alright.”

“You too. We keep taking falls, but we get back up again.”

“We do, don’t we. Did you find anything on the dragon?”

“Oh, it’s got plenty of resources, but as- ” he hesitated at the name. “As  _ Vanden _ said, we don’t have much time to deal with it.”

“Let it sink to the bottom of the sea.”

He nodded. “Suitable offering. As long as everyone's okay.”

“I don’t know if Astra is. I think he took it pretty hard.”

“Hm. He has music. It always brightens the spirit,” he put a hand on his chest. “Soothes the soul.”

Wood creaked as Aerenthias pulled a line, beginning to pull the ship about. Elyse jumped to help, and the boat began to make slow progress, drifting away from the body of the dragon. They were 600 feet from the islet, and they were now all able to see the pyre of wood, ships, masts, and sails. Elyse had been sitting on the edge of the ship, her feet dangling over as she wrote and drew in her journal.

Vanden stayed with Astra for about ten minutes before heading back up. He moved to Aerenthias. “What’s the damage?”

“Nothing major.”

“She still sails?”

“Of course, of course. Couple little holes,” he pointed.

Noticing this, Cassian began mending them with his spell, stitching together the smaller ones and working a bit more on the larger ones.

“Then we get on our way again,” Vanden decided. “Sorry everyone, there’s no time to rest.”

“Understandable,” Elyse shrugged.

Jocelyn nodded. “It’s alright.”

Boblem was sitting on the deck, furiously working on the health potion. Elyse glanced over to Vanden. “Is Astra doing okay?”

“I don’t know, but I think he’ll recover. If you’ve nothing else to do, he’d probably appreciate a friend sitting with him.”

“If you guys can handle the ship?”

“We’ve got it.”

“We’ll be fine,” Aerenthias agreed. “Take your time.”

She headed down to where Astra was sitting. “If you want more company, I can stay with you. If you don’t, I’ll leave. Whatever you want.”

His hands were still deep in his bag. He nodded, and she sat quietly next to him.

Those on deck watched the islet get closer. It was over 300 feet long, scrub and rockland piled around the remains of twenty or thirty ships, reaching thirty meters in the air. It was a mess of scorched and blackened wood, torn sails, and rigging. Masts poked out, cannons rolling down. On the shoreline were the remains of bone.

Vanden looked them over for anything recognizable. There was one nameplate he could make out,  _ “Dependence.” _ Looking over, there were one or two that were familiar. They were flying the colors of the ECC.

He froze. “Oh Gods…”

“What?” Sariel looked over to him.

“Some of my ships are in there,” he quavered. He turned back to Aerenthias and Jocelyn, raking a hand through his hair. The Captain ran over to look.

“We can take a minute,” Aerenthias offered. “Half an hour isn’t going to hold us back much.”

“Okay, um…” Vanden took a steadying breath, trying to calm himself. “I can’t cross to shore but I just, I…”

“Do you want to look?” Jocelyn asked.

Aerenthias spun the helm, the boom swinging out as it banked up. “I’ll pull us closer.”

Around the base of the pyre were hundreds of bones, and dozens of recently deceased bodies. Vanden climbed over, jumping into the water. It was shallow here, only reaching to about his waist. He began to trudge to the islet, Aerenthias glancing around before casting the anchor off the side. “I guess we’re stopping,” he called.

Jocelyn instantly followed.

Elyse felt the boat halt. Remaining by Astra’s side, she sent a message to Aerenthias.  _ "We’ve stopped, is everything okay?" _

He shouted back down. “We’re just going to take a look around.”

Vanden began picking through the wreckage, carefully at first, and then furiously. Sariel followed after. After about ten minutes, Vanden found the tattered remnants of ECC uniforms, as well as one shattered nameplate, the  _ Windflo- _ probably the Windflower. Though the pile wasn’t exclusively made of his own ships, he knew this was quite a common route. He thought back, and recalled how someone had mentioned that ships hadn’t been coming from Lakeside in this direction for a while. The oldest attack seemed to have been from a month ago, the most recent only a few days past.

Vanden pulled out his rapier with a scream, hitting at the wreckage in fury. He tore and tore at the wood, bits falling down and rolling into the waves behind him.

“Vanden what are you doing?” Jocelyn yelled over. “What’s wrong? Are you looking for someone?”

“No, this is just…” he stopped, turning to face her. “These are my men. These are the bodies of my men,” he started laughing, almost hysterical. “Week’s travel from Mirrortail now, but still more bodies of people I know.”

Jocelyn stared at him. “Gods...”

Vanden took one of the ECC pennants. Pulling it out, a cavalcade of wood and detritus poured down, rolling into the sea. Cannonballs, chain shot, barrels of powder. A path of gold and gems poured out next to him, hoarded from the ships. He sighed.

“Vanden, it’s not your fault,” Jocelyn tried.

He glared at the wreckage. “No, it’s just crap, isn’t it?”

“It is, it is, a whole lot of it.”

He shook his head. “There’s gold here, if any of you want it.”

There were a couple of daggers and shortswords, as well as a brace of cannons. Most were too large for their ship, but they did find a smaller set. He started heaving it out. “Get this one the ship,” he ordered.

It took a while, but they were able to load in on, taking huge piles of gold with them. It was easily over a thousand pieces. There was quite a lot of silver, and the occasional gem. The two little cannons were wheeled down to the ship. The dragon had built a cocoon of stuff around itself.

“Come on,” Elyse gestured. “Let’s fix this thing on. It’ll be useful.”

“Yeah,” Vanden sighed. “Sorry, this was just…”

“It’s okay.”

He shook his head. “Just another thing.”

“I understand.” 

He climbed back onto the ship.

“Well, it won’t hurt anyone anymore,” Sariel reasoned.

Elyse nodded at her. “Vengeance.”

“Yes.”

Vanden approached the helm again. “Aerenthias, where did you sail?”

He glanced over. “Mostly around the bay. I recognize the colors. Sailed under your name for a while, in the Navy. But that was some time ago.”

“Have you seen a ship called the Dire Wolf? In the bay, last couple of months?”

“Not that I can think of. But I have connections.”

“It’s fine, I just… I don’t have time to search through this whole pile. Let’s get underway.”

“I hate to say this, but… we should burn this.” Aerenthias looked over to the isle. “This many dead in one area.”

“I can help with that,” Elyse offered.

The prince stared out at the pile of wood. “Do it.”

As they sailed away, she stood at the back. She sent out three shots of fire. Flames appeared in three points, and Aerenthias reached out to grow them, increasing them in intensity. An explosion went off as gunpowder lit. They sailed away, heat licking at them. Black smoke rose up in a column, marking the tombstone of who knew how many sailors.

Vanden stood at the back of the ship, watching it. He gave a naval salute.

Jocelyn approached him, slowly. “Their deaths are not in vain. They’re helping us, even now.”

“I know what they do every day is a risk anyway. It’s fine, it’s just… cherry on top of the cake, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“And I can’t say what ships are missing, and that was… it’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid, no, you were right to look. The ship you were looking for… what was the name?”

“The Dire Wolf.”

“The Dire Wolf. Alright.” It sounded familiar to her, but she couldn’t place it.

Elyse continued writing her notes, drawing in her book. Boblem took his potion supplies below deck, sitting next to Astra. Cassian was down there as well, silently working on his project. Boblem tentatively reached out a hand to the tiefling. He had since closed his bag, lying down. After a moment, the boy realized that Astra had fallen asleep, so he just sat there in the silence.

  
  


Sariel watched the water. Aerenthias made idle chat with her, impressed with her abilities, though he understood the unfortunate circumstances surrounding it.

After a while, he called Jocelyn over. “Is he alright?”

She sighed. “As best as he can be.”

“I understand. It’s hard to lose your crew.”

“I know the feeling.”

Aerenthias swallowed. “Likewise. I’ll catch him later, if he has a moment.”

“Yes, good. Alright.”

“At least he’s not wearing that bloody mask anymore,” he added. “Really unnerving. Couldn’t see his eyes at all.”

“Well, you know, it was wise considering the situation.”

“Yeah, I understand the circumstances. Just don’t like not being able to see someone’s eyes, you know? I get it though.”

“Well you’d never hide your face, would you darling?” she teased.

“Oh no,” he grinned. “This face is far too pretty to be hidden.”

“Well that Cassian fellow, could give you a run for your money,” she thought. “He has some interesting… decorations,” she gestured to her arms, “Upon his person.”

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed. He’s pretty. The others are strong. One has nice hair. Another’s a prince. Gosh, spoiled for choice, aren’t I?” he winked.

She chuckled. “Well, they all did tremendously well.”

“I’m incredibly impressed. Could barely get a damn shot on the thing.”

“I know! So frustrating.”

He shook his head. “I tell you, when something gets close, I’m inclined to run it through.”

“Precisely.”

“We’ll show these landlubbers what we’re made of.” He glanced towards her for a moment, tapping his hands on the wheel. “Sorry, I forgot, you’re not navy are you? Gosh.”

“No, I’m not, but…”

“Well, there’s always chance to improve oneself.”

“Don’t have very good sea legs, I’m afraid. This is alright, the river, but…”

“Yeah…” he threatened to wobble the boom again. She gave him a teasing glare.

Vanden strolled over. “What are you two whispering about?”

Jocelyn turned at the noise. “Not much in particular.”

“All manner of things,” Aerenthias shrugged. “Sea life.”

He nodded. “Jocelyn, are you up to… there’s a bit of room on deck here. Testing out our skills?”

She seemed a bit surprised. “Alright, why not? Haven’t done this in a long time.”

They moved out, further down the empty deck. Vanden pulled out his sword, keeping it sheathed to spar.

Aerenthias hung over the helm. “Now I am curious to see this,” he grinned. “Now go on.” Elyse and Sariel turned around from where they were sitting to watch. Aerenthias pulled out a piece of gold. “My money is on the Captain.” He flicked the coin forward.

Elyse grinned. “I’ll take one for Renard.” She added a coin.

“Go on then!” Aerenthias clapped. “For my entertainment.”

The prince readied himself, stepping a foot back. “It’s Vanden!” he corrected, glancing at the sorcerer.

Jocelyn shed her hat and cloak, drawing a sheathed sword. Their blades crossed in the morning light, a single beam shining through. Jocelyn’s blade flipped down as she lunged forward for an attack. Stepping towards her opponent, her foot hooked around his, a heel kicking the back of his leg. Vanden lost balance for a second as the flat of the blade came down towards his head. As it smacked him, she came up with a hand to punch him in the ribs, feigning a dagger attack.

“That’s not fair!” he bickered. He tried to take a swipe, and Jocelyn’s foot came out again, kicking him twice in the calf as he fell to the floor.

“Where’s she been all this time?” Sariel called.

Jocelyn stepped out of range, flourishing her blade. Vanden came at her, not as fast, but still swift, striking with a lot of power, ferocity building. His moves, while full of fitness and grace, weren’t as swift and smooth as hers. They came down with power as the blade swung. She tried to deflect as the blade knocked her shoulders.

“I see you’re getting visiocus, little fox,” she grinned.

Jocelyn came at him, striking, and he fended both attacks off. He swung his sword, skittered away one of her daggers to the side, holding his blade up to her chest. She nodded in approval. “Very good.”

He lowered the blade, giving a shrug before walking to the back of the ship. He had won, but Elyse was staring wide eyed at Jocelyn. Aerenthias clapped a few times. “Gold is yours, I guess,” he glanced at the sorcerer.

“Yeah it is,” she grinned, swiping the pieces.

Vanden leaned against the back of the wall. “My money’s on the Captain,” he mocked, grinning at Aerenthias.

The tiefling chuckled. “Well fought, my lady,” he nodded to Jocelyn.

She meandered over. “Oh, it’s alright.”

“I know you’re going easy on him. He is a prince, after all. Can’t afford to actually hurt him.”

“Of course not.”

“You better not be going easy on me!” Vanden’s eyes were on them.

“I was certainly not,” she consoled.

  
  


They continued on. Elyse went over to the chest of gold, using the tools Aerenthias had lent her to attempt locking and unlocking it. She wanted to teach herself the pattern before gradually growing faster. After about half an hour, she still wasn’t able to do it successfully. Aerenthias handed over the helm, coming to sit up next to her. “This type of lock might be different from what you’re used to.”

“I’m used to doing this with magic.”

“...That’d be a very different way.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve done it this way.”

“That’s okay. Here, let me show you.” He took the sash off his waist, tying it around his eyes as a blindfold. He took the tools from her, and with a quick movement, the lock sprung open. “I can do it underwater, if you like,” he grinned.

“Go on then,” she dared.

“No, no… You called my bluff. But sit with me, I’ll show you. Here, your hand is in the wrong place…” He guided her through it for another hour, talking and explaining the process. By the end, she was able to spring it once. It took a minute, but she fiddled through, and the lid popped open.

He looked inside the chest. “There’s a lot in here.”

“I know.”

“Not just gold, too.” He reached in, pulling out a 30 to 40 centimeter staff, inscriptions spiraling around it. It was made of black ivory, two silver bands at the end. “Can’t tell what this is, but- ”

“I can,” she took it.

He blinked in surprise. “Right, okay then…”

“Now it’s my turn to show off.” She took out the battered notebook, flicking through the pages, tracing lines of static over the top of the staff. Her eyes whited over as she cast the identification spell.

The item was an immovable rod. Once activated, it could not be moved, remaining in place. She got very excited, explaining it to him. “These things are so useful, you have no idea.”

Vanden walked over, interested. “What is it?”

“It’s an immovable rod!”

“Okay. What is that?”

“It’s literally… the name says it all, it’s an immovable rod.”

“So it’s a stick that you can’t move?”

“Yes!”

He didn’t seem impressed.

“With magic,” she elaborated, “You could put it in front of almost anything, I think, and stop it from moving.”

“Okay…”

“I’d say refrain from using that right here,” Aerenthias warned. “It may run through the boat. I’d worry about punching a hole in your brand new ship.”

The group began to dig into the chest. They found ten gems of varying color and size, and a small vial of orangey red liquid that seemed to burn and increase in light when swirled. There was also a small ring made plainly of silver, inscribed with spirals. Elyse took the items immediately, casting her identification spell. She was giddy and wide eyed. “Yes!”

“Sorry we didn’t have longer to search the horde,” Vanden apologized.

Elyse’s smile faded. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be so happy about this, should I?”

“It’s fine.”

She pointed to the items. “Potion of Firebreath. Ring of Levitation. I don't even know how to divvy these up, they’re all amazing.”

Vanden stepped back. “I’m not interested. If anyone wants to…” he gestured to the pile.

“You go ahead,” Jocelyn agreed. “You’ll make use of these.”

Elyse glanced at the others. “Anyone interested in any of these things, or can I play?”

“The ring is very pretty,” Sariel observed.

“It is. I can already fly, so, if someone else wants to take the ring I don’t mind.”

“I’ll take it. But we can share it.” Elyse passed it to her, and she held it in her hands to take a closer look. “Boblem, imagine if you could speak Draconic and breathe fire. You could be a dragon.”

“I would be a full blown dragon,” the boy thought. “But I don’t know. If they’re anything like the one we encountered, I wouldn’t want to be that.”

“It was so beautiful,” Elyse sighed.

“It was vicious.”

“I always wanted to see a dragon,” Vanden admitted. “Not like that.”

“Me too,” the sorcerer agreed.

“Supposedly, there’s a blue dragon who lives in the water next to Mirrortail.”

“Really?”

“Nobody has seen it for a long time, but I grew up reading lots of stories about it.”

Elyse smiled. “I always wanted to see a blue dragon specifically.”

“And now we’ve killed one.”

“And now I’ve… yeah. Didn’t necessarily want to kill one, just kind of wanted to see, feel its power.”

Dragons of chromatic hues, red, blue, and green, tended to be of a more evil disposition. Those of metallic hues were usually of a better demeanor.

Vanden stared at the ground. “It deserved to die.”

  
  


Sariel ducked back downstairs. Astra was now furiously writing in his journal. She sat next to him. “Hi.”

Cassian, who had been working in the corner, packed his things and went above deck.

Astra kept writing. The letters were very, very tiny. “Hi.”

“Need a magnifying glass to read that.”

He gave a small smile. “I write a lot, so I don’t want to waste the pages.”

“You’re certainly not doing that. How are you feeling?”

“Shaken, but fine.”

“You’ll bounce back.”

“I know. Always do, always got to.”

Sariel waved her hand. A few flowers appeared in Astra’s hair. “Suits you.”

He smiled. “Thank you. Lunette used to do that to me.”

“Is she a druid?”

“Very similar. She… I think you’d get on.”

“I’ll need to meet your mother and your sister now. I think they’d both be proud of you.”

“Eventually.”

Sariel watched him shift in his seat, a bit uncomfortable. “Did you want to be alone?”

“No, I’ve been down here long enough.”

They walked back upstairs together, the bard curling his tail slightly around Sariel once more.

Aerenthias nodded in greeting. “Good to see you again. I’m glad you're feeling better.”

Astra glanced at the other tiefling. “Oh yes. Always bounce back, me.”

“Right.” He tapped his hands on the wheel. “I’m tired of this. Who can take the wheel?”

“I’ll take the helm,” Vanden offered.

Aerenthias shed his jacket, walking to sit at the edge of the boat. As he walked past, Vanden reached out and pulled his tail.

He whirled around. “Sir!”

The prince feigned innocence. “Hm? Sorry?”

The tiefling grinned. “I’m not against it. But now’s not the time,” he walked off, tail swishing behind.

As the prince stood at the helm, Jocelyn approached. “You know what?” she realized, “I never did get that chance to do your portrait. Would it be alright?”

“...I’ll be standing here for hours, so why not.”

“Perfect.” She took out her sketchbook and paints, sitting to draw. After a few hours, she had a wonderful portrait of the sun kissed prince, sailing on.

Astra had been strumming his music. Aerenthias wandered over to him. “You play a good tune.”

“Thank you.”

“I spent a lot of time in the navy. We’d always have people on board, raising morale. Playing music, it’s a good way to keep everyone’s spirits up. You’re doing a good job. Where are you from? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Near Riven.”

“Riven. I’ve not been over there, how is it?”

“Beautiful area. The city itself is very busy.”

“You don’t strike me as much of a city sort.”

“No, not at all.”

“All that fresh air. Must be good for you,” Aerenthias looked him over with a grin. “Are they all handsome where you are? Or is it just you?”

Astra made a choking sound, blushing hard. “Um, thank you, that’s… nice of you to say.”

“I know,” he winked. “Maybe I’ll go visit Riven one day.”

“Maybe you should.”

“Take a walk in the forest, see if any… handsome folk come out the trees. Never know.”

“You run into some interesting folks in the forests.”

“I’m sure. You run into some interesting folk at sea.”

Astra laughed. “I can’t imagine the type of people you’ve met.”

The other man’s face broke a little as he reflected back. “Yes. You do. Go on, play me another tune.”

“Alright.” He began to play a lively song, something he had heard on the docks of Mirrortail.

“I like that,” he grinned. “I like that.” He sat opposite Astra, resting against the prow and looking out at the scenery around them. They moved through soft rolling hills, scrub, and farmland, fields of green, yellow, and brown in the distance. Far, far off, was the hazy line of the mountains.

Elyse sat over near Jocelyn, watching her draw. “You’re really good.”

“Oh, why thank you. Had a lot of practice.”

She shifted closer. “Where did you learn to fight? In Mirrortail?”

“Yes, in Mirrortail. Lots of musketeers there.”

“Okay. I’ve met some people who fight like you, but they’re not from anywhere near here. I thought it was a unique fighting style, but, it’s really good to see it.”

Jocelyn dipped in her brush. “Thank you, I’m pleased. You fought very well, you have excellent powers.”

“Thank you. Yeah, that was… something.”

“Never thought I’d ever see a dragon. I’m rather taken aback by that.”

Elyse grinned. “I’d kind of always hoped to see one. Which seems stupid, but…”

“It’s not stupid at all.”

“I just wish we could have salvaged everything from it. Could you imagine?”

“Yes, I hear dragon scales are particularly tough. Oh well. We lived, that’s the main thing, right?” Jocelyn smiled over at her.

“Yeah, we found a bunch of other cool stuff, so.”

“Precisely. You also have a talent for identifying, I saw. Did you learn those skills anywhere in particular?”

Elyse shrugged. “Not really. Around. Just, always really enjoyed magic and artifacts. Pursuing them, I guess. There are so many amazing things out there, and you never know what you’re going to find, what they can do. So much power in items and enchantments, it’s incredible.”

“Absolutely. Though I must admit, this is my first adventure, so. I’m rather pleased to be in all of your company, I must say.”

“It shan’t be your last, Jocelyn D’Fabron,” Aerenthias called across the ship. “I’ll make sure of that.”

Vanden grinned down at the women. “D’Fabron has always wanted adventures.”

“Certainly found yourself along one now,” Astra replied.

“Sorry,” Elyse teased. “This kind of stuff happens to us a lot.”

“I am happy to help in whatever way I can,” the Captain assured them.

“She used to read me adventure books,” Vanden continued. “When I was a very small child.”

Elyse smiled. “What kind of books?”

“Treasure Isle,” Jocelyn offered.

“No way!” Elyse gasped. “I love that book.”

“It was about pirates,” Vanden explained.

“Yeah, I know!”

“Of which you had a particular affinity for,” Jocelyn teased.

The prince went a bit pink. “Okay…”

Elyse glanced between the two of them. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“Explain!”

“Oh, you know,” Jocelyn shrugged. “When you’re a child, you play pirates.”

“Yeah?”

“And so… Vanden was Captain Vanden, and I was…”

“Calico Joss,” the prince admitted.

“Yes, that’s the one! We would spar, and go on adventures, and seek treasure…”

Elyse couldn’t help but laugh. “So cute!”

Vanden rolled his eyes. “I was like, eight, at the time, by the way.”

She kept laughing. Aerenthias had removed his hat, softly muffling his own chuckles with it, shoulders shaking.

Elyse grinned up at the prince. “So pirates, huh?”

“Well, it’s what we do in Mirrortail. When I said those were my ships back there, they were pirate hunters. And trade ships, but… Like the pirates in Farrelstadt. We have an allyship with Farrelstadt to protect the bay. Obviously the pirates attack the trade ships, and… I don’t know. I suppose I took an interest in taking down pirates from a young age. Captain D’Fabron looks dashing with a pencil mustache,” he grinned.

“I’m sure she does.”

“Oh, that’s right…” Jocelyn smiled, remembering.

As they laughed, Cassian walked past. He settled himself at the back of the ship, staring across the water. There was a soft comfort in how the waves parted under the ship. He looked at his hands, examining the circles and patterns traced up his wrists. He could have sworn there was a soft singing coming from the water, somewhere.

“Ah, screw it,” he mumbled to himself. He took out his wand, and threw it off the ship. Unceremoniously, it bobbed, and sank below the waves. The henna froze, growing comfortingly cold for a second before returning to body temperature.

  
  


They sailed on past midday, into the afternoon. Winding along the river, up north, past the plains, they saw small hamlets and villages. There was the occasional docked ship, or a fishing boat making its way down, but nothing large. The sun began to set, and Aerenthias lit the flame in the brasier with a flick of his hand. “Right. I know we’re not looking forward to this, but, we can rest. Gods know I need it. We’ll have to be up early, before the sunrise. We’ll make our way to the point. We can cut them off at the bridge, keep sailing up here, or head a little bit inland, to the ruins of the abbey. What’s the vote?”

Vanden’s expression was serious in a second. “What do you think is tactically better?”

“Yeah, have you been to this area before?” Elyse pressed. “Do you know?”

“No, I’m going on information I’ve got,” he explained. “Personally, I’d prefer to be in the abbey. Height.”

Cassian gave a quick nod. “I agree.”

“Cover,” Elyse strategized. “And the ability to spring.”

Aerenthias looked them over. “Not all of you can see in the dark, can you?”

“No,” Vanden frowned. “Just me.”

“We can try and work around that. If we can illuminate them, but not us, we’ll be in a good position.”

“I can do something like that,” Sariel offered.

“Good. That’ll help. I don’t know what this abbey is like, I don’t know the conditions of it. We can get there, hopefully, two hours before sunrise. If we’re lucky, if we’ve made good time, if the information I’ve got is well and correct… they shouldn’t be long after us. We won’t have long. I won’t say we’ve wasted time, but time has been taken from us. We can take up cover, prepare ourselves for them to move through. Vanden, I say you give the signal.” But as soon as the prince nodded, Aerenthias changed his mind. “Actually, Jocelyn, you’ll be able to see them from further away. I’m sorry, but,” he gave an apologetic shrug in the prince’s direction.

Vanden’s face fell a bit, but he shrugged. “It’s fine, it makes sense.”

“If you want, I could try and send Zip,” Boblem offered.

Aerenthias raised a brow. “Zip?”

“Oh, um, it’s this little bird?”

“The bird he used earlier,” Elyse explained.

“Oh, how wonderful,” Aerenthias grinned.

“He’s our scout,” Sariel smiled.

“I can send him to scout on things, or people,” the boy continued.

Aerenthias nodded. “That might help, actually.”

“If you can send the bird to scout on them before they arrive,” Vanden considered, “We can make a decision, in case their numbers are far greater than we anticipate.”

“That would be great.”

“Have their position,” Boblem nodded. “So we know where to go.”

“First priority, finding the abbey,” Aerenthias reminded them. “I know the rough area, but, we’ll have to leave the ship behind.”

“We can bring the ship with us,” Astra countered.

“Yeah, we can stick it back in the bottle,” Elyse explained.

Aerenthias shook his head. “That still baffles me, but, wonderful. We’ll have to make our way by foot.”

“Point me in the direction,” Astra nodded. “I can probably work it out.”

“Do we want to rest first, and then run there in the early hours of the night? Or dock up, run there, and rest?”

Elyse surveyed the others. “I guess we could camp there. But it would be a risk, we don’t know, they might beat us there or something.”

Vanden rolled his shoulders. “I say we head there now. And if we must, we find a place to make camp not far, rather than right in the location we’re hoping to surprise them.”

“Also, this boat lying around will draw attention if they happen to go past us.”

“We should be off it.”

“That’s a good point,” Aerenthias rubbed his chin. “That’s a good point. We can get as close as we can. Maybe an hour. Ready yourselves to go, do anything you need.”

Boblem held up two vials. “I finished two sweet teas, if anybody wants them?”

“Who used up their potions in the last battle?” Elyse glanced around. “Needs to restock? I still have mine.”

“I used mine,” Vanden replied.

Jocelyn nodded. “I did. If that's okay?”

“Take it.”

“Yeah,” Boblem passed one over to her, handing the other to Vanden.

“It’ll be fine,” Astra encouraged them.

“If we can take down a dragon,” Elyse rallied, “We can do this.”

Aerenthias shook his head. “I’m sure I need not tell you this, but, from what I’ve heard of the Weeping Eye, we’re not fighting a beast that’s looking for its next meal. We’ll be fighting people who are trained and experienced in killing.”

“They are reckless, they are ruthless, and they enjoy it,” Vanden spat.

Boblem gulped. “They’re not to be reasoned with?”

“They’re not to be reasoned with. These people take contracts for the fun of it.”

Astra frowned. “So you’re aiming to just go in there and kill them?”

“No, I want answers.”

“Hold them if you can,” Aerenthias agreed. “Immobilize them. If you can pin them somewhere, wonderful.”

“I have to say this,” Vanden took a steadying breath. “As angry as I am, and as ruthless and probably deserving of vengeance these people are, they are hired killers. They’re not the people responsible for what happened to me and my family. So… my vengeance isn’t against them.”

“That’s fair,” Elyse reflected. “There might be some spells I can think about, that might be able to help you with interrogation, or capturing.”

“That being said,” Aerenthias continued, “With all due respect sir, they don’t all need to be alive.”

The prince gave a nod. “Of course not.”

“Let no guilt wash over you for ending their lives if need be. But we need some.”

“Are there any we should look out for in particular?” Elyse pressed. “Do they have any kind of, you know, ranking system? Look out for someone who would be higher rank, have more information?”

Vanden tensed. “There’s… one of them, white fur… I’m trying to remember.” They were big, Maybe seven and a half feet. White fur, patches of grey, one eye, heavy leather, spiked armour. He tried to describe as he remembered.

“Their numbers are bolstered with gnolls,” Aerenthias explained. “If you’ve not seen before… a demonic cross of people and dogs. Hideous, vicious. I say this with the utmost prejudice, forgive me.”

“Easy to spot then,” Elyse nodded.

“I’ve had a few encounters with gnolls,” he continued. “They may have dogs with them. Hyenas. Keep them away from you.”

The sorcerer turned to the bard and the farm boy. “Are you guys going to be okay with this?”

“Astra?” Vanden prompted.

“Yes,” he answered.

Elyse pressed. “You sure?”

“Yes.”

“It’s okay,” Boblem agreed. “I’ve… encountered gnolls before.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Aerenthias bowed his head towards the boy. “Truly.”

“It’s okay.”

Vanden gave the boy’s shoulder a soft squeeze.

“So we want to try to capture this captain alive, he’s a priority,” Elyse concluded. “If he’s there.”

The prince's eyes burned. “Oh no. I want to kill him myself.”

“Do you want to question him first?”

He shrugged. “I’ll give it a chance.”

“They won’t be at full numbers,” Aerenthias reminded them. “We’re attacking by night.”

“And we can surprise them,” Elyse finished.

“And we can surprise them. They may be wounded. We have the advantage.”

“Then let’s get a move on,” Astra decided.

“Ready yourselves. We sail on.”

Aerenthias went back to the helm, allowing the others to carry on with preparations. He began loading his pistol into the brace, a rack of throwing knives on his other side. He drew out his swords, checking their sharpness. Astra shot him a few glances from the side. Aerenthias noticed, and practiced a few moves on the deck for his benefit.

Vanden drew his sword, examining it. “I didn’t get a chance to sharpen it,” he lamented. “Really hoped that I would, before this.”

Jocelyn pulled out a whetstone. “Need this?”

“Thank you,” he grinned. He sat, sharpening his sword.

Cassian pulled out his own sword, practicing some of the form his mother had taught him.

Vanden called over as he watched. “Back straight, Cassian. One foot back.”

The wizard straightened. “Which one?”

Jocelyn walked over to help. “I see you’ve got the basics down. That’s good. Would you like me to, perhaps, refresh your memory?”

“Please, it’s been awhile.”

They took some time, practicing drills.

Elyse pulled out the arcane focus, swirling it around her, allowing lightning to dance around her. She wrapped both chains around her arms, letting it float and rotate before her. A soft glow danced off the ship and the water. The stern was illuminated in blue, while the prow glowed with red by the fire. She watched it, reveling in the power.

  
  


Sunset was coming soon. Aerenthias looked over, pulling the ship to the side. There was a grinding sound as it beached on the low sand. “This is as good as we’ll get. We’ll make the run across land.” He hopped off. “Do your thing. Go on.”

The rest of them left the ship. Very tentatively, Astra decided to leave his bag on the boat. Elyse held the bottle, watching him climb to shore. “You sure you’re okay with that?”

He didn’t respond at first.

“Astra?”

“Mhm.”

“Okay.” She corked the bottle. The boat compressed. Astra wasn’t sure if his bag would stay in the ship, but it did. Elyse put the bottle back in her pouch.

“Do you mind if I keep hold of it?” the bard asked.

“The bottle?”

“Mhm.”

“Sure, here you go.” She passed it over.

Vanden approached the pair. “Astra?” he held out his crossbow, offering. “I know you’re still unarmed.”

He didn’t take it. “Yes.”

“I want you to be able to protect yourself. Or,” he held out the stiletto dagger Pebble had given him. “Just in case. Even in self defense.”

He stared for a moment. “I’ll take the dagger.”

“Fair enough. If you ever want to use a crossbow, you’re a damn good shot.”

“It’s not, it’s not really my forte. It was just…” he trailed off, noticing the look the other man was giving him.

“He got a bullseye through his own bullseye,” Vanden informed the others.

Jocelyn raised her eyebrows. “Impressive.”

“But I’ll hang onto it,” Vanden put the crossbow back. “If you want it, just ask me.”

Astra nodded. “Sure.”

“This is what I believe,” Aerenthias gathered them. “We’ll be running over. Cross for a little while. Might have to break through a few fields. Then we should find a path. Let’s go.” He took off at a steady jog across the fields as the sun set. Hopping over a low wall, he began to make the run.

The group followed. They ran for about forty-five minutes, at a reasonable pace. They were all adventurers, able to keep up with a bit of running. After a bit, the sun fully set, and the sky was painted in blood red before moving to dark. Nothing followed them. Occasionally, there was a wild beast. A group of wild deer ran alongside them for a bit, about fifty meters away. They kept pace before quickly overtaking them. There were a few eyes in the dark of the forestline as the night fully set in.

They made it to the path. They hadn’t seen any tracks in the fields, but there were tracks here. The group stopped for a moment to investigate. The footprints took up the entire width of the road. They were going the other way, from Shadebourne and out. They were unlike anything they had seen. Each one was perfectly in line with the other. It wasn’t as if a group had run through as they were now, it was a march. Regimented soldiers, perhaps. Heavy bootprints, with the same studs on each foot, five on the toe and three on the heel.

Astra kneeled down to look at them closely, pointing them out. On the sides were two sets of wheel tracks, and horse tracks. A couple of days old, maybe two. It was almost impossible to tell the number, because they fell into step so perfectly. “I don’t like that…”

“Could this be the Weeping Eye?” Elyse worried. “Or would this be someone else?”

“I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Jocelyn looked them over. From her time in the military, she knew. They were undoubtedly hobgoblin prints. There were few cultures as regimented as hobgoblins, they were known across the world for it. There were many mercenary companies of hobgoblins as well, an old empire that came out of Erran several hundred years ago. In their military training, they were known for marching perfectly in rank and file, to the point of confusing anyone tracking them. Quietly, she explained this to the others.

“Well they’re going away from Shadebourne,” Astra offered. “So that means that these might be the ones that are coming back this way. But, it’s good, it means they haven’t been back so far. We’re already ahead of them. So let’s keep moving.”

They continued, pressing on into the night. Sariel called for her familiar. A barn owl with little patches of light brown and white coiled out of the smoke as the fey spirit took form. She reached out with her mind, sending it away to report back to her. It rode on ghost silent waves in the night, about a kilometer ahead of them. They ran through the cold night, and after a few minutes, the connection returned to her. She saw a silhouetted shadow flash before her eyes. A ruined building of some sort, a high tower of rubble and stone. They weren’t far off. “Nearly there,” she told the others.

“Is it empty?” Vanden asked.

“Yes, it’s abandoned.”

“Good.”

Astra jogged on. “We can get a rest when we get there then.”

They pressed on, and before long, though a bit longer for Vanden, shadows manifested out of the darkness. Aerenthias stopped, catching his breath. “Good, good. We can take cover.”

They arrived in the ruins of the abbey. The four corner walls were just barely standing. There was a large bell tower, and the shattered remnants of an old stained glass window. Crumbles of walls and pillars had fallen to the ground and rolled across. Stones had grown moss covered with age. A half broken gate led into the courtyard. They were in a bit of a valley, so the path would reliably lead people through here, cutting from east to west.

Vanden surveyed the area. “We should set up camp.”

“I think I’ve got a way that we can be more protected,” Astra offered. “But let’s go to where we want to camp first.”

“I suggest we go somewhere higher up,” Elyse added. “The lookout could have a vantage point as well.”

“I can try and scale a bit higher,” Aerenthias volunteered.

“Same.”

“You need your rest as well though,” Astra gave a worried look to the other tiefling.

Aerenthias grinned back at him. “I will.”

They stood on a slightly raised platform, overlooking the abbey.

Astra readied his spell. “Right. I will warn it’s kind of cozy, I’ve only seen people do this for a handful of people, not as many as there are here.”

“We’re all used to it,” Elyse grinned. “It's fine.”

“Speak for yourself,” Cassian grumbled.

Astra took off a bracelet, pulling off a little bead. He sat, focusing on it. The bead levitated out of his hand, slowly rising above them, about ten feet in the air. After a minute, it started to extend, circling around them, the color of pale sunlight. It grew to a ten foot area, and he shifted its color to black. They could see out, but nothing could see in.

“This is great Astra,” Elyse grinned.

“Can we go in and out of it?” Sariel asked. “Or do we need to stay in?”

“I have to stay inside, but you guys can go in and out as you please.”

“That’s great,” Elyse repeated.

“Never done it before, so.”

“It’s really cool!” Boblem encouraged.

“Brilliant,” the sorcerer agreed. “I think there’s some more stuff we can do though,” she took out her compass. The Weeping Eye would likely approach from the east. “I’ll put an alarm over that gate, I’ll know if they approach in the night while we’re asleep.” She hopped down, a wall of static electricity growing and disappearing around the gate.

Cassian gave Jocelyn a nudge. “Would you have any aversion to Elyse turning you invisible?”

“I don’t think so. Why?”

“I noticed during the fight with the dragon, you were trying to get cover. If you were invisible, and hid near the entrance, you could perhaps get a good blow on anyone coming in.”

“I could do, but…”

“I’m just trying to think of vantage points, where it would be most optimal for us all to begin attacking from.”

“I think on the floor would be too dangerous for her,” Astra warned. “But there’s a ledge just ahead.”

“Didn’t you say that spell would drop if you attacked somebody?” Boblem wondered, looking to the sorcerer.

She nodded. “Yeah. You’ll stay invisible until you attack someone, but it might be useful for one or two people to get the drop, initially. I don’t know, I guess we should discuss what exactly we want our plan to be, rather than doing separate plans. There’s a lot of vantage points around here, I’d really like to be somewhere high up.”

“I like the idea though,” Jocelyn considered.

Cassian nodded. “There are plenty of places to hide.”

“I wouldn’t be opposed to it,” Aerenthias volunteered. “If you’re offering.”

“To be invisible?”

“If necessary.”

“That’s Elyse’s business.”

“I can do that for you,” Elyse agreed. “I won’t be able to cast any spells myself, until you’ve taken your actions.”

Aerenthias put up a hand. “If it’s not crucial, don’t worry.”

“No, I mean, if you think it might be useful. You could hide in plain sight, and get the drop on them one way while someone else approaches from the other, and flank them.”

“Well I was thinking to actually take the vantage point from up in the bell towers. So, if not, then don’t worry about that. Don’t worry about making me invisible, I’ll take my point up there.”

“Okay. I’d also like a higher vantage point, but maybe if you’re up there… hm.”

“We can share. I’m sure there’s space up there. Might be tricky getting up, but.”

“I can climb. I can fly,” she grinned.

“That’s appreciated.”

“We hide throughout the abbey,” Vanden decided. “Distribute each of us where we think we can do the most damage.”

“I’ll have to be on the ground,” Cassian realized. “I have a real sword, and something else up my sleeve.”

Elyse shrugged. “I could make  _ you _ invisible.”

“I can make all of us difficult to see,” Sariel countered.

“Might be beneficial,” Vanden thought.

“If anyone has a bow?” Aerenthias glanced around. “I could make use of that. I don’t feel that hiding will be very advantageous…” he trailed off as Jocelyn handed him one. “Thank you. If I’m firing off black powder,” he finished. “I appreciate it, thank you Joce.” He stowed it over his back.

“There’s also a spell I can take that might make the ground a bit slippery,” Elyse strategized. “Make people fall over.”

Vanden tilted his head in thought. “As long as you’re not making us fall over.”

“As long as you stay out of the area of the spell, you’ll be fine.”

“I suppose if they have to funnel through the entrance,” Cassian pointed to the gate, “You could do it there.”

There was a round of agreement. “So, it makes them… slip?” Vanden clarified.

“Make them all fall over,” Elyse grinned.

“...Okay.”

“Right,” Aerenthias stretched his arms. “I’ll take the bell tower.” He jumped down, moving across. He threw up a grappling hook, scaling the wall. The tiefling set up racks of arrows, preparing himself. He took two more ropes, tying one off on each side, leading down the building.

“Is there anything else we can set up?” Vanden planned. “Like Aerenthias is? Boblem, you could do what you did in the temple. With the ground? Move it out from underneath them?”

“Yeah, I can do that,” the boy nodded.

“Maybe do that if they start getting close to anywhere they can climb up to reach us,” Elyse advised.

Sariel observed the entrances. “If we can get a group of them clustered together, I could make them easier to see.”

“I suppose if we all have things ready for the moment they come through,” Astra suggested.

“Perfect,” Vanden nodded. He climbed down, walking the perimeter of the abbey, looking for hiding spots, possible barricades, and tactical advantage points. Once their opponents were in, Boblem’s spell could certainly collapse some of the entrance, sealing them in. It would be harder for them to climb over the low walls for escape. He called the boy over, explaining.

“As soon as they appear?”

“As soon as they’re inside.” Vanden gathered the others. “So who will be inside on the ground? Cassian and I,” he began the list.

“And myself,” Jocelyn nodded.

“I’d like to be as high up as possible,” Elyse repeated.

Vanden looked to the farm boy, encouraging. “Boblem, I feel like you can do a lot from high up.”

“Yeah, I have to be thirty feet away from the gate, if you want me to collapse the roof,” he explained.

“No problem.”

Elyse pointed over to a tower. “I think this area here, for Boblem.”

“I agree. The northeast building,” Aerenthias followed. “Take cover in there.”

“Different buildings is good,” Boblem agreed.

“Maybe everyone should be paired up, just in case?” Elyse suggested. “Have Astra or Sariel go with you?”

“We don’t want to leave anyone alone to be cornered,” Vanden agreed. “Astra, what are your thoughts? You could stay right here at this vantage point.”

“I’m happy to stay back here,” he agreed. “I’ve got spells that can reach, to do… to help.”

“Can you cast from inside the hut? Can it last that long?”

“Depends on when they arrive. I think I’d have to drop the hut. It lasts for eight hours, so.”

“That’ll be our rest. You can stay hidden behind the walls of the abbey up here, and cast your spells, get back out of range.”

“I don’t like the idea of leaving someone on their own,” Elyse warned.

Astra looked over to the smaller elf. “Where will you be placing yourself, Sariel?”

“If I’m going to make them more visible to us, I need to be within sixty feet,” she replied. She had sent out her owl again. It was sitting on a tree far down the path, watching.

“So you and Boblem at the front,” Vanden agreed. “I think we have a good plan.”

“Yeah. Just like the bandit camp,” Elyse grinned.

“Just like the bandit camp,” Cassian echoed.

“If everyone wants to take some time getting familiar with the layout of the place?” the prince suggested. A few of them agreed, beginning to walk the perimeter.

“I’d like to get some sleep, if you don’t mind,” the bard asked.

“First, Astra,” Elyse pulled out the immovable rod. “I’m just thinking, for you, in terms of options for… not having to kill anyone, if you don’t want to. There’s so many things you could do with this, you could just put it on top of someone and weigh them down and then they can’t move.”

“How do I use it?”

“There’s just a button,” she pointed.

“Thank you.” He took it.

“Might be useful for you.”

“Perfect,” Vanden agreed.

“Once we’re familiar with the grounds, I’m happy to take first watch,” Cassian offered.

Vanden gave the wizard an odd look. “I will too.”

“...Sure.”

“I’m happy to take watch later,” Elyse volunteered.

A few of them took a walk around, and then they settled in to sleep. Cassian and Vanden continued to stroll around, looking for vantage points. They circled. It was cold, and dark. There were howls in the distance, and the hoots of owls. Nothing seemed to approach. The night was still.

Cassian had a lot on his mind. Vanden certainly did as well. He could almost feel his past creeping up on him, down the eastern road. With the dawn, it would come. He shook his thoughts from his head, and walked back to find Cassian.

They convened in the center. It was an empty courtyard, the middle of the abbey. There was a column coming up in the center, with a circle on the top. There seemed to be a dragon eating its own tail inscribed upon it. They were fairly certain this was a temple to Corellon. The God of the arts, and magic. Probably founded the first Druidic circles.

Vanden gave it a glance, and then drew his sword on Cassian. The wizard instinctively drew his own, giving the other man a confused stare.

Vanden smiled at him. “Try and hit me.”

Cassian regarded him with a wary eye. Swapping the sword to his left hand, he moved. Despite its weight, and his lack of experience with a blade such as this, he dove through the air as if it was an extension of his arm. Like water flowing off his hand, the wide and flat blade slipped through Vanden’s guard, stopping just by the prince’s throat.

Vanden tilted his head. “Good.” In a swift motion, he pushed the sword away with his own, leaving his weapon at the wizard’s side. “Again.”

Cassian complied, swinging his blade around, landing a flat whack on the other man’s leg. Vanden knocked it out of the way again. They traded blows for half an hour, under the moonlight. A near silent dance of tension, both of them landed strikes. A bit of sweat ran down them, their breaths coalescing into condensation in front of them.

“Is there any point to this, or…” the wizard gave him a look, “Just working out some tension?”

Vanden rolled his shoulders. “I told you I’d help you practice.”

“Sure. Jocelyn gave me a few pointers earlier as well.”

The prince stared at him for a moment, thinking. In a quick movement, he knocked the sword from the wizard’s hand. It clattered to the ground.

Vanden raised his weapon. “Why did you kiss me?”

Cassian bent to retrieve his blade. The prince kicked it away, keeping his sword on his opponent.

The wizard hesitated for a moment, forming an answer. “Because… I wanted to?”

Vanden studied him, then the floor. They stood in a tense silence as the seconds ticked past. Lowering his weapon, Vanden kicked the other sword back over. “Fair enough.”

Cassian bent to retrieve it.

Vanden turned his eyes away. “You’re, ah, better with that thing than I thought you’d be.”

“Thank you. I… look forward to, like I said, some fun with this tomorrow.”

Vanden kept his eyes on the sky. “I’m getting sick of arguing with you.”

“...Alright.”

“So I apologize for throwing you against the door.”

“I mean, I quite enjoyed that.”

Vanden sputtered a bit as he opened and closed his mouth.

Cassian smirked at him. “I must admit, I told Sariel a while ago that… pushing your buttons is quite thrilling.”

“...Right.”

A sly grin crept across the wizard’s face. “And now I know there’s such a pretty little face to fluster under all that,” he purred.

The prince went bright pink.

Cassian, able to see in the dark, took in the sight. “Case in point.”

“Ah, hah…” Vanden swallowed, steadying himself. “We’ve proved in the past that we fight well. Beside each other. So, I hope to... see some of that. Out of you. Tomorrow.”

“I’m sure you will.” The teasing slid from his face, replaced with a more serious tone. “I’ve got your back.”

The prince met his eyes. “I’ve got yours.”

“I know.”

Vanden nodded, letting his gaze linger a moment longer. “Goodnight, Cassian.”

“Goodnight Renard- ,” he stopped, correcting himself. “Vanden.”

“Thank you.”

The prince walked off to patrol the other end of the abbey.

  
  


Soon, Sariel and Jocelyn woke for the second shift. The owl had disappeared, so the druid summoned it once more, sending it off to fly silently down the path. The two women began patrolling around and through the building.

After a time, Sariel heard the sounds of movement coming from the northeast of the abbey. She looked out to see a pair of large cats, lynx or puma. Their eyes glittered off the moonlight, and they stalked back into the dark. Nothing else approached.

About an hour before dawn, when the night was blackest, the owl came back. An image flashed in her mind, looking from above. Several figures were moving quickly but surely through the night, towards them. Five kilometers away, about a half an hour. She turned to whisper to Jocelyn. “They’re coming, they’re coming!”

She was at her side in an instant. “Are you sure it’s them?”

There were ten or twelve individuals, half of them human, half of them similar to the description she had heard of gnolls. Armed, armoured, and cloaked, with several canine beasts on chains. One was significantly larger than the rest. “From what you’ve described, I think it’s most definitely them.”

“Alright, let’s inform the others.”

“Okay.”

Sariel roused the group, quietly. Their time was up. Aerenthias donned his hat, strapping up his armour and climbing down to scale the wall. He took his bow to the remains of a shattered window, breaking out a few more pieces. Elyse followed.

They took their positions. Sariel and Boblem scaled another tower, and Jocelyn crouched by the gate, leaving Astra to hold his ground on the other raised platform. Cassian and Vanden stood just off the entrance, waiting.

Sariel sent the familiar out once more. It returned much sooner. They were definitely closer. “Everyone get ready.”

The owl took silent circles over the abbey. Seeing through its eyes, Sariel spotted where her allies were hiding, watching the opposition approach. “They’re close,” she whispered.

Elyse took out her arcane focus, holding the chain as she gave a silent nod to Aerenthias. Boblem, Sariel, Astra, and Elyse prepared their spells. Cassian readied himself to use the enchantment on his blade.

Vanden leaned over to him. “I know you’ve got this.”

As he whispered, the wizard felt some sort of magic bolster him.

A cluster of shadows approached. They heard the noise of footsteps, leather shoes on hard packed stone. The heavy, laboured breathing of several beasts echoed. There was a clattering of steel, weapons, arms, armour, and chainmail.

A number of figures emerged out of the dark.


	29. The Weeping Eye, Episode Twenty-Six

The night was dark and cold. They were prepared and ready.

They heard the sounds of clinking armour, spears hitting the ground, boots against the dirt, and the heavy laden breathing of gnolls and hyenas.

Those at the tops of the towers could make out the distant shapes. About twelve figures, flanked by canine shapes, one significantly larger and towering over the rest. They moved, not speaking, armour clanking, footsteps falling, up to the gate.

Those above signalled down to alert those on the ground. Jocelyn crouched, ready by the gate to close them in. Astra prepared himself as Cassian unsheathed Undertow, taking it with his left hand and preparing the enchantment with his right. Aerenthias silently loaded an arrow, pulling it back to aim out the window. Vanden readied his sword.

The first of their enemies began to pass through the gates. Sariel had cast her stealth spell on all of them, allowing herself, Boblem, and Jocelyn to remain unnoticed as the column of mercenaries filed through. There were several humanoid shapes marching in, three or four towering above the rest with broad shoulders, heads sloped forward with tufted ears and manes of spiked hair. The smell hit, filled with death, decay, and wet, rotting fur. It assaulted their noses with a sense of hatred and fear, and they recoiled from it, retaining their positions.

Elyse readied her grease spell, waiting for the last person to enter. They shuffled through, none of them noticing the ambush to come. The hyenas snapped and yowled, nipping at the ankles of their owners as they led on. There were a few humans, an orc, an elf, and a number of gnolls.

There was a bright flash of light as Astra made the first move, casting a hypnotic spell. One of them growled, and some of the group began to scatter. Most of the hyenas, including the giant one, remained frozen where they were. The three gnolls were stopped as well, paralyzed by the bard.

Cassian’s arm lit from the top, henna glowing. A dark scimitar-esque blade shot out into the palm of his right hand as he gripped it. Vanden raised his eyebrows, and the wizard gave him a wink. The prince quickly looked away.

Elyse sent out her own spell, a puddle of grease appearing underneath those who had managed to evade Astra’s trap. One slipped and fell, the other two managing to stay up. There was a frantic baying and barking, and two of the dogs instantly bolted off.

The largest hyena, even on all fours, stood to its shoulders at almost seven feet. It was snarling, locked in place. Sariel cast her fairy fire, illuminating a group of the mercenaries in strange colorful light as Boblem sent rocks tumbling down from behind. They fell and crushed the entrance, sweeping out as a cloud of smoke billowed out, trapping them. In a matter of seconds, the battle had begun.

Aerenthias let loose an arrow from the tower, and it sunk into one of the gnolls. Hiding behind a pillar, Jocelyn heard the panting and cackling of a dog, swiping out as it came around. She ended its life with a single strike.

Astra readied another spell as Cassian moved. From behind the wall, the wizard took a look over to his allies before spinning around, a shadow manifesting and coiling around his hand as he swung it down at a nearby enemy. The shadow blade sunk into them, tearing their clothes apart. They let out a scream of anguish as it hit. As he moved to take a second strike with Undertow, he looked up to the horrible faces surrounding him and lost his concentration, the second blade hammering down just to hit off their armour. He quickly backed away, both blades out to the side, taunting them, leading them further in. Shards of moonlight came into the courtyard, across the spot where he had sparred with Vanden not five hours ago.

Aerenthias took another shot, but it stuck into a shield.

It was almost pitch black. Vanden stepped out slightly from the wall, straining his vision in the darkness to make out who to attack. He could only make out strange shapes moving in the distance, save for the few bodies glowing under Sariel’s spell. The mass of pink and green and blue illuminations only made things more confusing in the darkness.

Out of the shapes and colors crested a huge, familiar sight. The silhouettes of the gnolls. For a second, he felt his heart tighten and constrict. There was nothing he could do, he could barely see anything. He pushed through, straining and straining his vision until he felt like his eyes would burst out of his head.

Suddenly, a weight fell off his eyes. Something changed. He picked out clear shapes in the darkness, shades of grey, but clear to see.

He could see in the dark.

He stepped the rest of the way forward, making an attack. He slashed into a gnoll, hacking where it loosely held a shield and spear. It snarled and reared back, readying its weapons against him. Vanden swept his sword through, dealing a massive blow to the figure beside it. A huge gash appeared in the gnoll’s neck, nearly falling to the ground as armour cleaved off it. Driving his sword through its throat, it expired.

Panting, sword hanging down at his side, he retreated, staring at the rest of them in shock. The one who had slipped on the grease ran towards him, four more soldiers swarming around him as they readied arms and armour to attack.

Vanden raised his sword again. “Let’s go!”

One of them called out a response from behind a full steel helmet. “Good! I like a challenge!”

The first one attacked. They smashed forward, hitting Vanden’s sword arm away before missing a second strike. Another moved in, landing a blow before missing the other as well.

Two rounded on Cassian. The warriors swarmed forward, pulling out their longswords as they hacked and slashed in the dark. He was able to fend a few blows off with his double blades, but these were skilled fighters who had been doing this for a long time. They cut in, slashing through Cassian’s armour.

Elyse scanned the battlefield for the captain Vanden had described, but there were none with white fur. There was one at the head of the pack, bigger and broader than the rest, but they were a russet, copper color. Not Vanden’s target, but still some kind of leader.

The gnoll was currently hypnotised by Astra, wielding double axes. Elyse wrapped the arcane focus around her hands, and it began to glow next to her. She fired off an attack, sending three rapid rays of fire into the fray. The first bolt obliterated a hyena instantly. The second attacked the one struck by the arrow from Aerenthias. They went down, armour and fur burning, sending the disgusting smell of rotting and burning meat through the abbey as the third bolt hit another.

The abbey lit up, strange shadows dancing everywhere as the three beams of crackling blue flames shot down out of the clocktower. She ducked down behind the window for cover.

Sariel turned her sights on an enemy illuminated by her previous spell. She reached her hand upwards, and the condensation of the night air solidified into a knife. She flung the projectile down, piercing her opponent. As she jumped down from the tower to get closer, she landed a bit funny, hurting her ankle.

A gnoll barked at its allies in an unknown language before taking off, escaping the abbey with a dog in tow. Their leader growled, dashing to climb one of the towers. With a running leap, they landed, the roof of the abbey trembling as flurries of dust seeped through. The gnoll began to punch holes in the brickwork as it climbed up.

Noticing the two escapees, Boblem raised his staff, causing the earth underneath the pair to erupt. A rock came up and punched the hyena’s neck, and it spun before falling to the ground. The other pressed onwards through the difficult terrain, struggling.

WIth two soldiers wailing down on him, Cassian was looking rough. Astra sent out a spell towards one of the enemies on him. The mercenary heard Astra’s voice whisper in its mind,  _ "Stay away from my friends.” _

The wizard watched as the soldier fell to the ground, scooting away as their nose bled.

Jocelyn bolted out in front of Vanden, who was also looking rough. Her sword caught the moonlight as she swung out against an opponent, shanking in a dagger soon after. Her sword hit, but the enemy managed to just parry the second blow away from their arm.

Keeping his concentration on the hypnosis spell, Astra made an attempt to ward off Cassian’s second attacker.  _ “I'm warning you. Stay away from my friends.” _

Their nose began to bleed as well, but they fought on. Darkness and light pulled together as Cassian swung down with the shadow blade, passing the semi-corporeal weapon completely through them as it tore at their clothes. A second swipe with Undertow just hit as he circled his opponent, both swords raised at his sides. As the wizard moved back, his shoulder blades bumped into Vanden’s, the prince raising his own rapier. Fighting back to back, they continued the battle.

“They’re trying to get away!” Aerenthias warned, taking a shot at the escapee. He missed by a mile. “This bow is  _ broken, _ Jocelyn!”

Vanden took two swings at one of his attackers, sweeping the blade through to hit the other. One was almost cut down to his knees, looking up at him with blood pouring from his face under the helmet. The prince lunged in for another attack, but his sword arm was roughly punched away.

“Come on!” One of them yelled. “Get them, you fucking idiots! They’re up high!” The mercenary rattled its hypnotized allies from Astra’s spell, punching the giant hyena in the shoulder to rouse it. The animal howled and bayed as another mercenary finished scaling a tower. They pulled out a crossbow, shooting at Boblem. The bolt flew out, sticking through the boy’s shield and into his arm.

The two on Cassian struck, both managing to land a blow on the wizard before tangling their swords, unable to get a clean shot. Two more wailed down strikes on Vanden, who was only able to deflect about half of the attacks.

Elyse surveyed the battle. Cassian looked like he was about to drop. She sent out another triple ray of blue flame, three bolts scorching out from the top of the bell tower. One just missed a mercenary scaling another tower. The other two shot off to assist Cassian and Vanden. A blast hit one of the wizard’s attackers in the small of their back, but the third went wide of the prince’s opponents.

She turned to Aerenthias. “I can get us both out of here, if we need to, quickly.”

“Shouldn’t be needed. We’ve got this,” he nodded.

On the ground, the giant hyena growled, locking its eyes on Jocelyn. It moved towards her, pouncing as its jaws opened to the size of her shoulders, clamping down on her.

Sariel, now on the ground as well, moved to one of the mercenaries slamming down on Cassian. Running through the moonlight, her nails extended to claws as her teeth sharpened to points. She tore at his defences, aiming for the neck, but she couldn’t break through. They wore heavy splint armour, most of them with helmets and shields as well. They were well prepared for combat, even in the night.

The wizard gave her an appreciative nod, but she wasn’t done. The lights illuminating a few of the guards went out as she summoned the healing spirit again, the ball of ghostly hair bounding out of her pouch and hopping around Cassian. In such close vicinity, Vanden got a boost from it as well, though he wasn’t as pleased about the magical experience.

The gnoll that had escaped was still struggling to clear the rocky terrain Boblem had summoned. Plodding through the mud and broken earth, they shot off an arrow, the projectile sinking into the stone above the boy.

Elyse heard the rumbling of something climbing up her tower, aided by the ropes swung out the sides. A towering figure pulled itself up and onto the ledge, which cracked and crumbled under the weight. It lunged to bite Elyse, and as she ducked, two claws swiped through the air. They shredded through the armour on Aerenthias, and where the wounds opened on the tiefling, they instantly festered and boiled. It snarled as Aerenthias staggered back, gasping.

Boblem raised his staff. Grass and stone began to knit together, forming two shapes that mimicked the giant hyena before manifesting fur and bone and flesh. One stood eye level with the other gnolls and dogs around, jumping into the fray to land a bite on the animal attacking Jocelyn. The other came into existence outside the abbey, chasing down the runaway. It lunged forward, biting the gnoll’s head clean off as it dropped to the floor.

Holy light filled the temple courtyard as a pair of glowing, ethereal wings emerged from the back of Jocelyn’s armour. Her steps lifted her slightly from the ground as she moved to protect Vanden, divine fury pouring from her mouth. “Not my boy!” she screamed.

A barrage of divine attacks carved up the hyena of the Weeping Eye. The muscles were exposed on one of its legs as she slashed down. It howled, barely standing. Her wings illuminated the abbey.

Astra’s eyes were wide at the sight before him. He pulled forward his lute, sending out healing magic to Aerenthias, Cassian, and Vanden. He tried to send another spell out against a different enemy, but they shook it off.

The wizard moved to the giant hyena as Vanden’s eyes stared up at the wings. Mouth agape, he drew his sword, pushing past. There was still more to this fight.

In the tower, Aerenthias leaned to move before changing his mind, steeling himself to fight with a glance to Elyse. “Let’s do this together,” he nodded, pulling out a blade with a glare at their attacker. “Come on, you mangy pup!”

Cassian approached the hyena with a grin, the shadow blade dissipating. He reached out, grabbing the animal by the scruff of its neck. “Help a friend out, would you?”

Holding it tight, it withered under his hand, decomposing under him as its life energy was transferred to the wizard. He looked up to the nearest guard, throwing the clump of fur still in his hand to the ground with a deadly smile.

Above, Aerenthias dropped his dagger to pull out the pistol. He ducked underneath the slashing claws, pressing his weapon up to its muzzle, firing. It was the only gnoll that remained on the battlefield. All the hyenas were dead, save for Boblem’s. Only a few humanoid guards remained.

Vanden swept his blade through two more mercenaries, knocking them back. He glanced back over his shoulders to his captain. “Jocelyn, that’s incredible! Oh my Gods!”

She spun around, the light from her wings illuminating the armour of another guard. His face dropped, and she batted the sword from his hand as he took a swing. Her foot came forward, kicking his legs out from underneath him. With a swift strike along the back of his neck, he fell to the ground.

There were three more guards on the floor, with a fourth by Sariel, and their leader still up in the tower. Boblem raised his shield to deflect a bolt as another was shot at him, just clipping the edge of his defense. The guard scowled at him, and the boy returned with a dirty look of his own.

The guard by Sariel carved a bloody path across her, slashing out with two deep strikes. The elf snarled back at her attacker. Another sent out two slashes with a longsword towards Jocelyn, but she deflected them both with ease.

Three of them ganged up on Vanden, each slashing out with double strikes. Their blades clanged against each other, but some still managed to land. Vanden did his best to fend them off, but they were coming from every direction, wearing him down.

Elyse put herself between Aerenthias and the creature, slamming her fist into her palm. Her eyes ignited as a thunderous boom shook the building. The remains of the glass in the windows shattered out, elements of tile and stone crashing down to the floor like a rainfall. In a flash, Aerenthias and the sorcerer disappeared, reappearing over by Astra. “He needs healing,” she informed the bard. He was hanging off her, and she pushed him to his feet before running to the edge of her new vantage. Now up close, Astra could see the shredded armour on Aerenthias, blood soaking his red shirt to the point where he couldn’t distinguish between the shirt and the skin, apart from where the wounds were bubbling and festering.

Sariel’s claws found a gap in the guard’s armour, digging into him. She lifted him off the ground, pulling his insides out through the gap. Blood soaked her arms before he slumped to the ground. She panted, sending the healing spirit to bound gleefully across the courtyard. It skidded up next to Vanden as the druid moved to Cassian’s side.

The gnoll wrapped its arm around the nearby rope, jumping out and down to the floor to pursue Aerenthias and Elyse. It dashed forward, pulling two enormous axes from its back as it bounded towards its target, gaining distance.

Boblem opened a shallow hole in the ground, and one of the guards on Vanden slipped down into the trap. Next, the boy ordered one of his hyenas to move, biting out at the head of another mercenary. The soldier thrust a spear upwards, fending off the attack. The second hyena ran in from the outside, bounding forward and breaking through the earth. It gave out a laugh as it snatched the back of a soldier’s leg.

Jocelyn looked over her shoulder, flying back around to Vanden. She held out her hand to the prince. “Please, trust me.”

He hesitated for a moment before taking the hand. Light flowed down into him, her wings dimming for a second as the glow moved down her arms and into Vanden. Light poured from his eyes for a moment, rejuvenating him, before the glow returned to her wings.

Astra stowed his lute, turning to the other tiefling to check his wounds.

“Don’t worry about me,” Aerenthias waved him off. “Don’t worry about me, you’ve got bigger things to focus on.”

“Yes, don’t worry, we’ve got this, but you need to feel better as well!” Astra sent healing magic towards him before backing away from the edge, taking the lute out once more as he continued to play. The song reached out to Aerenthias, Elyse, and the bard himself, strengthening the trio against the oncoming gnoll.

Aerenthias gave a grin, panting as he pushed himself up. “I told you it was a good tune.”

Cassian sauntered over to another soldier, reaching up to touch the side of his neck as he cast the same life draining spell once more. Seeing what the wizard had done to the hyena, the guard staggered back as the cold hand pressed against him. There was an awkward moment when Cassian realized the spell wasn’t taking hold, and he was simply caressing the very uncomfortable man for no reason.

Sariel looked up to him. “Are you sure?”

The wizard gave her a sheepish look before misty stepping away, appearing up next to Boblem in the tower.

The boy glanced over in surprise. “Hello!”

“Morning.”

Aerenthias pushed himself to the edge of the platform, pulling out his pistol to load it again. He fired off at the rapidly approaching gnoll. The shot rang out, black smoke pouring from the barrel of the gun. It hit the creature, but they kept running.

Vanden stared after Jocelyn in shock for a moment as the light left him. Turning around, he thrust his sword down into Boblem’s pit, stabbing the guard inside. He swung around with the blade to hit another mercenary, but he didn’t manage to break through their armour.

One of the soldiers in the towers let out a bolt towards Cassian, which sunk through his boot and into his foot. The mercenary glanced around before jumping off the lower wall, disappearing from sight. A guard in the center began to panic, swapping their longsword for a crossbow and firing into Sariel as he retreated. “This is a losing battle!” he called. “We regroup! Let’s get out!”

Another soldier attacked one of Boblem’s hyenas, his weapon glancing off. A double strike came at Vanden, slashing him twice before the mercenary ran to escape. The one in the pit scrambled out, trying and failing to swing at the prince. Vanden tried to stop the runaway, but found himself distracted by the soldier swiping at his feet. Boblem’s hyenas lunged forward, the first unable to break through the guard’s armour, but the other knocking him to the ground. Pouncing on him, it ripped out their chest, biting and tearing as the mercenary went down.

Elyse watched the gnoll approach. They wanted him alive. She sent out an ice attack, but it skidded past. “Fuck,” she swore to herself, running and jumping over the edge. She flew over him, landing behind the gnoll.

Sariel took a misty step of her own, appearing by another guard with bloody hands, but their armour was too tough for her to breach.

The gnoll bounded upwards to the pair of tieflings. He bit into Astra before swinging his axes towards Aerenthias. He slashed and hacked, and as he made contact with the red tiefling’s arm, Aerenthias burst into fire, his eyes going black as he pointed out towards the gnoll. The flames burned at the creature, and it howled in pain.

Boblem pulled another pit out from under the guard by Sariel. As they slipped into the hole, a hyena lunged to bite another. The guard dodged out of the way as the second hyena bit, but its teeth were unable to pierce the tough armour.

Jocelyn flew through the air, launching off as her blade dragged behind her. She soared past, arcing in the wind as her blade severed through a guard’s artery, sending him instantly to the ground. She banked around, bursting forward through the abbey.

Astra looked to Aerenthias in fear, stepping between him and the creature. He pulled out his dagger. “Surrender!” he commanded.

The gnoll growled, bearing down at him as it shook off the magical order. The bard stood his ground.

Cassian ran forward, jumping down from the tower and running towards the gnoll. From the ground, he pointed upwards with his sword, casting his own command. “You really should listen! Lay down your arms, and let’s just have a nice chat!”

The psychic barrage of demands washing over its mind combined with the hellish fire surrounding it was enough. The gnoll dropped to its knees. Cassian called up to the tieflings. “Tie it up!”

Aerenthias moved behind it, pulling it up by the neck. Even kneeling, it was nearly as tall as him. He pulled a knife towards its throat, looking to Astra. “I appreciate what you did. We’ve got this.”

The bard lowered his dagger. “We do.”

There were still two soldiers on the ground. Vanden took a moment to stare at Jocelyn before sprinting forward through the hyenas. He stabbed out at a mercenary, running him through as the blade poked out the other side. He pulled out the sword, taking a huge breath as the enemy dropped to the ground. He yelled across to the others, “Please tell me one of them is still alive?”

“Yes!” Cassian called back.

The final soldier scrambled out of the pit. Sariel and Cassian landed blows on him, but they didn’t seem to breach the copper splint armour. Elyse shot a ball of fire towards the guard as they ran. He hit the stairwell and went still. “That’s that taken care of,” she nodded, turning to climb and join the tieflings. She took out her rope, beginning to tie up their prisoner.

The battle was over.

  
  


Sariel leaned heavily on Cassian, looking hurt. He put a supportive arm around her. Aerenthias panted, holding the gnoll. “We should bring him down there,” he huffed. Elyse and Astra helped, moving the body to the center of the abbey. Their allies, though battered and nearly broken, were alive.

Boblem climbed down, the two hyenas walking behind him as he approached the center, a bolt still sticking out from his shield. As the animals walked, grass and vines melded with the pads of their feet, gold dust fluttering off them. The others dragged the gnoll to the stone pillar in the center of the battlefield.

Vanden ducked behind a wall, catching his breath away from the group. The gnoll blinked in and out of consciousness. It wasn’t dying, but it was completely incapacitated. They stripped off his weapons, tying him securely with his hands behind the post.

Cassian helped Sariel forward. He looked between Astra and Boblem. “If either of you could spare a spell? She’s very rough.”

“I can,” Boblem volunteered.

Sariel shook her head. “Don’t waste it.”

Cassian looked down at her, keeping her steady. “It’s not a waste, Sariel.”

Elyse looked over the other tiefling. “Aerenthias, what about you?”

He panted for a moment. “I’ll be fine for now, but…”

“This is more important, “ Sariel finished.

Aerenthias pressed a hand to his chest, and it came away red. He left to sit against a wall, taking off his hat and clutching his chest tightly. “It’s fine, it’s fine.”

Elyse studied him. “You sure?”

“Do what you need to do.”

Cassian walked off to find the prince. It was still pitch black outside, but now, Vanden could see. It was as if a veil had been lifted off his eyes.

The wizard peeked around the corner. “Vanden? How do you want to go about this?”

He blinked. “Right, yes, um…”

“We got the big bastard.”

“Good.” The prince shook himself from his thoughts, walking back to the center.

Jocelyn’s wings faded away to golden light. Elyse was standing by the gnoll with her dagger. “So cool,” she smiled.

“Really beautiful,” Astra nodded.

Vanden stared at her for a moment.

“The big guy’s coming in and out of consciousness,” the bard informed him. “But I think I’ve got something that might help?”

The prince set his jaw. “I’ve got him. Is he tied up securely?”

“Yes,” Elyse agreed. “Don’t think he’s going anywhere.”

“You got that… immovable stick?”

“I do,” Astra pulled it out. “Do you want me to use it on him?”

“Yes.”

“Alright.” He put it across the gnoll’s lap, pressing the button. It locked in place.

The gnoll lifted its head. Mangey and brown crusted yellow eyes looked up in a snarl. “So what was the purpose of this? You want gold? I have some.”

Vanden crouched down, looking him dead in the eye. “The attack on the silver fortress.”

Its eyes narrowed slightly.

“Mirrortail,” he continued. “Four months ago.”

The gnoll lifted his chin in understanding.

“Who paid you for it?”

“Client,” the prisoner answered. “I don’t know.” Vanden drove his rapier into its leg. The gnoll let out a cry of anguish. “Augh! I don’t know!”

“King Gerrit? Prince Theun?”

“I don’t know. If you want the records, I don’t have them. There’ll be contracts.”

“Where do we find them?” Jocelyn ordered. “Tell us now, or I’ll run you through.”

“...Shadebourne. The Charnel House.”

Vanden stared at the gnoll. It didn’t drop eye contact, but it was hard to read such a non humanoid face. There was no way to be sure. “I don’t think this beast has any information that’s actually going to help me.”

Astra looked up at the prince. “Maybe he’s got information on the one you’re looking for in particular?”

“Who is your superior?” Jocelyn demanded.

“With the white fur,” Vanden elaborated.

The gnoll growled. “Kahnym. Kahnym Whitehide.”

“And where might we find him?” Elyse continued.

“In the house. Or below. There’s contracts below the city. Whatever it is you want, I can give you.”

Jocelyn stared at him. “What do you have to offer?”

The gnoll looked down. “Gold. Weapons. My spear.”

“Oh, we can take that from your cold corpse,” Cassian sneered. “It’s information we’re after.”

“I’ll, I’ll fight for you, you can have me by your side.”

“Well you haven’t proven very good in battle so far.”

It growled, spitting out a broken tooth. Vanden grabbed the fur on its head, pulling its face back. He leaned to its ear. “If you have anything else to tell me about the attack or the location of the King, I’d say it quickly. And maybe I’ll spare your life.”

The gnoll paused for a moment. “The dogs feast on the King.” He looked over to one of the other gnolls, lying dead on the floor. “That’s who you have to thank.” He started laughing, howling and cackling as Vandens face burst into rage.

“You’re lying!” The prince yelled as it snuffled and grinned. “You’re lying!”

“We have ways to make sure,” Elyse put a hand up, trying to calm Vanden. “Remember?” She looked to the bard. “Astra, can you try that thing you tried with Kenrah again?”

The tiefling was drained from the fight. “I don’t, I can’t… I can try something else, I just, I can’t at the moment, I’m stressed out…”

“It’s okay.”

Astra swallowed, kneeling next to Vanden to look into its eyes. His eyes glowed with magical suggestion. “I think you need to tell the truth to my friend right now. I think it’s best for both you and him.”

The gnoll’s eyes glazed over, succumbing to the spell. “The King made many bellies fat that day.”

Vanden was struck silent for a second. “And, do you know…” his voice was shaking, “Anything else? My brother? The Crown Prince?” A look of confusion passed over the gnoll’s face, snout wrinkling. He didn’t seem to know. “Then I ask you one more time, do you have any idea who paid for this?”

“No. But they will. In the house.”

“Fine.”

“Your man who ran off,” Elyse pressed. “Are there others nearby? Are they going to get them?”

The gnoll looked over to her. “No. Probably making their way home. Alerting of the attack.”

Boblem observed Vanden with careful eyes. “Do you believe he might know who hurt the Queen? We might not believe what you’ve been told.”

Vanden stared at their prisoner. “Kahnym.”

“Kahnym,” the gnoll agreed.

“I watched him snap her neck. Like it was a twig.” Vanden breathed heavily, face frozen in rage. “Pull him up.”

Astra was the first to move, heaving him upwards. The gnoll gave a lopsided grin.

“Hang your head,” Vanden ordered. The gnoll did, and Vanden raised his sword over the back of its neck. “If anyone thinks I shouldn’t do this right now, tell me.”

Cassian raised his chin, watching. “Execute him.”

“We’ve got all we need from him,” Elyse agreed.

Sariel stared at the creature. “End him.”

Astra gulped, closing his eyes as Boblem looked away. Vanden plunged the sword down through its back. Hands shaking, he left the blade in the body, backing away.

Jocelyn took one of his hands. “It’s okay,” she whispered.

Vanden gave out a very loud swear.

The air went still as the first rays of dawn broke over the horizon, shards of light beginning to pierce though, illuminating the gory battlefield in front of them.

“Gods,” Vanden shook his head.

Jocelyn looked to the others. “We need to find this house.”

“My brother might still be somewhere.”

“Yes.”

“Although I’m rapidly losing hope.”

“Hope is all we have.”

“There is no time to waste then,” Cassian nodded. “Shadebourne.”

“Yeah,” Elyse echoed. “Should we try to dispose of these bodies in some way? Burn them? Just in case they come back this way?”

“Yes,” Jocelyn agreed. “Do you think they’d have… some sort of necromantic power? They could reanimate them, or something? Would burning be best?”

“It’s best not to take chances.”

“Precisely.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Elyse nodded, glancing to the prince. “You take him somewhere away.”

“Right.”

“I’m fine, I’m not a child,” Vanden protested.

“I know you’re not, no one’s accusing you of that,” Jocelyn consoled.

Some of them set about the task, pulling bodies out of the abbey, piling them in the ruined graveyard out back.

Vanden walked to Aerenthias. “You fought bravely.”

The tiefling blinked up at him. “So did you.”

“You don’t look too hot.”

“I don’t feel too great. I fear I may not be able to make it to Shadebourne with you. I might need to turn around.”

“You can be healed, surely.”

Aerenthias drew a deep breath. “That will help for the short term.”

Vanden took off a glove, putting a hand on his chest. Gold light seeped through, a bit of color returning to his ally as a few of his wounds knit back together. Blood wasn’t gushing out anymore, but it was still trickling through.

“That’s helped,” the tiefling sighed.

“You should go to the nearest town, find a cleric. Get yourself seen to.”

“Don’t worry, I can hold off until morning. I’ll wait for this to be done. When you move to Shadebourne, I’ll find my way.”

“Right.”

Astra approached, overhearing their conversation with concern. “You can’t go alone, surely.”

“It can’t be too far,” he assured the bard. “You might be heading through the village. Bramley’s Nook. If we go through there, if you’re going to Shadebourne, I’ll stay there. Until I’m healed.”

“Okay,” Vanden agreed. “On the ship, I have a map of Shadebourne. We should be able to locate this building they’re talking about.”

Aerenthias looked at the prince’s hand. “What did you do? I’ve… Jocelyn, I’ve seen you do that, but…”

Vanden retreated, wrapping his arms around himself. “I… I don’t know.”

“Right. Let’s,” he stood, shakily. Astra helped him up, and he accepted the hand. He walked across the abbey, picking up his weapons and sheathing them, buckling his pistol back in. “It’s not just me though,” he warned. “Everyone was hurt.”

“It’s fine,” Boblem shrugged, sending a healing spell towards Sariel.

Elyse pushed her hair back. “I’m fine, I wasn’t hurt.”

“You’re wiley,” Boblem smiled.

She looked back to the pile of bodies, launching her fire magic at them. The pile erupted, the bodies burning and blackening, illuminating the cold morning.

Aerenthias looked to the group. “You all fought incredibly well.”

“So did you,” the sorcerer nodded.

“There’s a standard to uphold, isn’t there?” he winked. “Made quite short work of them, didn’t we.”

Cassian watched the pile burn. “I must say I enjoyed my time on the front lines, for once.”

“It was impressive. I regret taking my time away from the front lines, I would have done better down there with you.”

“There’s always next time,” Cassian grinned.

“True.”

Vanden looked over the abbey. “Let’s not rest here. It stinks of death.”

“We’ll go to the town,” Astra nodded. “Sooner we get there, the better.”

Elyse looked up at the main column, examining the symbol there. She knew of the God Corellon, recognizing the image, but she didn’t know anything more about the God.

“Right,” Vanden looked out into the daylight. “To the town, then.”

Elyse glanced to Aerenthias. “Is it walking distance, or do we have to get the boat out again?”

“It’s inland,” he assured her. “It’ll be a few miles. An hour, maybe two.”

“We can march that,” Vanden agreed.

  
  


They made the slow journey as the sun came up. After a while, Boblem’s hyenas faded away into golden dust. They found themselves on the outskirts of a quiet, charming little village. Bramley’s Nook. There were maybe twenty buildings in total, farmhouses and barns around a small, central building. There was one tavern, and a couple of houses. They heard the squawk of cockerels. People moved about their day, none the wiser as to what had just happened not two miles away.

As they approached, Elyse quietly took out her headscarf to cover her hair again. They made their way to the tavern. Aerenthias knocked on the door, pushing it open. There was nobody inside besides the staff, beginning to prepare for the day. The tiefling winced inside, falling heavily into a seat. Most of them were drenched in blood from the fight. Vanden stumbled up to the bar.

As they stepped into the light, a young dwarven man looked at them, mouth agape. “My oh my, um… I guess, you’ll be wanting… breakfast?”

“And drinks, please,” Elyse added.

Vanden dumped five gold on the bar. “Can we lock the door?”

“Aye,” the dwarf nodded. “I’ll get you your privacy.”

Vanden turned and bolted the door behind them.

“I’ll be in the kitchen,” the dwarf continued. “There’s no trouble following, is there?”

“Not at all.”

The dwarf nodded, flipping the sign to read  _ “Closed” _ and pulling down the shutters before leaving through the kitchen. Elyse went to the door, casting her alarm spell across it.

They sat in the tavern, illuminated by the beginnings of a small, crackling fire. Astra reached out, making the flames a bit bigger. Vanden poked his head into the kitchen, requesting bowls of water and cloths. He was given them, and he handed the items to the others. “Clean yourselves up, I don’t think we want to be alarming this town.”

They set about the task. Vanden passed a concerned look over to Aerenthias. “Can we get you anything?”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll stay here, I think. I’ll find rooms upstairs, and see if I can head back to the bay as soon as I can.”

“I can’t thank you enough for your help.”

“It was a pleasure. It was an honor. Even more on an honor to still be alive, you know.”

Elyse looked between Jocelyn and Aerenthias. “It’s been great fighting alongside both of you.”

“We will see you around, won’t we?” Sariel glanced at them.

The tiefling grinned. “I’m sure we’ll be around. Joce, are you going ahead?”

She thought for a moment. “I think it’s about time I headed back too.”

“I understand.”

Vanden fixed his eyes on her. “What are you going to tell them?”

“Whatever you would like me to tell them,” she turned. “If I have to at all.”

“I don’t want you getting in trouble for leaving without permission.”

“Oh, don’t worry about me.”

“I will worry about you!”

She gave a small laugh. “Vanden, please.”

He sighed, relenting. He looked to each of the others. “Are all of you doing okay after that? I realize that was a lot.”

“I’m fine,” Elyse assured him.

“You have my eternal gratitude.”

“We told you we’ve got your back,” Astra smiled.

“You helped me, I help you,” Elyse shrugged. “That’s the deal.”

Vanden looked across the table. “And everyone ready for the next part?”

“Oh yes,” Cassian grinned, Elyse and Boblem nodding along.

“Astra?”

The bard fiddled with his hands. “Yes. I told you I was sticking with you.”

“I know. Sariel?”

She looked up at him. “We’re going to find your brother. We’ll bring him back.”

“Family is important,” Astra echoed.

Vanden turned back to Aerenthias. “If I find my way back home to Mirrortail, there will be a sizable reward for your help.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he grinned. I have my ways.”

Jocelyn rolled her eyes, handing over her health potion. “Aerenthias, take this, for goodness sake.”

He reached for it, popping the cork. “Oh, thank Moradin, I was really struggling.” He drank it quickly, sighing in relief. “Put away your worried faces,” he teased the others. “I’ll be fine.”

“I’m not worried,” Elyse grinned. “I know you can handle yourself.”

“It’s these boys, you know,” he grinned back, motioning to a few of them. “They’re soft.” Vanden, Astra, and Boblem shifted a bit under his gaze. Cassian raised a brow, unsure if he was meant to be included in the statement. “Don’t worry, it’s a good thing,” he finished.

Drinks were brought out.

Aerenthias took one. “It’s very good that you all look out for each other. I wouldn’t believe you’ve only been together for a few weeks. You obviously care about each other a lot. I’m glad to have seen this. It’s the start of something big. You’ll move mountains.”

“I agree,” Jocelyn smiled.

Aerenthias looked over them with a grin. “Do you call yourselves anything?”

Elyse laughed. “No.”

“No,” Vanden followed. “We weren’t really planning on travelling together.”

“Are we a thing?” Elyse glanced around. “I don’t know.”

Cassian shrugged. “Only days, for that.”

Aerenthias smiled. “You should think on it. You make a good party. It was a pleasure to be by your side. Even for a short while.”

“Pleasure to have you with us,” Astra smiled back.

He winked. “It will not be the last time you see this tail.”

“Well, there will always be a place for you here,” Sariel nodded.

Elyse glanced to Jocelyn. “Both of you.”

“And on the ship,” Cassian added.

“Thank you,” Jocelyn smiled.

Aerenthias grinned. “I’d like that.”

Boblem looked across the table. “Thank you for fighting by our side.”

“Thank you.”

“Jocelyn,” Vanden looked over to his captain.

“Yes?”

“I’m so glad you’re alive.”

She laughed. “I’m so glad you are too. It’s… an enormous weight off my shoulders. I have hope for the first time in months.”

“And that… makes me feel terrible, what I’m about to ask you. I need you to go back and find out why Mattijn is lying like this. Why they’re keeping it secret that the King is dead. And… for the sake of whatever I have to do next,” he unbuckled his sword belt, holding it out to Jocelyn. “I want you to take this back and tell them I am dead too. Tell them you found me.”

She took it with a sigh. “Alright, I’ll do what I can.” She put it on the table, taking off her own sword and giving it to him. “Take this, so you’re not unarmed. Because that’s foolish.”

He gave a small grin. “Fine.”

“I’ll always be at your side, then.”

Vanden stared at her for a moment before embracing her in a hug. “Give it to Mattijn,” the prince explained, parting from her. “He’ll recognize it instantly.”

“Yes, it’s… your family heirloom.”

“Mhm.”

“I’m sure they’ll get the message.”

“Maybe… make a note of how he reacts,” Sariel cautioned. “When he sees it.”

“Yes, that’s a good point,” she considered. “Perhaps I should… find a way to stay in contact with all of you. You in particular,” she looked at the prince. “Is there a way that we know of?”

“I’ve got an ability to send messages to you,” Astra offered. Elyse gave him a shocked look, but he didn’t notice.

“I’ve got friends in dark places,” Aerenthias nodded. “I’m sure you might too.”

“I can look into it,” Jocelyn sighed.

“We’ll see what we can do.”

“Yes, I think that’s wise.”

“My business north can wait. This might be more important.”

Jocelyn looked at the table. “It’s almost too much, weighed onto an already heavy load. I feel like this is potentially… damning for a few nations. If what we think has occurred, has occurred.”

“The ramifications are huge.”

Vanden swallowed. “We’ll deal with it. As it comes.”

“That we will,” Jocelyn nodded. “Together. I know we can.”

“Together,” Aerenthias agreed.

Vanden looked over to his captain. “Get home safe, Joce.”

“Thank you.”

“Go see your Lieutenant.”

“Yes,” she smiled. “Travel safe too?”

He nodded.

“Don’t be reckless?” she pressed.

He gave a quick laugh. “I would never.”

Astra grinned. “That’s a lie.”

“It is a lie,” Elyse teased.

Jocelyn smiled. “It was wonderful to meet you all. Thank you. I’m sorry we had not spoken more.”

Aerenthias pushed himself to his feet, Jocelyn following.

Astra looked up at her. “I can see why Vanden is the way he is, if he was raised by someone like you.”

Vanden chuckled, looking over to her. “I mean, it’s a fair point. More you than anyone else.” His face suddenly changed as he remembered something. “Is Lockwood alive? Have you seen him?”

“I have seen him about the castle, yes.”

He nodded. “You can trust him.”

“Okay… It’s a start, alright, yes.”

“Right,” Vanden turned back to the table. “I suppose we should see about heading to Shadebourne.” It would be inland, a hike to span several days. “We can see in this town about purchasing horses, perhaps. Make travel faster overland.”

The table agreed. Elyse glanced over to the prince. “We’ve got this.”

“I know. Heads up, everyone. We finally have the information that we need. That’s a victory.”

“We’ve learned that we can work really well as a team,” Astra smiled.

“We can.” The prince set his eyes on each member of the group as he looked over his team. “I believe in us.”

“I believe in you too,” Aerenthias nodded. He offered a handshake and a hug to everyone at the table. Cassian and Sariel went for the former, Astra, Boblem, and Elyse going for the hug.

As he leaned over, Elyse whispered to him. “Thank you for the tools. I’ll put them to good use.”

“What tools?” he winked.

Vanden didn’t hug him, but he offered a handshake, his signet ring catching the light. Aerenthias looked at it, giving a shake. “I’m not going to be kissing that ring, you know,” he grinned. “You’re not my prince anymore.”

“Right,” Vanden grinned back.

“Pleasure.” He looked at them one last time, tipping his hat. “I’ll take my leave. I’ll be seeing you all again very shortly, I imagine.”

He turned on his heel, his tail flicking Astra once more. He stopped at the door, leaning on the frame for a moment. “A good silhouette is very important,” he grinned. With a flick of his hand, the door opened, closing behind as he left.

Jocelyn readied herself to follow, turning to the prince once more. “Commodore Vanden Adrienus Diederik Florian du Argentfort, Regent Prince of Mirrortail, Margrave of the Glass Isle, and Warden of the Eastern Shore. It has been an honor.” She pressed a fist to her chest, bowing her head.

“And you, Captain D’Fabron.”

“Travel safe, travel swift.”

“We’ll see each other again.”

“I believe so.”

She left, Boblem waving goodbye.


	30. Into The Wilds, Episode Twenty-Seven

As the door closed behind Jocelyn, Vanden stood. “Okay. I need a minute.”

“That’s fair enough,” Elyse nodded.

Astra glanced at him. “Understandable.”

He excused himself to the bathroom facilities in the tavern. As he did, he caught himself in the mirror, still doused in the blood of his enemies. He stared at himself for a long while before he bowled over, vomiting.

At the table, Elyse allowed her gaze to linger on Boblem and Astra. “Before we continue with this, I know we all want to help Vanden, but I feel like we should confirm that everyone is… definitely okay with the fact that we are going to be fighting… people? Rather than… creatures? I know, no matter how despicable people are, it's a very different experience. So, I just thought, we should make sure… no one is feeling forced to do something they don't want to do.”

Boblem wrapped his arms around himself. “I… I know we did the right thing back there. This kind of stuff just, always rattles me. Maybe Aerenthias is right, maybe I am too soft.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that, Boblem,” Sariel replied.

“I just don’t know if that’s something I’m ready to let go of just yet.”

“You don’t have to,” Astra assured him.

“But I do want to do right by Ren. I just need to get my head straight on.” Boblem pulled out one of the rags, cleaning the dried blood off his face with shaking hands. Sariel took another, helping to wipe his face. “Thank you, Sariel.”

She nodded. “If there’s anything that we can do to make your life easier, with things like this…”

“I… don’t really know. I never counted on this happening, when I started adventuring.”

“Sometimes you just...” Elyse shook her head. “Have to do what you have to do in order to survive. Or, unfortunately, there are some people out there who have it coming.”

Cassian nodded. “Sometimes you have to remember that… monsters can look just like you.”

“And you need to remember as well,” Sariel continued, “A lot of the time, it's you or it’s them.”

“Exactly,” Elyse concluded. “And you’d rather it be them.”

“My,” Boblem sighed. “You’re all starting to sound a lot like my mother. She always used to tell me the world wasn’t as kind as I liked to think it was.”

“She’s right.”

“Guess she was right.”

“But we need people like you in the world,” Sariel countered. “Who do still believe there is kindness out there.”

“Thank you Sariel.”

“It’s not a flaw,” Elyse agreed.

Astra gave a nod. “Not at all.”

Boblem kept his eyes down, unsure, though he tried his best to smile for the others. “Thank you.”

Astra waved a hand, and a short spell pulled the rest of the blood from the boy. “At the end of the day, I think that a lot of us can say… we would do a lot for our families. And those that we care and love.”

Vanden returned to the group, blood cleaned and hair tidied. He looked to them, stoney faced. “Right. We don’t have much time. We have to track down- ”

“The guy who escaped,” Elyse finished.

“The guy who got away.”

“We’re putting everything at risk if we don’t catch up to him, I think we should make that a priority right away,” she agreed.

“I’m going to head into town and see if I can secure us horses. Those of you who need to rest, stay here. I’ll be back.”

“I’m fine, I didn’t take a hit in that fight. I’ll come with you. I need to buy some things before we go anyway.”

Vanden looked to the others. “Anyone else? We can pick something up for you, or?”

“I need to go get my bag out of the boat,” Astra worried.

“We can do that on the way. We’ll have to cross the river to head to Shadebourne.”

“We also- this doesn’t need to be a priority until we’ve caught him,” Elyse amended, “But once we get to Shadebourne we’re going to need more money. We should count out that gold on the boat. Once we’ve gone after him, obviously.”

“We’ll have time. Anyone else?”

“There’s something I need to do very briefly in town,” Cassian added. “But I can manage that myself.”

“Okay.” He looked to the others. “Rest, we’ll secure horses, and come back to get you.”

After the wizard cleaned himself off, he found a private corner outside the tavern. He took out a quill and paper to write.  _ Allies in Shadebourne? Any help that can be offered? Let me know as soon as possible. _ He folded the paper, stamping it with a seal before looking for a courier.

  
  


As Elyse and Vanden stepped out, there was an immediate commotion in the street. Forty or fifty people, halflings, dwarves, and a few humans were milling about while pointing fingers and shouting. From what they heard, it sounded like two horses had just been stolen. It seemed like this was the biggest thing to happen in the village for a long time.

“You took my pumpkin three years ago!” A voice argued. “I know it’s you! I have good reason!”

There was a halfling trying to keep the crowd at bay, not quite a sheriff, but some form of authority.

Another voice piped up, claiming their window on the other side of town was broken, and apothecary supplies and bandages had been stolen from them.

Another halfing late fifties with tousled brown hair, raised their hands. “Took everything! I saw him! I nearly had him as well! You know this crossbow hasn’t seen much use but ooh, I’ll put one in the back of his legs if I see him again!”

They heard a description, but the apothecary burglar didn’t sound like Aerenthias. Some sort of human or elf had done it, running northwest towards Shadebourne.

Cassian found a courier, a young lad in his late teens. The boy took the letter, looking over it.

“You know where this needs to go, right?”

The boy examined the seal, raising his eyebrows. “I’ll see this delivered.” He popped it into a bag.

Cassian flicked him a silver, and the boy grabbed it before readying up their horse. He didn’t seem to have had a sense of urgency before the tip, but now he was moving. The wizard strolled back to the tavern.

  
  


Sariel remained to rest in the pub, recovering from the beating she took earlier. Boblem pulled out his journal, scribbling and writing. Astra sat by him, his tail wrapped around the boy as he played his lute. “You alright?”

“I think I’ll be.”

“You will.”

“Are you alright?”

Astra rested his head against the back of his seat. “Mhm. I think you and me are quite similar, Boblem. I believe that there’s good in every… there’s the potential of good in every creature and person. But, the more I’m out here, the more I’m learning that goodness can get twisted. That maybe, not everyone can be talked or reasoned with.”

“I’m starting to get that sense too. I thought I could talk to that dragon we fought, but it just…”

“It was hateful.”

“It was hateful. What it said to me wasn’t… it wasn’t right. Not something I could have reasoned with.”

“No. But you tried, and I commend you for that. Because we should always try first.”

“Thank you. Yeah. Yeah, I think so.”

“That… Fang.” Astra swallowed, remembering the gnoll. “It looked me dead in the eyes, and it was gonna kill me. And I know it. If the others hadn’t… stopped it. It probably would have killed me and Aerenthias on that tower. And there was no goodness in it. You heard how it laughed when it talked about Vanden’s family.”

Boblem paled. “Yeah. I think it’ll probably haunt me for a long time.”

“Yeah.”

“So what do you think you’ll do?”

“Family is important. And I know that if anything happened to my family, and I had the chance to seek some justice on it, that’s what I’d do. So I’m gonna stick with Vanden, and help him out, and stick with all of you.”

“Yeah. I agree with that.”

“We got each other’s backs, don’t we?”

“We do.” Boblem met the bard’s eye. “I wouldn’t want you to do something you’re uncomfortable with, either. We’ll be around. Make sure it doesn’t come to that.”

“Yeah, I know.” He gave the boy a nudge, and continued on playing his lute.

After they had been talking for a bit, the bartender knocked on the kitchen door, entering as he cleaned a dish in his hands. “Look, I wasn’t eavesdropping, but these walls are thin. Bits I’ve heard. If you’re looking for someone, you’re trying to catch up with someone, Old Maggie in the woods. She can help you with that.”

Astra glanced up. “Where do we find her?”

“Walk into the woods north of the village. Step off the path, let yourself get lost. She’ll find you.”

Boblem seemed wary. “Why would she be able to help us with that?”

“She helps with… all manner of things. Helped me find my daughter. Been gone a year and a day. Be respectful, okay? She don’t like it when folks are rude. But she’ll help you, she’ll take coin, or if you’ll offer anything else.”

“Thank you for your help,” Astra nodded. “We will do that.”

“If not, I’m sure there are other ways you can catch up. She has a way with things. Just, be polite.” He closed the door, retreating.

  
  


Elyse walked through the commotion outside, giving Vanden a side eye. “Do you reckon that’s our guy?”

“That’s definitely our guy.”

“We should make this quick then.”

“I’ve got this.” Vanden approached the halfling who seemed to be the victim of the horse burglary. “Excuse me?”

Red in the face from yelling, they looked up. “Yes?”

“I think I know who took your horses.”

“You do? You’re…” they trailed off, looking him up and down. “You’re not from around here, are you?”

“I’m not.”

A few people in the crowd took notice of the strangers.

“Well,” the halfling continued, “I’m sorry you’ve come to Bramley’s Nook at such a time. We haven’t had an occurrence like this since the great pumpkin raids of last year.”

“Absolutely understandable. We’re in pursuit of someone, and I believe they might have stolen your horses, and perhaps from your friend’s shop across the town. We’re in need of horses to catch up with them. We are willing to pay.”

They nodded. “There are horses for sale, or trade. But the pumpkins you see, they never came back, never returned. I’m concerned that the horses won’t be coming back neither.”

“We’ll see what we can do.”

“Thank you, thank you.”

“Can you point us towards where we might buy these horses?”

He pointed, and they could see stables in the near distance.

Elyse approached the man as well. “Do you also have a locksmith in town?”

“If you visit the general store, they’re not specialized, but,” he gestured to another building. The village was very small, all the buildings visible from the main square.

The pair of adventurers walked away. “A locksmith?” Vanden raised a brow at his companion. “For…?”

“I… Aerenthias gave me something I need practice with. I need locks for it.”

“Right. I can get the horses, you do your thing and I’ll meet you back here?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Vanden walked to the stables. They were pretty basic, with a single halfling man mucking out stables and getting things ready for the day. There were ten or twelve horses in a variety of colors, not quite warhorses, but they looked healthy and strong enough. The man looked up, wiping his hands as Vanden approached.

“Good morning.”

“Top of the morning to you as well, what can I be helping you with?”

“I’m in need of some horses,” Vanden explained. “And perhaps a cart?”

“You’ve come to the right place. Horses? Looking to rent or to buy?”

“To buy if possible, but I’ll see what’s on offer. Two, for a cart and for a riding horse.”

“Open cart or closed wagon?”

“Whichever is available, we’re in quite a rush.”

The man nodded, offering it all for 175 gold. Vanden agreed, and it took a few minutes for the man to ready the order, pulling out the cart and lashing it onto one horse before handing Vanden the reins to another. They were both fairly young looking, one white and dappled with grey, the other pure black. Vanden dropped the entire pouch of gold to pay for it.

The man grinned at the bag. “Thank you for your business, sir.”

“Of course. If anyone asks, we haven’t been through here.”

The man gave a look to the pouch of gold, nodding profusely.

Vanden gave his horse a little pat before leading the two back to the square. The cart could seat all of them along the sides. It was in good condition, with stable wheels.

Elyse went to the general store, passing over a gold coin for five different locks. Up on a high shelf, she spotted a row of glass jars of paint. There was a smaller painting set as well, with a few basic colors along a small wooden rectangle, and a vial of oil on the side. “How much for this?”

“One more gold for that as well.”

“I’ll take them both.”

“Will you be needing a brush?”

Elyse checked her pouch. “Uh, yes actually.”

“Two silver.”

“Great, thank you.”

She left the store to meet Vanden. The commotion had since died down. The indignant halfling had stomped back to the stables, though not the place Vanden had purchased from. It seemed to be a separate, smaller area, as if the stolen horses had been private property.

Vanden called over to her as she approached. “Get what you need?”

“Yup, ready to go.”

“You ever driven a cart before?”

She shrugged. “I’ve ridden a horse before, a couple times, not a cart. I’m sure it’s fine.”

“Me neither.”

“Oh, okay.”

“No idea.” He climbed onto the horse that wasn’t strapped to the cart, leading them back to the tavern.

Elyse opened the door, peeking in towards the others. “We’ve got horses and a cart ready to go, whenever you’re ready? We reckon our guy has stolen some supplies from the town, so they’re pretty pissed off at him.”

“They gave quite a good description,” Cassian agreed, having heard the crowd during his own errand. “So I’m sure we’ll find him.”

They filed out. Vanden looked down at them from the white horse. “Are we ready to go?”

“We might have another lead,” Astra offered. “To find him faster.”

“Oh?”

Sariel nodded. “The tavern keeper suggested that we seek out someone called Old Maggie? In the woods? She might be able to point us in the right direction.”

Elyse rubbed her chin. “What does she do?”

“I don’t really know.”

“They just said that they were good at finding stuff,” Boblem explained. “They found the innkeeper’s daughter. But they really emphasized not to be rude.”

“That’s fine,” Vanden considered. “And they sounded sincere? This isn’t going to slow us down?”

“It won't slow us down,” Astra assured them.

“Some kind of wise woman or something?” Elyse guessed.

“Apparently the innkeeper’s daughter had been missing for just over a year, and he went into the woods, spoke to Old Maggie, and his daughter was found.”

“Let’s try it then,” Vanden agreed. “Otherwise, I’m sure you can follow the tracks from the abbey.”

Astra gave a fervent nod. “Yes, I can track them.”

“Okay.”

“Let’s do this,” Elyse rolled her shoulders.

“We need to go north from the village,” Astra informed them.

Vanden gestured towards the cart. Cassian hopped in, Sariel following as she gave the horse a pat.

“Who has the most experience with riding horses or driving a cart here?” Elyse surveyed. “I’ve ridden horses before, but I’m not hugely experienced.”

Astra frowned in thought. “I could give it a go…”

“I have some experience,” Boblem offered. “If that’d be of help.” On the farm, he had spent a bit of time pulling loads of milk and cheese to and from the local markets.

“Wanna drive the cart?” Elyse offered.

“Yeah, I can try.”

“Great,” Vanden approved.

Astra and Elyse filed inside the cart. Boblem climbed onto the black horse, the familiar smell of the animal beneath him. He took the reins, and they began moving off. The cart trundled off slowly down the path as they cleared the village, leaving Bramley’s Nook behind them. After a while, the path curved, moving west. To the north, 400 meters away, was the edge of the forest and the treeline.

Vanden was a bit worried. “That’s where we’re heading in.”

“We need to go into the woods,” Astra repeated.

“I don’t know if the cart can go into the woods…”

As they moved to the forest, the trees were just wide apart enough that they could move through. There was a clear path, with even ground.

“The thing is, though,” Astra warned, “We need to go off the path at some point.”

“We can take it in as far as we can,” Elyse suggested. “So it’s not out here in the open, exposed.”

“And get lost?” Vanden clarified.

“Get lost,” the bard agreed. “We have to go into the woods and get lost. Maggie will find us.”

“Okay…”

“I can always leave an alarm around the cart,” Elyse offered. “If we leave it.”

Vanden spurred his horse on into the woods and away from the path. They headed in between the high pines and firs, feeling the dim light begin to enshroud them. The smells of the forest surrounded them, mulch and earth and ground beneath their feet, calls of animals in the distance. They could see pretty far, winding the cart around large curving roots and divits in the ground. It was a bit tricky, but the horses had sure footing, able to create tracks as they wandered.

After half an hour, they started to worry that they were going in circles. They were well and truly lost in the woods. Vanden and Boblem looked to each side, with no sign of any end to the trees. The path was completely gone. They were befuddled and confused, but from the one line they were going on, this was the right way.

They rounded a larger tree, and saw a treehouse. It creaked and groaned as if in the wind, but oddly, there was no breeze.

“I think we found it,” Astra grinned.

Elyse looked up at the structure. “Yeah.”

“That was bizarre,” Vanden shivered.

Astra jumped from the cart, walking towards the house as Elyse followed. Something moved from above, and a rope ladder fell down the tree. From the low angle, they couldn’t see who had thrown it down, but they hadn’t heard a door open.

Elyse put her hand on her arcane focus for a second, wary.

Astra went straight up.

“Astra!” Boblem called. He climbed up after.

“Oh boy,” Elyse sighed.

The two boys scurried upwards, landing on a small bit of decking. The building was a large shed, maybe 15x15 feet. They could smell of something cooking inside, with a thin plume of smoke coming up and out, but there were no windows.

“Guess we should follow them up,” Vanden decided, tying up the horses. Where there definitely wasn’t one before, he saw a very conveniently located hitching post. “I don’t like that,” he grimaced. “I do not like that.”

Elyse cast an alarm around the cart while the others climbed, following last.

The door swung open as Astra knocked. They saw a small room before them, plainly decorated, with a few things inside. There was a small stove against the far wall, with a table in the middle, and a rocking chair creaking slowly back and forth. There was a small woman inside, a halfling, probably in her late fifties. She had tumbling grey curls, wearing a wool hat and a simple yellow dress, with a stained apron over the top. Her plump cheeks smiled as they came in. She had acid green eyes.

Astra gave a bow. “Good morning.”

“Good morning.”

“Hello!” Boblem lifted his hat.

“Welcome, welcome. Come in, come in. I appreciate manners.”

“Our friends are coming up as well,” the bard informed her. “My name is Verdant Astra.”

“Call me Old Maggie. Please, step in, step in.” She gestured them inside. There was a bit of knitting that was somehow knitting itself at her feet. There were also shelves with dozens of small plates racked up across two walls. The plates each had a little painting. What first looked to be faces were just isolated smiles, thirty or forty of them in total.

There were the general bits and bobs of a small village home, a few cushions, a small table, and some low furniture. Boblem and Astra had to duck their heads at the door to enter.

The others followed, Vanden stepping inside. “Good morning ma’am.”

“Hi,” Elyse greeted.

“Morning all, morning all,” Maggie grinned.

“We’ve been told you can help us find someone,” Vanden explained.

“Ah. You’re here for a fortune or a favour?”

“A favour, I suppose.”

Elyse was a bit confused. “I don’t know… Yeah, I guess a favour? What does that mean, what would…?”

The woman shrugged. “That depends what favour you’re after. Tea, dears?”

“Yes please,” Astra accepted.

As she made the tea, Vanden looked around, extremely uncomfortable. Elyse stared at the knitting while Cassian grimaced at the smiles on the wall. The woman turned around, bringing out a small platter to place it on the ground before them. There were many cushions and ratty pillows strewn across the floor. “Please, please, take a seat,” she offered. She pulled a kettle from the stove, stepping around the rocking chair to pour tea for them all, as well as a cup for herself. Gesturing her finger over her cup, it began to stir.

On her left arm, a winding tattoo of a green snake wrapped around her toned muscle, all the way down to the top of her hand. She began sipping as the others sat.

Vanden took the tea, not drinking, but politely holding it.

“Thank you,” Sariel smiled as she sat.

Astra reached for his cup. “You’ve got a beautiful home.”

“How’s that knitting doing that?” Elyse grinned. “That’s amazing.”

“I asked it to,” the woman smiled back. “Politely.”

“Amazing.”

“What we’re doing is we’re trying to find somebody that… hurt our friends,” Astra began.

“Oh, that’s unfortunate dears,” she replied.

“They also stole some supplies from the town,” Elyse continued, “So they’re pretty eager for us to get after him as well, I guess.”

She tutted. “I guess they’ll be wanting those back. Well, Old Maggie’s been around for many a years, and Old Maggie knows paths that may be forgotten. You want to catch up with someone running through the woods? Old Maggie knows a shortcut. For a favour returned, she can show you.”

“What kind of favour?”

She leaned forward, the room almost darkening around her as she did. As she spoke, though she didn’t open her mouth too wide, they saw her tongue was pure black. “Bring me four leaves, from the four corners of this land. Bury ten teeth of ten folks. And bring me the flowers that spring forth. Bring me a secret, a name, and a song. Three years you can have. Else you’ll be in old Maggie’s debt, and you don’t want that.”

Vanden looked horrified.

“A name?” Boblem wondered.

“A name, a secret, and a song.”

“Does it have to be… ours?”

“No no, no no no no. Course not. Four leaves. Ten flowers from ten teeth.”

Boblem looked at her closely. As he focused, he realized his heart was beating harder and faster than it ever had before. There was something completely alien, though somehow familiar, about the way she was speaking and lacing her words. He got the impression that she was certainly not all she seemed, though she wasn’t trying to directly hurt them.

“What’s the time limit on what we have to bring you?” Vanden asked.

“Three years.”

“And what happens if we… can’t find them?” Elyse worried.

Old Maggie shrugged. “Then you’ll be in my debt.”

“Can you elaborate on what that means?”

She shook her head.

“How do we know that this path will get us to this person quickly?” Vanden pressed.

“Fredrick will show you the way,” she nodded.

Sariel tilted her head. “Fredrick?”

Old Maggie lifted her arm, and the tattoo moved off her hand, coming out from her wrist. A long green snake slid off, making its way to the door.

“Very impressive,” Cassian nodded.

Elyse beamed. “It’s amazing.”

“Let me take the debt,” Vanden decided. “Leave my friends out of it.”

The woman stared back at him. “Sure.”

“Vanden,” Sariel warned.

_ "I’m _ doing this,” he resolved.

Boblem gave him a worried glance. “We’re all doing this with you.”

“Yeah, together,” Elyse followed.

“But we don’t all have to…” Vanden trailed off, shaking his head. “Let me do this.”

From her pocket, Old Maggie pulled out seven long blades of grass. She took one, tying it around her finger. She looked at Vanden expectantly, and he offered a hand.

“You sure about this?” Elyse worried.

He nodded. “Yes. I have to find them.”

“Are we allowed to help him?” Sariel asked the woman.

Old Maggie didn’t seem bothered. “Of course, of course.”

“So this isn’t something he has to do on his own.”

“He’s welcome to assume the debt on his own, but you can all help.” She reached forward to tie a blade of grass around Vanden. Old Maggie’s hands appeared soft and plump, but when she touched him, they felt dry, bony, and long. He went a bit pale, but he didn’t say anything.

Old Maggie looked up at his face, acid green eyes staring up at him. “We all wear masks sometimes, don’t we?”

But Vanden wasn’t wearing his mask.

“Don’t worry,” she continued. “It’s nothing more than tradition.”

Vanden swallowed, hard. “Of course. We should be on our way, we don’t want to lose them.”

“Don’t worry. Time is aplenty. Is there anything else I can do for you before you go?”

“You said a fortune,” Sariel wondered. “What does that mean?”

“Come here,” Old Maggie stood, dragging the table over with a grinding. She cleared some space, and pulled a bag of animal bones from a small pouch. There were teeth, jawbones, and some shapes she didn’t recognize. “For this I’ll take gold, but, not necessarily. I can… I can look. Just look at you. Gold, or, whatever else you want to pay with. Something that means something to you.”

Sariel was intrigued. “I can give you gold, but, don’t know if this would mean more…” She took two of the black feathers out of her hair as Old Maggie’s eyes lit up. “Would these do?”

“That’d be wonderful darling.” She took them, poking them into her own hair. She turned to a small mirror on the side, grinning at herself.

“Suits you.”

“Thank you. Please, pull up a cushion. The rest of you, if I can have quiet please.” She took out a vial, pouring out a circle of black chalk on the table. She rolled out a small handful of bones, placing them to Sariel’s hands. “Two images. Roll the bones, in the circle.”

Sariel held them over the table, dropping them in. With a clatter, they fell. Old Maggie stood, studying them. She glanced at Sariel, frowning, and looked back to the bones. After a minute, she stepped back. “I see a knot of chains.” She walked around the table to where Sariel stood. “A white wolf, standing proud over a vengeful kill. That’s what I see, for you.”

“In my future?”

“Your past, your future, your present. Two images. For you though, I have something special, if you wish. You who walk bathed in moonlight… do you wish for the gift of sight?”

From a fold in her robes, she pulled out a small crystal ball. It looked maybe five centimeters in diameter, cracked and shattered, with a bead of red in the center. Sariel had wonder in her eyes. “Can it do what I think it can do?”

“Just the once.”

“Just once.”

“For this…” she looked over to the paintings on the walls, “I’d like to have a painting of your smile, dear.”

“...Alright.”

“Sit down.”

She took about five minutes, a small plate in front of her, with a set of paints and paintbrushes that were pulled from nowhere. There were the sounds of scratchings and soft marks before she turned the plate. It was her beautiful smile.

Old Maggie gave a smile of her own, placing the piece up on a lower shelf before handing over the small ball. “This is all yours, dear.”

“Thank you.” Sariel was practically glowing, transfixed by the item. “Thank you, thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome. Anything else, for anyone else? More tea?”

“Yes please,” Astra nodded.

“It was good tea.”

“It was very good tea.”

“It was good,” Sariel echoed.

“What’s in it?” Boblem asked.

Old Maggie shrugged. “Grass. Fir leaves, a few nettles.”

“Nettles are good for you,” Astra smiled.

“They are good for you.”

Boblem thought. “Some of the things my grandma uses.”

“Hm. Your grandma sounds like a wise woman.” She observed the boy closely. “You seem familiar. Can’t quite place you, but…”

“That’s… odd.”

“Maybe it’s just one of those faces.”

“You seem familiar too.”

Old Maggie chuckled. “Maybe past lives.” She served out more tea, sipping hers while she sat in the rocking chair. “Right, if there’s nothing else.”

“Time is of the essence,” Vanden stood.

“Sorry,” Sariel apologized. “We’ll go.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” the woman hushed her. “Follow Fredrick. Try not to get lost. Mr. Boblem, you should know your way anyhow. I have a feeling.”

At that, the door creaked open, and Fredrick began to wind out the door. “Don’t worry about the horses,” she added. “We’ll sort that out.”

Astra called back as they left. “Thank you for your help!”

They stepped out on the balcony, the door closing behind them.

They were somewhere else.

  
  


It seemed to be nighttime, in a very different forest. Instead of firs and pines, there were twisted trees that looked like hands reaching out in the dark and shadows. Everything was softy illuminated in pale shafts of moonlight breaking through the trees, but at impossible, multiple angles. There was a moon to the east, and a moon to the west, shards of light coming down and burning through in all directions, even horizontally. Trying to focus on anything made their heads hurt. When they looked away, the soft lights in the corners of their eyes twisted and contorted, dancing around the trees to shine towards wherever they looked. As they breathed out, their breath condensed into mist, before freezing and dropping to the decking, shattering as an array of tiny crystals. The hairs on the backs of their arms stood up. Leaves fell off as a breeze blew through, floating softly upwards to disappear into the canopy. Their horses were nowhere to be seen.

“We need to follow Fredrick,” Astra urged. The snake was already sliding down the ladder.

Vanden was shaken. “Where are we?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t think we’ve got the time to talk about it.”

They began to climb down the ladder. The snake moved onto a small path, only a few feet wide, too narrow to walk abreast. The ground looked boggy and peaty, but as they stepped down it became firm under their feet, the earth rising to meet their shoes. Off the side of the trail, thick brambles and thorns snaked from between the trees, moving closer to the path out of the corner of their eyes. Turning to look, they were perfectly still.

Vanden kept his eyes purposefully on the snake. They all sensed multiple presences, and there were things they heard in the woods, shrill laughs, shrieks, cries, odd sounds, calls, and voices beckoning. As Cassian and Boblem looked through the forest, they saw everything… and also nothing. The two swore they could hear their names whispered in the wind. In the forest, all around them was eternal dusklight.

Astra began to understand what was being said on a technical level, but the words and the order did not make sense. Functionally, he understood individual sections, but it was impossible to comprehend. Focusing on one sound, something else would draw his attention.

Those who looked through the trees saw eyes everywhere, gleaming in the dark. Lone eyes, pairs of eyes, clusters of eyes, cat’s eyes, wolf’s eyes, incomprehensible eyes, all blinking in and out of the blackness. Shapes and shadows twisted around trees and through branches. The forest was alive, and very aware of their presence.

They walked on, following the path.

Vanden recalled his brush with the mysterious door back in the mangrove swamps. The whispers were familiar to him. He kept his face down on the snake, refusing to look at anything. “Don’t listen to any of it,” he warned.

“Why does it know our names?” Boblem worried.

“I don’t know, but I felt something like this when we were back in the mangrove swamps. Just don’t pay attention to it. It’ll try and draw you away.”

“This place is clever,” Sariel warned. “We need to be cleverer.”

“Let’s focus on the snake and each other,” Elyse agreed. “Keep moving.”

“Why don't you play a tune, Astra?” Cassian suggested. “Try and drown out the noise?”

“I think I will.” He pulled around his new lute, and began to play as he sang in Sylvan. The sound echoed off the trees. Where dense forest should have absorbed the sound, his voice came back to him in strange echoes, sometimes slower or quicker.

They walked on for a short while, following the snake through the winding path. There was movement, and the shifting of light from a tree off the path. They came up to it, and saw a patch of bioluminescent mushrooms, each the size of a head. They moved and rippled before lifting off from the ground, fluttering across the path and through the air. Four or five of them passed by, glowing blue and purple, and semi-translucent. They drifted through the air with roots dangling behind, leaving a shimmery dust that settled onto Astra, sinking into his skin.

They marched on, Vanden in the front, followed by Elyse, Cassian, Sariel, Boblem, and Astra in the back. As they moved on, Astra’s music grew quieter. Boblem turned around, and the bard was no longer there.

“Astra?” Sariel called.

Boblem looked around the trees. “Astra?”

Astra was stepping through the vines, following the beautiful things, desperately trying to play his music to them.

Elyse sent out a message to him, sending her voice into his mind.  _ "Astra? We can’t see you. Come back to the path.” _

Astra looked around. There was no path. He was in the middle of thicket and forest and vines. He heard a laugh in the near distance. He spoke back to Elyse.  _ "I don’t know where the path is.” _

“What’s he saying?” Vanden prompted.

“He says he doesn’t know where the path is,” Elyse relayed.

“Tell him to close his eyes and cover his ears. Don’t listen to anything.”

She sent another message.  _ “Just don’t pay attention to whatever it is you’re seeing or hearing. Just think about us, and close your eyes, cover your ears, whatever, just try to get back to us.” _

Boblem looked around, but couldn’t see him.

Astra looked around for the path, but… these things were just so pretty. They had to hear his song.

Vanden turned to Elyse. “Have you got rope?”

“Yeah, I’ve got rope. Do you want to send someone- ?”

He took the rope from her, and began to walk back down the path to look for Astra’s footsteps.

“Let’s all hold onto it,” Boblem suggested. “So we don’t lose each other.”

Vanden noticed a patch where the thistle and thorns had been broken through, but the vines were slowly creeping in and reforming. He couldn’t see Astra, but this may have been the path he took. Holding to the rope, he pursued the lead. After thirty seconds of walking through, he found the unmistakable figure of Verdant Astra, plunked on his behind and playing in a small glade.

“Astra!”

Instantly, the tiefling snapped out of it. “Yes?”

“Come here!” Vanden ordered.

“Okay,” he stood up, moving over.

Vanden reached out a hand and grabbed the bard’s wrist, giving the rope a tug. The two began to trek back.

While this was happening, Boblem felt the presence of something looking directly at him, and close. He turned around, and about five meters into the woods, he saw some kind of figure. It looked to be a stag, but two or three times larger than any he had seen before. It had possibly six legs, three eyes on its face. Its coat was dappled blue black, and it seemed to shift and meld into the forest itself. It peered closer towards him, looking Boblem up and down, and the boy stared back at it. “Guys?”

The stag stepped forward, inclining its front legs. It dipped down its head, enormous antlers breaking through the vine and thorn. Between its horns and surrounding them was moonlight, starlight shimmering off the points of the antlers themselves. It closed and opened its eyes, raising its head before turning to walk slowly back into the forest.

Boblem raised his hat. “You’re very polite!”

It disappeared behind a tree, and didn’t come out the other side.

“Very interesting friend you have there,” Cassian observed.

“That’s a very polite stag,” Boblem agreed. “Are they all like that?”

“Don’t know,” Sariel replied. “Never met one like that before.”

“Never met a stag that polite.”

Vanden and Astra rushed back down the path, the prince with a death grip on the teifling’s wrist. “Tie the rope to all of us,” Vanden directed.

“Oh, thank fuck,” Elyse sighed in relief. As she began tying rope around, Cassian glanced to the front. Fredrick was gone.

Boblem looked down, searching desperately for any sign of the snake. There was nothing but peaty ground, and a small cackle from up above. He looked, and saw a very small humanoid figure with blue-black skin, only four or five inches tall, with a pair of dragonfly wings fluttering on its back. It laughed, dropping down. Hanging off a branch, it pointed up the path. “Do we follow?” Boblem wondered.

“We were following the path anyway,” Vanden decided. “What other choice do we have?”

“What other choice do we have,” Elyse agreed. She had tied the rope to him, looping it through those in the middle before tying it again at the back. Cassian gave her a look, backing away from the rope. “So no one wanders off the path again, Cassian,” she reasoned.

Vanden shot a look back to the wizard. “Tolerate this, would you?”

They continued walking, moving fast. The ground began to grow less firm under them, their feet sinking into the bog and peat. They pressed on for another minute, and the path forked.

“Anyone have any ideas?” Elyse surveyed.

Vanden turned up his face, muttering under his breath. “Bahamut, I know this is my duty. Please, give me some form of guidance.”

Boblem closed his eyes, feeling the ground under his feet, trying to feel anything familiar. He looked and looked, and felt… drawn to the left. Ten to fifteen meters into the darkness, where he couldn’t see anything, he saw three eyes standing two or three meters tall before they blinked and disappeared.

“I think it’s that way, guys,” he pointed.

Vanden’s eyes snapped to him. “You sure?”

“I just, I got a feeling. I saw something.”

“I trust you,” Astra nodded.

“Okay,” Vanden pressed on. “Let’s do it.”

“Keep together,” Sariel warned.

They plodded on. It was now hard to pull their feet out from the mud. As they winded around, they looked behind, and the path had completely closed up behind them, thorns and vines creeping up and scratching the backs of their boots. Rounding a corner, they saw a felled tree, a log, with maybe forty to fifty centimeter’s clearance below it. There was a very irritated looking green snake, wound around a knob at the top of the log.

“Well you didn’t have to go ahead without us,” Vanden chided.

Its tail gave a warning shake.

“Polite,” Astra warned him.

“Right, sorry.”

The snake wound around the log and under.

“Let’s go,” Elyse rallied them.

“Keep an eye on it,” Boblem advised.

Sariel gave the boy a nod. “Well done, Boblem.”

They looked over the log, but the snake did not come out the other side.

“Under the log,” Astra realized. “We have to go under.”

It was huge, maybe 20 meters long. Elyse glanced around. “Do we go inside then?”

“We go right inside,” Vanden agreed. He got on his knees, sliding in.

They crawled. It was cramped and wet, bugs and moisture dripping on them. They couldn’t lift their heads up, the trunk squeezing tighter and tighter around them until Vanden broke his elbows out through a patch of damp wood. Suddenly, it was lighter. As they crawled through, the log opened and funneled out. Vanden put his hands out onto dry pine needles, and pulled himself out into daylight, and a familiar wood.

He clawed his way out, lying on his back with a groan. As Elyse came out of the log, she began untying the rope, shoving it back in her bag. Everyone tumbled out, and they found themselves at the edge of a forest, maybe two or three trees from a clearing. They were on a bank, looking out and down to where the ground sloped into a valley.

Fifteen meters to the side were their two horses. They pulled the cart behind as they ate at the pine needles. Looking down the hill, a hundred meters away was a solitary figure, running with a canine shape at their side.

“There he is,” Elyse pointed. “Let’s go.”

Vanden made a bolt for the white horse, throwing himself onto it and kicking the steed into a gallop. Cassian and Elyse started running, preparing spells to attack. Sariel’s form shifted to a familiar white wolf, following. Boblem got on the other horse, and Astra jumped in the cart. The boy carefully maneuvered the animal down the hill, moving slowly to keep the horse and cart steady down the incline.

Vanden pulled the javelin from his back.

As they chased, the sound of the horses alerted the runaway, and the man glanced back with a swear before sprinting away to the treeline. Vanden galloped down the hill, picking up speed. He let loose the javelin, and the rest of the group heard the crack of thunder as an arc of white light split, soaring towards the mercenary.

As it hit, black smoke poured off him. Having sustained injuries in the abbey, the soldier was already looking rough. Vanden saw the familiar armour of the Royal Guard reappropriated and patched on to the mercenary’s outfit. The man spun, turning back to desperately fire off a crossbow bolt. It soared far past.

Cassian and Elyse fired off their spells. They each sent blows towards the mercenary, but their attacks only glanced off the heavy armour. Cassian fired again at the hyena, and the dog went instantly still.

The wolfish form of Sariel appeared, knocking the mercenary to the ground and growling at his face. Vanden slowed his horse, leaning over to take a look. It was a middle aged half-elf, panting and struggling, looking broken and battered.

He swung down off the horse, lowering himself next to the man. He stared down for a moment before plunging his sword into the man’s chest. The coup de grâce. The man went still.

He gave Sariel’s wolfish form a scratch behind the ear.

Cassian and Elyse caught up, panting. The cart trundled down the hill.

“That’s that taken care of,” Elyse nodded. “You alright?”

Vanden stared down at the repurposed patches of Royal Guard armour. He bent to search the man. He found a very small amount of gold, basic adventurers’ equipment, a crossbow, a longsword, and of course, the splint armour. There was also a green and red bag with a gnarled face on it. Vanden took a few crossbow bolts, as well as the sword, while Elyse grabbed the small bag.

Vanden took a final look at the body. “That’s done.”

“We can proceed to Shadebourne at whatever pace you want now,” Elyse replied. “You don't have to worry.”

“I think fast is still good though,” Cassian advised.

“Of course, but we don’t have to… you know.”

Astra looked over at the scene from the cart. “Maggie was telling the truth.”

“Yeah,” Elyse nodded. “She was immensely powerful.”

“I kinda sensed… she wasn’t all she seemed,” Boblem warned.

“Oh, obviously not, but what powerful person is?”

“When she touched my hands…” Vanden began, reflecting. “Hers were thin, and withered, and bony.”

“Hm. Some kind of spell altering her appearance?”

Astra frowned. “We all wear masks, she said.”

“Yeah. Who are we to judge hers,” Elyse shrugged.

The wolfish form of Sariel gave Vanden a look, asking if he was done. Vanden gave a nod, and she began to drag away the corpse, digging a hole in the loose earth before kicking the body over into the shallow grave. She returned to the cart, reforming as herself, brushing the dirt from her clothes.

They stood, confident that the Weeping Eye would not be receiving any message of ambush.

“Thank you Sariel,” Vanden nodded.

“It’s okay.”

“Well done,” Boblem agreed.

“Well done, everyone.” Sariel glanced up at the position of the sun. It seemed that barely any time had passed, maybe an hour at most. “She’s very good.”

The prince shifted, clearly uncomfortable. “I’m just… not in a hurry to replicate that experience.”

“I did not care for that,” Boblem agreed.

“Are you okay, Astra?”

The bard gave a nod. “Not sure what happened, but yes.”

“How did you get lost?” Elyse pressed.

“...Just felt like I needed to play my music to them. So I followed.”

“Was it like… did you hear things? When you heard the dryad speaking to you?”

He shook his head.

She frowned. “Well, it’s done now. Let’s keep going.”

Astra met eyes with Vanden. “Thank you for coming back for me.”

“I’m not going to leave you,” he replied.

The bard smiled back. Vanden pulled out his compass, getting a bearing on their direction. It would probably be three or four days before they hit the mountains. “Let’s get underway.”

“Right,” Cassian nodded. “Shadebourne.”

“Shadebourne,” Sariel agreed.

“I got the cart,” Boblem gestured. “Unless everybody else wants to run again…”

“I’ll sit in the cart,” Cassian announced.

Astra looked to Vanden expectantly. “I’m sorry, when can we get the boat back out?”

“There’s somewhere we’ll reach a river,” he explained.

“And when will that be?”

“A couple of days?”

“Soon, don't worry,” Elyse assured him.

The bard did not look assured. “A couple of days? Okay…”

“Is there something you need from your bag?” Vanden guessed.

Astra furrowed his brow. “Yes. Okay, let’s keep going then. Quickly.”

“We’ll move fast.”

“Yeah,” Elyse agreed. “We were going to move fast anyway, don’t worry.”

“Won’t be long.”

“What is it that you’re worried about?” Boblem asked.

Astra shifted. “Just to have it, I guess. Just, the sooner I can get my bag back, the better.”

“Okay. We better hurry.”

They rode on, beginning the journey.

  
  


The first night, they rode over gently sloping farmland, past fields of wheat, corn, and grain. It was late summer, and everything was in full bloom. One night, as the dusk set in, they passed a field of sunflowers. The light hit off them in a gold and yellow glow, filling them with warmth.

Elyse was a bit more focused and relaxed. There were still elements of tension in her, but now that her injury had been healed, she was more centered. She identified the red and green bag, learning that it was a Bag of Holding. It had much more space inside than it appeared. Excitedly, she relayed her discovery to the rest of the group, comparing it to the bag the pastry chef in Lakeside used. As they travelled, she continued practicing with the thieves' tools, reading the book she had borrowed from Vanden, meditating with her focus, and using her new paints to add to the sketches in her journal.

Vanden was quiet for most of the week. The first few days he didn’t eat or sleep much, just completing the bare minimum of basic tasks to keep his strength for the next day. He didn’t really speak unless spoken to. He found quiet spaces to practice with Jocelyn’s sword, as well as the new sword he had grabbed from the mercenary. It was well made, and sharp, though not particularly ornate or embellished. He spent a significant amount of time practicing, but they just weren’t the same as his own blade. When it was dark, he was quieter, staring into the distance. He didn’t mention his new vision ability to the others. He tended to the horses, busying himself to ensure he never had a free moment to sit. After a while, he asked to borrow Elyse’s book on arcane foci.

“Just because… I need something to do,” he explained.

“Fair enough… doesn’t seem like your kind of thing, though.”

“Not really, but.”

“Maybe you’ll learn something,” she shrugged. “Become more at peace with this magic thing.”

“I don’t think so.”

She handed him the book. It was covered in her own notes, in a language he couldn’t read. “You know… how to put this without pissing you off again,” she chuckled, thinking.

Vanden eyed her. “You can speak, I’ll try to hold my tongue.”

“I know what it’s like to… be… wary of your own ability. But I can say, pretty safely, that… understanding it will make it so much easier. Running away from it, and trying to shun it won’t do anything for you.”

“I’m not trying to run away from it.”

“Okay. I… prefer it when we get along. When we put our heads together, rather than butting them all the time. I think... it’s very obvious to me that we come from very different backgrounds, and upbringings, but I feel like we have some similar ability? In some senses? And… we work well together. All of us do, of course.”

“I can see you’ve got skill.”

She rolled her eyes. “Thanks. Anyway, I was gonna say that… I dunno how well you know Shadebourne, but I’m pretty good at getting my bearings in cities, finding roots around, and ways to travel that aren’t as obvious, things like that.”

“Well, when we can get the ship out, I have a map.”

“Of the city?”

“I bought it in Farrelstadt. I intend on studying it, finding out everything I can. I appreciate you being here for this.”

“Well, you helped me. So I said I would help you.”

He paused. “I can tell you’re pretty… young.”

“And?” She bristled.

“That’s not… I don’t mean that in a derogatory way. I was doing things this dangerous when I was younger too. I just… you shouldn’t have to go through things like this.”

“Well, I'm starting to think that maybe, despite the fact that I may have been one of the less experienced people on my crew, I might have actually been doing this longer than a lot of the people here. Maybe not Sariel, just based on pure mathematics, but. I dunno. I get the impression Cassian didn’t leave Mirrortail much before he joined up with us. I don’t know. Again, pure mathematics though.”

Vanden shrugged. “Everyone gets experience in their own way. I’ve been studying everything I do for a very long time, I haven't been out in the world much.”

“Yeah, I’ve also been… studying many things for a long time. And even though I've been really off my game, uhh… “

“You’ve been doing well. Considering the circumstances. I can’t really ask too much of ourselves, can I? We’re going through hell, Elyse.”

“I guess. This was never how this was all meant to turn out.”

“Tell me about it.”

“And I’m sure you feel the same way. And… I’m so sorry, about your parents- ”

“Don’t,” he shook his head. “Don’t. Don’t let me think about it.”

“I- okay. Fine,” she quieted. She wanted to say something else, but Vanden walked away. She flipped through her research journal, looking over the notes.

  
  


Over the journey, Sariel meditated with her crystal ball, aside from the others. She did her best to picture what was around the next corner, training and practicing her scrying. It didn’t seem to go anywhere, but in the night, she had vivid, fitful, and concerning dreams that she couldn’t remember in the morning, except for the feelings of worry and concern.

The fields changed from farmland to gently rolling hills. In the distance, they would curve up more, but there weren’t any physical landmarks around besides small groups of trees. They came to a small pond. Astra stared at it, on the edge of his seat.

Boblem noticed how anxious he was. “Do you wanna try?”

“Do you think it’s big enough?” He looked over, observing, but the pond was quite small. “Okay, okay it’s not big enough, we can just move on.”

Vanden glanced over, a bit concerned. “Astra, is it urgent?”

The tiefling took a few deep breaths. “It’s okay, let’s just… Yes. No, I’m fine. I’m fine.”

Elyse looked over, worried. “Is there something in there that’s gonna…?”

“No, it’s fine, we can keep moving.”

“Okay,” Vanden shrugged. They kept moving.

While trying to keep an eye on the road, Boblem began to map out the journey so far in his new journal, trying to remember what he could. He was able to place the town where he had left the farm, moving from there to Farrelstadt, then Mirrortail, crossing the channel to Jennick’s Village, Sanskra, Lakeside, and then across to Bramley’s Nook. Where they had walked through the strange forest after Old Maggie’s guidance, he came to a blank.

He was a long way from home.

Elyse rummaged through her bag, pulling out a quill, a pencil, and small bottle of ink. “I don’t know if you already have one, but I did say I would give you my spares.”

Boblem turned. “Oh, thank you! I’ve just been using a twig and some berries. I appreciate this!”

She laughed. “I have spares, so yeah, please use them.”

“Do I owe you money? Do you need anything?”

“No, no. I didn’t pay for it, so,” she winked.

“Hmmmm. Okay…”

  
  


Night fell once more, with Vanden and Sariel on watch. As Sariel finished up with the glass ball, Vanden walked over to take a seat next to her.

“Sariel.”

“Hello, Vanden.”

“We haven’t spoken for awhile, huh?”

“No,” she agreed. “I suppose not. And I suppose there is something I’ve been meaning to say to you, but… I guess I’ve been too embarrassed to say it. I didn’t treat you particularly well, when we first met. And, for a while, after then… I wanted to apologize. I feel like I… misjudged you. And, tarnished you with a brush that you didn’t deserve.”

“You don’t need to apologize to me. I believe you’re someone who… is true to themselves, no matter what.”

“I try to be. But, I was too quick to judge on this occasion.”

“I didn’t make myself easy to trust.”

She considered. “I don’t suppose any of us did.”

“I’ve noticed something different in you. This last week or so.”

“How so?”

Vande paused for a moment, thinking. “I can’t really put my finger on it, it’s… there’s a fierceness to you that I didn't realize in the beginning. And, I appreciate the way you’ve been, since you found out- well, since Jocelyn came by. Very much on my side. I didn’t see that from you.”

“Well, you picked me up when I was down. And that was the first indication that you weren’t who I thought you were.”

He gave a nod. “I trust you, Sariel. Implicitly.”

“I trust you too.”

“You’re someone I didn’t think I’d say that too.”

“No, nor did I. You were the person I trusted the least when we all met.”

“There is… something… untamed. About you. With so much potential. I know there’s no ranks here, but if this were back home, I’d want to see you make an officer.” She looked genuinely taken aback as he spoke. “You’d be a good second in command.”

“Goodness…”

“I think, with a little bit more restraint in the way you fight… you would be indomitable.”

She looked a bit offended at the first bit, but after some thought, agreed. “I suppose you’re right. A lot of what I do, I do it on impulse, and instinct.”

“I can tell you're not a soldier.”

“Far from it.”

“And I wouldn’t want you to be,” Vanden amended. “I just… there are some things you could learn about being in the fray, and don’t think I haven’t noticed that more frequently than not you've put yourself on the front lines with us.”

“Again, it’s the impulse thing, I suppose.”

“Well you’re good at it, and you should… you  _ should _ be doing that.”

She looked to the ground. “I suppose I’ve caught myself thinking... I wish I had your restraint. And your control over yourself.”

“It is many, many years of practice. But I’m very sure you’re capable of it.”

“I don’t know if I am at the moment.”

“You’ll get there. If you ever want to practice,” he shrugged, “In any capacity. I do have a request, though.”

“Hm?”

“I… I can’t bear to lose anybody else, Sariel. After Astra, after we nearly lost him to manticores, I said the same thing to him. You need… better defenses. Armour. Something. If you’re gonna get hurt, I don’t wanna lose you.”

She smiled a bit. “Never thought I’d hear you say those words.”

“Well, just think about it, okay?”

“I’ll think about it. You should know that… if you did want to work more closely with me, on the frontlines… I suppose the reason for my lack of restraint, lack of control, lack of composure, when it comes to things like this… I carry a lot of resentment, a lot of anger. A  _ lot _ of anger. But most of all, a lot of guilt. Which, I think you can understand.”

“I can.”

“I suppose I’m saying that if you… need to talk about anything like that. You shouldn’t feel like you have to, but just know that I’m here to listen if you need to.”

“I’m not really one for talking, but the offer stands for you too.”

“I’m also not one for talking,” she smiled. “I think this is the longest conversation we’ve ever had.”

“Oh, I definitely know that this is. Don’t let anyone else know we’re friends,” he teased.

She smiled.

“Well,” he stood, “I better leave you to it before this becomes too much talking.”

“Oh, couldn’t possibly,” she teased back. “Leave me alone, go away.”

He gently squeezed her shoulder before walking off.

On the third evening of their journey, they crested a larger hill, with a small stone structure on a round dias with a column through the middle. The column was inscribed with all manner of plants, leaves, flora, fauna, and animals. Vanden recognized it as a shrine to Melora.

Astra looked over the hill, searching desperately for water. About a mile away, a ribbon of blue cut through at the bottom of the hill. “I’d really like to go and get the boat out, if that’s okay?” he pleaded. “And I’ll just come back up?”

Vanden nodded. “I need to get something too.”

“I’ll come with you,” Elyse offered.

There were a few people around, and they had to wait about half an hour for them to clear out. Astra was incredibly antsy, holding the bottle with the boat. He unleashed the Lyrabird on the river as soon as he could. A few trails of smoke came off it, as if time had been frozen since the dragon attack. Astra zipped out, vaulting over the side of the boat and diving for his bag. It was exactly how he had left it. With a sigh of relief, he went to lie back on the floor.

“Everything how you wanted it to be?” Elyse called down.

“Yes.”

“Good.”

Elyse went to the chest, gathering out some of the money. Vanden followed, grabbing the map of Shadebourne. Putting the ship back in the bottle, they hiked back up the hill to where the others were making camp. Following the dim light of the fire, they found the other three around the stone ring, and they settled down for another night. They looked out, the forests and plains and farmlands behind them, with more dramatic hills in their future.

Elyse sat back in the cart, casting an alarm around herself. Astra was completely relaxed with his bag, finally taking an interest in the shrine when he returned.

The column was two meters tall, like an obelisk. Each face had gorgeous, beautiful carvings. It was very old, and the details were weathered and worn, faded off. There were deer, centaurs, fawns, lions, boars, and all sorts of creatures surrounded by plants and grapes and wheat, the imagery of bounty and flora and fauna. It was hard to work out how old the structure was, but there were clusters and clusters of flowers and plants at the base. The stone circle itself was probably about a twenty foot radius, an unbroken circle. The edge was two feet high, and two feet thick. In between the patches of flowers, they saw burned earth, the remnants of many fires, as if over the years people had been here to sit inside and face the pillar, resting to make this place their camp. They were not the first, nor would they be the last, to rest here. There was a sense of calm, and a very strong connection to nature in this place. It felt like being back in the forests.

Astra ran his fingers over the carvings, feeling at peace as he sat, though he had no comprehension of what it was.

  
  


They rested, Boblem and Vanden taking watch together.

“Do you know what this is, Boblem?”

He looked up at the stone. “Really fancy building?”

“This is a shrine to the Goddess Melora, the Goddess of nature.”

“Oh, wow. Do you worship her?”

“She’s not my primary deity, but, in Mirrortail we worship her for safe passage over the seas. Some people do that to Avandra, but, she’s the goddess of travel. The woods, the trees, you can feel her in the wind. I feel very close to her out here, as much as I don’t like being out in the woods.”

“Why don’t you like it? I think it’s quite wonderful.”

“Not really my speed, I guess. I spent most of my life… cooped up inside, or on a ship.”

“Did you like that?”

He thought. “It was… fine enough, I suppose.”

“Hm. I’ve been meaning to ask... I know you’ve recently been going through a lot. With what we found out. How are you… feeling?”

“I’m fine.”

Boblem looked at him. “Are you just saying that ‘cuz you feel like you have to be fine?”

“...Yes. I have to be fine. It doesn’t matter what I’m feeling, Boblem. I have something I need to do, I still have a chance of saving my brother. It doesn’t matter at all how I’m feeling right now.”

“I think it matters. It always matters.”

Vanden shook his head. “I don’t have time to grieve.”

“I understand that. But… I think it’s important to acknowledge your emotions. To not let them swallow you whole. ‘Cuz… if you don’t acknowledge them, they tend to get out anyway. Just, leak out from whatever box you put them in. At least, if you acknowledge them, you know where they are. And you keep an eye on them. I know it’s not easy to lose a father. I was only five when mine died, but...”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Boblem replied. “I’m sorry for your loss. We’ll always miss them.”

“I don’t really believe it yet, to be honest. I’m not sure I believe anything out of that creature's mouth.”

“We’ll save your brother. We’ll be here for you. We’ve got this.”

“I know.” He cleared his throat. “If you’ve got the watch, I’ve got a few prayers to say.”

“Yeah, I’ve got the watch.”

  
  


After three days, Cassian finished his project. He was constantly crouched over in a corner of the cart, furiously working through the nights.

On their fourth night of travel, they had crossed the river, now in heavy hills that rolled and sloped, with longer ridges and valleys in the distance. The time for watch came, and Elyse slid over to speak to Astra in the night.

“Firstly, I want to check in on you. Make sure you’re okay? I know that fighting in this manner isn’t your thing, so I just…”

“I didn’t fight.”

“Yeah, but- ”

“But I’m fine,” Astra assured her. “I do appreciate it.”

“I have another favour to ask you. If you wouldn’t mind, it’s a bit convoluted, but you mentioned… you have the ability to cast a spell that can send a message to someone across a great distance?”

“I’ve only recently figured out how to do it.”

She nodded. “Have you used it before?”

“Once.”

“And it worked?”

“Yes.”

“I’m vaguely familiar with it,” she admitted, “But I can’t cast it myself. I was wondering if you’d be able to send a message to someone for me, but I can’t be certain it’s gonna work ‘cuz you don’t know them, but… I was gonna ask the priest in the temple to do it, but I’d much rather ask someone I trust to do it.”

“We can try.”

“I have drawings of them, I can make myself look like them, anything that will help make it work?”

“Okay.”

“I’d also… this is complicating matters further, but I’d appreciate it if I could try and teach you the message in another language, and you can send it in another language.”

He tilted his head, unsure. “...I mean… sure? I can definitely try…”

“I’d really appreciate it.”

“What is it? I’d kind of like to know what I’m saying…”

“Of course,” she took out her research journal, flipping through the pages to find an old painting of the man. He had brown skin, blue eyes, and long, dark hair in a messy ponytail with a scraggly beard. “His name is Khalev. He is a member of my crew, and assuming this Kenrah was telling the truth, he is imprisoned in Arakhis and not dead. And I need him to know I’m alive, and I’m not going to abandon him.”

Her form shifted into the man. Tall and imposing, the figure wore a disheveled leather jacket with spiked shoulder pads and a long red and gold scarf, with blue robes underneath. Elyse tried to imitate Khalev, casting some spells and imitating his speech. It was a pretty good impression. “In common, the message would say; I’m Elyse’s friend Astra, Elyse has the soul and she won’t fail you again. Are you and the others okay? Respond in Common.”

She began teaching Astra how to say it in Fulgan. They practiced, and the entire process took about two hours as the bard tried to repeat the basic sounds.

Astra cast out the message, but he felt something actively block it from being received. She stared at him, waiting. “Did it work? Did he reply?”

“Something blocked it.”

She put her head in her hands, letting out a groan. “I knew that might be a possibility.”

“I’m sorry.”

Elyse was completely distraught. “Is it something… you did in the spell? Or is it an outside force? Can we try again?”

“I have a feeling that it’s an outside thing. It felt like there was something in the way. I’m sorry.”

“Well, thank you for trying.”

Astra put an arm around her, holding her close. She went tense, giving him a quick hug back before walking away to sit by herself. For the first time since everything had happened, she wasn’t able to hold it in anymore. As quietly as she could, she bawled her eyes out, head in her arms.

  
  


After a few hours, Cassian and Sariel swapped for the next shift. The wizard led Sariel to sit a bit away from where the others were sleeping.

“Been awhile since we’ve had a get together,” he began.

“Yes. How are you?”

“I’m... good. How are you?”

“I’m alright.”

“I have something for you.”

“What?”

“I… it’s easier to show you.”

Cassian turned around, pulling over the large pouch he had been carrying around with him. He started to unravel it, laying the items out. First, a white blouse with lace around the neck and loose sleeves. Next, a skirt, sort of grey, with a purple piece at the front. The back had the same shape, but with a wolf’s pelt. There were two leather braces, also with wolf’s pelt, wrapped around with cord. Finally, there was a pair of lighter grey leggings with hand embroidered arcane sigils up both sides. He placed them all out in front of her. “Um, I thought… perhaps, you would like something that’s not… I don’t mean to call your outfit cobbled together, but…”

“Oh it is,” she assured him.

“It didn’t seem like that was your choice.”

“No, none of this was mine.”

It was clear in the style that Cassian had tried not to assume what she would like, instead taking what she was already wearing as inspiration. She was dumbstruck, looking over it all in shock.

“I bought the materials when we were in Lakeside,” he explained.

She gasped. “Have you been doing that since Lakeside?”

“...Yes, it’s what I’ve been hiding from the rest of you.”

“You did this for me?”

“Well, yes. It’s… might as well put some of my skills from home to good use.”

There were tears in her eyes. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“I wanted to. Sariel, like it or not, you deserve to have nice things.”

She was fully crying now. “Thank you… thank you so much.”

“You’re very welcome, um…”

“Like I said, none of this was... originally mine. I’ve never had anything this nice to call my own.”

He nodded, looking back at her. “Well, it was made just for you, so.”

She hugged him. He flinched for a moment, tentatively hugging back. “While I have your ear…” he pushed back from her, offering out a hand. She took it.

Cassian was quiet for a moment as he formed his words. “I call you fierce a lot, and… you fight very bravely. But, if you want to be on the front lines, you’re going to have to protect yourself a bit more. Alright?”

“You’re not the first person to say that to me.”

He gave an approving nod. “Whoever said that before is sensible.”

“Very,” Sariel grinned to herself.

He shifted a bit, still holding her hand. “I don’t have many people that I am comfortable calling a friend. And… I would hate to lose one. And if you’re going to throw yourself at the enemy all willy nilly, not caring if you live or die, perhaps think that… someone would care if you’d die.”

“Oh…” she wiped her eyes, smiling at him. “You bastard, you bastard….”

Cassian laughed. “That’s not the first nor the last time I’ll hear that, but why?”

“It’s just something I never really thought about before.” She shook her head, steadying herself. “I never had the money, I didn't have anything, before I met all of you. I had nothing.”

Cassian met her eyes. “Well, you have this now, so.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s okay.”

_ "Thank  _ you.”

“It’s  _ okay." _

She took a deep breath. “Then yes. I guess I shall take yours, and some other very sensible person’s, advice.”

Cassian studied her. “It was Vanden, wasn’t it.”

“No, what makes you think that?” She smiled at him, teasing.

He looked away for a moment, tutting. “Well, keep your head on your shoulders.”

“You too.”

The two elves sat together, quietly. The night went on.

  
  


They were coming to the end of their journey. Their rations weren’t dangerously low yet, but they were looking thin. Over the course of the week, a few of them foraged for berries, fruit, and grain, while others hunted. They found fresh water easily enough.

Astra played his music as they rode in the cart, and Cassian slid to sit next to him, listening until the bard finished.

“I believe I owe you a song.”

Astra smiled. “I believe you do.”

“Music is good in times like these. I think it would be especially comforting to hear something that reminds me of home, in a way.”

“Hum it to me, then. I can play it, and you can sing it.”

“Yes, I think that would be agreeable.”

Cassian began to hum, trying to demonstrate the melodies. Astra listened attentively, playing along. After a while, Cassian began to sing in Ospeian. He didn’t fully know all of the translations, but the songs were all very grand, about dramatic topics of love, tragedy, and loss. He seemed to be enjoying himself, as was the bard.

After a bit of this, he stopped. “So, what ones do you know in Sylvan? Teach me something back.”

Astra smiled at him. “I’ve actually been writing a few.”

Cassian raised his eyebrows at that, leaning back. “Really? A Verdant Astra original?”

The bard laughed, a bit embarrassed.

“No, no, play. I’d like to hear it,” the wizard encouraged.

“Give me a few more days,” Astra grinned.

“Alright. A song for a song.”

“Sure.”

Instead, Astra taught him a song that had been passed to him by his mother. Cassian sang along in duet.

  
  


They pressed on for two more days, moving though much hillier land. They began climbing a ridge, the smudge of the mountains visible northward as they pressed on. At the bottom of the valley, they saw the remnants of a long ruined city. Cassian and Vanden both recognized it as the city of Kahresh, destroyed several hundred years ago. Vanden slowed his horse, pointing out the ruins to the others. “One of the lost cities.”

“Kahresh,” Cassian nodded.

“Yes.”

“What happened to it?” Sariel asked.

“The last war that the continent saw,” Vanden explained. “A man named Asomus Galayan came down from the hills and… sought vengeance on the cities in the valleys. Lakeside, Shadebourne, this one, and there’s another ruin…”

“Why?”

“They were cutting down all the trees in his forest to make siege weapons. And he brought reams of forces out of the woods. Started a campaign to tear the cities down, it lasted fifteen years. Back in 768.”

“Fifteen years,” Sariel echoed, surprised.

“He tried to take down Shadebourne, but they were too fortified, too impossibly powerful. They couldn't breach the walls, they fled back into the fields. Shadebourne and Lakeside went rallying troops from the Lake Lords. They met them out on open ground, and then… demolished them. Left the remnants of the cities behind. War like that, I’m just glad we don't have to see it anymore, you know?”

“Quite,” Cassian agreed.

Boblem looked over to the city. “The amount of lives that must have been lost…”

Vanden nodded. “Just… innumerous. Two whole cities, raised to the ground.”

“Horrifying,” Astra grimaced.

“It is. The continent was horrified. It brought all the cities together, to form an alliance after that.”

“Against what?” Boblem asked.

“Against anyone who should hope to invade, disturb the peace. Against dark magic.”

“Well,” Sariel reflected, “I suppose one good thing came out of all that horror.”

Vanden sighed. “Yes. That’s what the wardens do. Lot of ghosts down there, I imagine.”

“The wardens?” Astra pressed.

“The wardens of Caldera.”

“That’s one of the names that Jocelyn called you.”

He paused. “...Yes. That’s why I know so much about this.”

Boblem blinked. “That’s what you do?”

“That’s one of my duties,” he explained. “I am the warden of the east. Just a title, really, but, should something like this happen again… the four of us would be called upon to rally troops against them. Prevent war.”

“Four of you?” Sariel prompted.

“Warden of the east, the north, the south, the west.”

“We should let it rest.”

“Best to leave the ghosts alone,” Cassian agreed.

“Quite,” Vanden echoed.

The smudge of the mountains became a distinct line of grey against the silhouette of sky. They were a morning away from Shadebourne. They moved down into the trough of a low valley, finding a suitable spot to make camp, parking the cart under an overhang of earth and a few gentle trees.

Vanden addressed the group. “You’ve all done amazings things for me this week. I’m so glad I have all of you here with me. You know, back in Bramley’s Nook in the tavern, after the abbey fight… Aerenthias said something to me. Well, he said it to all of us. At the time I was a little taken aback by it, but… we really are a party of adventurers, aren’t we? Considering what we’ve done.”

“Yes,” Elyse grinned.

“How very cliché of us,” Sariel teased.

Boblem smiled. “We are a team!”

“Quite,” Vanden nodded. “Of all the things I ever thought I’d be doing with my life, adventuring through the wilderness with a group of misfits is not one of them.”

“Thanks,” Elyse smirked.

Boblem grinned at the word choice. “Hey!”

“I say that,” Vanden amended, “With kindness in my heart.”

“We know,” Elyse teased.

Cassian was still scrunching his face at the phrasing, staring at Vanden.

The prince glanced over, noticing. “Don’t look at me like that, Cassian,” he chided.

“I wasn’t looking at you.” He moved his eyes to the ground.

“I don’t know what awaits us in Shadebourne,” Vanden continued. “I have no idea. Probably, more terrible things. More fighting.”

“We can handle it,” Elyse grinned.

“More city guards accusing us of doing things we haven’t done.”

“Same old, same old,” Cassian shrugged.

“I just wanted to say... I couldn’t think of a better group of people to be traveling with.”

“Likewise,” Sariel nodded.

Astra looked around at the others. “Agreed.”

“I haven’t known you very long,” Vanden considered, “But I’m glad that I met you all.”

Elyse quietly turned away, rubbing her face.

“We’ll probably reach Shadebourne some point midday, maybe tomorrow,” he continued. “I’ll be taking a leaf out of Elyse’s book, and I’ll be using my cousin’s name in the city.”

“Is that okay?” Elyse worried. “With what’s going on?”

“Yes, completely removed side of the family, but,” he held up his finger, “Signet ring will still hold some power.”

“That’s useful.”

“So, Lord Marquis.”

“And to make things easier,” Elyse added, “I’ll go by Aisha again. Since there weren’t any dragonborn in Lakeside.”

“Do we call you Lord?” Boblem asked, confused. “Or just, Marquis?”

“Dorian,” he explained.

“Dorain?” Elyse grinned.

Vanden rolled his eyes. “I know.”

“Oh, I pity him.”

“I think it rolls off the tongue quite nicely,” the wizard countered.

“In your accent, it does,” Sariel agreed.

Cassian demonstrated with a grin.  _ "Dorian." _

“Marquis,” Sariel prompted.

_ "Marquis," _ he repeated.

They laughed.

“Shadebourne has a tiered class system, as far as I know,” Vanden warned them. “The further up the city you climb, the harder it is to get through the gates. So I don’t know what we need to do. I don’t expect the Weeping Eye barracks to be too far up the city, but just be aware of that.”

“Well, we’ve got people who can disguise themselves,” Elyse thought. “We’ve got your signet ring. Between that, I’m sure we can make do easily enough.”

“If we keep our heads down,” Astra nodded, “We’ll be fine.”

“Let’s try not to get in trouble this time,” Vanden warned. “I was hoping we could find some accommodations straight away. Spend several days scouting out the Charnel House. I know all of you have skills that would be very useful.”

“Whatever you need,” Astra nodded.

“Thank you. I know I can rely on you.”

They took watch and rest, sleep coming to them all. They pressed on in the morning, at first light. Cresting a slight hill, they saw the fortress city of Shadebourne a few miles away, a monument to dwarven architecture and majesty carved out of the mountains themselves. Seven layered tiers in dark granite walls rose into the heights. A forest of towers, turrets, and spires poked out from behind. They saw indomitable statues flanking huge gatehouses into the city, zigzagged slopes leading tier to tier. The city, cresting out from behind the tier walls, grew taller and more intricate as the layers ascended. The whole city lay in gloom, shaded by the sun from the mountains behind.

They had arrived at Shadebourne.


	31. City Of Shadows, Episode Twenty-Eight

They approached. Elyse put her headscarf on, disguising herself as a nondescript woman with brown skin and black hair, wearing more simple clothing.

“How do you want to go about this?” Sariel asked, turning to Vanden. “Just knock and walk in, or…? I don’t know how it works here.”

“That’s a good question,” he thought. “I’m not sure.”

“Surely you go in like any other city,” Cassian suggested. “But, you can’t go past a certain point without documentation, or proof of status.”

Elyse nodded. “Surely we would be allowed in the lower tiers, right?”

“I would expect so,” Vanden agreed.

Astra looked forward, towards the walls. “I guess we have to just go find out. Do you want to disguise yourself first though, Vanden?”

“I’m not going to be disguising myself.”

“Oh, you’re not?”

“No one knows my face up here.”

“Are you gonna wear the mask?” Boblem asked.

“No no no, I couldn’t pull off being a Lord if I was going to do that.” He tied up his hair, very neatly. He was now wearing the blue doublet, and his nicest shirt, riding ahead of the others on the white horse.

They pressed forward, joining a path of other carts moving into the city. People were coming in and out of all sorts of manner. There were some who looked like troops, as if some kind of military, as well as traders and caravans. As they approached, the city was all they could see, rising up and up and up into the mountains. At the gates, they could no longer see the top of it all.

Two huge statues of heavily armoured dwarven warriors carved out of the same granite of the walls flanked the gates. The doors were open, and there were people moving through. There saw the glint of spears and armour, with other guards standing by the gate, but they didn’t seem to stop anyone.

“It’s a bit grey, isn’t it?” Astra observed.

“Yeah,” Elyse agreed.

“I suppose let’s just keep quiet,” Vanden urged. “And keep moving in.”

Cassian nodded. “Just another group of travellers going about their business.”

They headed up to the gate, joining the funnel. They slowed as people narrowed in, making their way though. There were six guards on the ground, with twenty or thirty others up on the wall, keeping watch. They wore spiked helmets, chainmail, black shields with silver trim, and capes. Stepping under the shadow of the gate, the clamour of the city hit them.

People yelling, people moving, the sound of smiths, and the rattle of carts and horseshoes over dark cobbled streets echoed through the air. Stepping through the gate, they looked over what could only be described as slums. Houses were stacked on top of each other, some leaning to, a couple with windows and doors broken through. They saw plenty of people sitting on doorways, wrapped in rags with their heads down. People moved through in groups, sticking to themselves, with not much space between them. Small patrols of guards moved through in sixes and eights, carving steady paths between.

The main road led up, winding around slightly out of sight. The second tier was in the middle distance, imposing walls rising before them. Vanden slowed his horse, falling back in line with the cart. “I think we should keep going, to see how far we can get.”

“Straight to the second tier?” Elyse clarified.

“See how much we can get through.”

“Sure.”

They pushed through, and they drew a lot of eyes. People walking through stopped and looked up at them with a manner of expressions. A few people held up hands or little pans, not making much eye contact, despondent. Elyse and Boblem offered out a few coins. They saw people backed up against alleyways with crossed arms and hoods up, tracking them with their eyes as they moved though, though none of them seemed to follow the cart for any time. The guard took note of them moving through, looking them all up and down, taking mental note of the band of adventurers.

The city angled up slightly, and once they had pushed past the main slums, the buildings became slightly more upright as they approached the wall. They could make out the zigzag leading to the gate.

Sariel looked particularly grim, her jaw clenched and fury shaking off her. Cassian put a hand on her shoulder.

“How can they set up a society like this?” she hissed.

“It’s miserable here,” Boblem agreed.

“Yeah,” Elyse shrugged. “That’s the way it is in some places.”

They pushed through, making their way up the route and the steep hill. They moved up the path, the streets designed in a zigzag for carts and horses to climb the slope. After forty-five minutes of winding through, they stopped at the top, looking back at the array before them. The houses and buildings were blackened and mold ridden. They heard a distinct clamour, and a few meters away a large fight was breaking out between six or seven people. A guard rushed over, pulling people off each other.

They turned, heading through the second gate. There were more guards at this point, though the doors were still open. The second tier looked marginally better than the first, with a bit more organization to the rows of buildings, but they were by no means pleasant. The smell of rotten food spilled out onto the street, and more than one or two people were lying face down with bottles by their hands. There were a fair few beggars, though not as many. A lot of the people around were bearing weaponry, shields, fairly simple armour, leathers, swords, or crossbows. Some were walking around individually, though some bore similar heraldry in twos or threes or fours. The largest group they saw was a band of ten soldiers, all marked the same.

Vanden didn’t see any gnolls, or anything that suggested the presence of the Weeping Eye. They pushed past into the second tier, and saw a temple of Kord, built of the same blue-grey marble stone. There were signposts pointing down a large path, and people were following the direction to a gate carved into the mountainside itself, an enormous open door leading into a tunnel. The door to the Underdark.

“I say we push ahead,” Vanden repeated.

“And see how far up we can get,” Astra nodded.

“If we want to have any sort of allyship with anyone in the city who would have impact, we should try and get as high up as we can.”

“And I guess, it would be useful to stay in a different district to…” Elyse trailed off as Vanden cleared his throat. “You know where,” she finished.

Astra looked around. “Don’t think it would suit much for somebody pretending to be a Lord to be on this level anyway.”

“No, not at all,” Vanden agreed. “That’s not gonna work. Let's just ride on to the next gate, and just… heads up. Don’t look around too much.”

It was almost another hour before they reached the third tier gate, and the horses were looking tired. They stopped to feed them a bit before pushing on. At the third tier gate, they saw the heavy presence of guards. There were people wearing rags and trousers being turned away, insisting that they needed to get through while people in more organized armour were waved inside.

As the cart came up, the guard stopped them, looking them over before silently beckoning them through. Sariel was wearing her new outfit. She had ceremoniously burned her old ones.

They pushed into the third tier. The buildings and roads had more organization now, in a kind of grid system. They were certainly less clumped and randomly thrown together like the tiers below. The area was still gloomy, with a lack of direct sunlight, but most buildings were made of stone or brick rather than cobbled together in wood. They passed a few taverns; The Laborers Bar, The Devil And Duchess, The Hawks Bottle. They also passed what Vanden recognized as barracks, three or four of them, whitewashed with terracotta clay tiles and a low wall surrounding the few buildings inside. They all looked exactly the same, with the doors locked, closed, and barred, a notice on the front.

Vanden slowed his horse again, lining himself with the cart. “I believe we’re looking for something like that,” he pointed. “A barracks. I don’t know how to identify each one, but, we can get closer and take a look, get some sort of indication about how we can tell them apart.”

“Boblem can always send his little friend out,” Cassian suggested.

“Or Sariel’s owl.”

Boblem nodded. “I also, if you don’t want to get too close to people, I can read lips. Kind of get a sense of what people are saying.”

“That’s clever,” Sariel praised.

“That’s very clever,” Vanden repeated, impressed.

They spotted a young dwarven man in simple black clothes nailing another notice to a barracks door.

“We have many options,” Elyse considered.

Vanden frowned. “If someone could get closer…”

“I don’t mind going, do any of you want to go?”

“I can have a look,” Astra volunteered.

“Could send Zip?” Boblem offered.

Elyse nodded. “Send Zip first.”

“That would be a good idea, I don’t want anyone seeing our faces yet,” Vanden agreed.

Boblem carefully conjured up Zip. He folded his hands, the boy’s eyes turning solid black as Zip flew off, hovering five feet away from the dwarf. The paper was a notice of lease, and the man had dozens more scrolls in his bag. Looking over the dwarf’s shoulder, it seemed there was a price of rent scratched out two or three times to a lower number. The sign was from the officials of the city, offering the places out for rent. The papers were on multiple barracks.

Boblem relayed the information.

“Interesting,” Vanden considered. “Hang on…”

“Anything you want to try?” Elyse wondered.

“No but, I’d mentioned to you I want to find longer term accommodation. It’s subteler to have our own space than to be in and out of a tavern.”

“Oh, definitely.”

“How much was the rent on the sign?”

“400 gold,” Boblem answered. “For one month.”

“100 gold a week,” he thought. “We could do that, we have the funds.”

“Yeah, we do now,” Elyse agreed. “That’s an option. We’ve both said we should try and stay somewhere  _ they’re _ not, so do we want to try and find them first? Before we…?”

“Or you want to see how far up we can go?” Sariel prompted.

Vanden thought. “Good question.” The streets were decent enough, though surprisingly quiet, and much less busy than the other two tiers. “I do have an idea, that we could rent an accomodation like this, and I could also rent a room further up the city. Have access to both.”

“Move between different tiers,” Elyse considered. “Come and go.”

“I think that would be a good idea.”

“It’s a good idea, I’m just not sure we should commit to anything before we know how far we can go.”

He shrugged. “Well there’s plenty of these places around, not like we’re going to have to snap this one up quickly.”

“Yeah, yeah. I don’t know, maybe they go like hotcakes in this city,” she teased. “But yeah, we should keep it in mind.”

  
“Find the Charnel House.”

Boblem used Zip to peek over the walls. There was no noise, the barracks completely deserted.

“Makes sense if they’re trying to get people to move into it,” Astra nodded.

“Do you think they’re moving people down?” Sariel wondered. “And that’s why there are so many empty buildings? Or moving people up?”

Elyse shrugged. “Maybe. Don’t know enough about the city to say.”

“The second tier,” Boblem recalled, “It did seem like people were gathering around the gates.”

“And they looked very overcrowded. As most slums do, to be honest.”

“Right, I say we locate the Charnel House,” Vanden decided. “Perhaps not on horseback.”

“Yes, that’s another thing. We need to get rid of these, somewhere safe.”

“If those of you who can disguise yourself more, perceive a little further without being noticed… could scout around? Disguise yourself, ask some questions, find out where this building is.”

“What kind of questions?” Astra wondered.

“Perhaps just say, you have some business with the Charnel House. And you're looking for directions. Simple as that. But not as yourself, because I don’t want it connected back to us.”

Elyse shrugged. “I’m already in disguise, so.”

“I’ve been watching Elyse,” Astra offered.

Vanden was impressed. “Oh yeah?”

“I’ve been watching when Elyse and Cassian have done it.”

“Okay, if you’re up for it. Then perhaps I can stay with the horses, and whoever else who wants to stay. Whoever wants to ask questions and find out more can go.”

“I’ll come with you,” Elyse nodded to the bard.

Boblem smiled at Vanden. “I’ll stay with you, then.”

The dwarven man stepped away from the door, and began to walk down the street away from them. Astra hopped off the cart, walking around the side of the barracks. A six foot tall half orc walked back, with light green skin and grey patches all over. He had short reddish hair, dark brown eyes, and one tusk.

Elyse smiled as Astra returned. “Useful spell, isn’t it?”

“That’s Astra?” Vanden raised a brow at the sight.

The bard waved. “Hi!”

“Okay… I’m going to have to start keeping track of all of these.”

“I’ve never done it before, so. I think it turned out okay.”

It was a bit funny to hear the orc speak in Astra’s accent.

“You did a good job,” Elyse smiled.

“So I guess if it’s names… his name is Rufus, so I guess I’ll go with that.”

“Is it someone you knew?” Sariel asked.

“Yes.”

“Rufus. I’m going to lose track of all these names.”

“We need to start keeping a list,” Vanden joked.

“Aisha,” Elyse grinned. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Shall we go?” Astra prompted.

“Is anyone else coming with us? Cassian?”

“I can if you want me to,” the wizard shrugged. “But two should be enough, right?”

“Sure.”

“We’ll wait here,” Vanden nodded.

Elyse and Astra stepped out into the city. They searched up and down the street, passing The Labourers Bar again, and The Gory Club. Both taverns.

“Reckon we might have good luck in a tavern,” Elyse suggested.

“Probably The Labourers Bar,” the bard advised. “Not too sure about The Gory Club.”

They entered. It was pretty full, with low chatter as people sat forward, shoulders hunched, engaged in quiet and occasional conversation. It was not very animated, the energy dim. There was a lady behind the bar, a pale human with greasy black hair hanging down, sipping a drink of her own. She nodded as they came in, gesturing to a table.

“Seems lively in here,” Astra jested as they sat.

They remained for an awkward moment before Elyse moved to the bar, ordering a single whiskey. The bartender passed it over. Elyse looked over her shoulder to Astra. “Do you want one, Rufus?”

“Sure,” he nodded.

She knocked back the drink, the bartender looking them over with half interest.

Elyse put the empty glass back on the table. “Whew! That was quite the journey. My friend and I are new in town, we have business with the Charnel House. Would you be able to give us directions?”

At that, her face changed. “Sorry, the Charnel House? What do you have with that bloody pack of dogs?”

“You don’t wanna know, trust me. Look, I'm disgusted as you are, but…”

“We don’t really want to have to deal with this,” Astra agreed. “The faster we can get it over with, probably the better.”

“Alright, alright,” the woman relented. “First tier, against the second tier wall. Come out the tier gates and basically head along the wall, maybe a mile and a half. It’s in the swills, off Miner’s Road. There’s a couple blacksmiths nearby. Don’t spend too long there.”

“We don’t want to.”

“We don’t plan to,” Elyse agreed. “Thank you so much. Very helpful.”

She shrugged. “I get that a lot.”

“Have a nice day.”

“Busy in here,” Astra nodded.

She didn’t seem pleased. “Thanks. Lots of folk not working, nice to bring it up.”

“Oh, is that what’s going on?”

“...Yeah?”

“We’re new in town,” Astra apologized. “We’ve never been here.”

She shrugged. “Folks leaving the city in droves.”

“Why’s that?”

“Hells if I know. Twelve, thirteen companies, up and left. Past month. Now there’s folks here, blacksmiths, armourers, out of work.”

“Is that companies of mercenaries you’re talking about?” Elyse clarified. “Leaving the city?”

“Yeah, all sorts. You won’t see them around. All kinds of companies. Hobgoblins, that sort.”

“Why would that make everywhere else stop working?” Astra wondered.

“Well, if they’re not buying weapons and things,” Elyse reasoned, “I guess there’s no need for them to go to the blacksmiths.”

“Twelve, thirteen companies, a hundred soldiers...” the bartender agreed. “That’s a lot of people don’t need to be fed. Don’t need to be armoured. Lot of spaces empty. Bad for the area, bad for business. Street gangs come in and take over some of the barracks.”

“Oh really?”

“Cause trouble, aye.”

“Well, we’re not looking for trouble,” Astra assured her. “Don’t worry about that.”

“No, don’t suppose so.” She poured herself another drink, sitting back. A few people in the bar had turned to look at them, but they didn’t seem to mind the pair.

“Well, I’m sorry,” Elyse offered. “But thank you for your help.” She passed her another silver.

She took it. “Thanks. Good for my business obviously, but, feel bad for these lot.”

“Yeah, looked like a right mess down there, to get through.”

“Oh, yeah. The swills are even worse these days. But, what can you do? Shit rolls down the tiers.”

Astra frowned. “Right, well, thanks so much for your help.”

“Enjoy your drinks.”

The bard finished his glass quickly. “We should get back to them.”

They headed back. The cart was parked on the side of a wide road, with a few people passing by. They gathered inside the cart. “First tier is what we need to worry about here,” Elyse relayed, keeping her voice low. “She said near the second tier wall, gave us directions.”

“About a mile off from the gates,” Astra explained.

“So yeah, we should be good to take these barracks if we want to, but she did mention something about street gangs sometimes coming in and taking over them. So I’m wary of where exactly we choose.”

“Wondering if there’s any barracks on the higher tiers,” Vanden considered. “Away from the trouble.”

“Apparently as well, by the way,” Astra continued, “Lots of people have been leaving, which put people in this area out of work.”

Elyse nodded. “She said twelve or thirteen companies have just up and left the city. And that’s why everything here is so empty, and everything below is so packed full of people.”

“Mercenaries?” Cassian wondered. “Why would…?”

“Left on a contract?” Sariel guessed. “Or left for another reason?”

She shrugged. “Just up and left.”

The wizard crossed his arms in thought. “Why would so many leave at the same time?”

“She didn’t know. Might be something worth looking into, especially…” she trailed off, giving Vanden a look. “You know.”

“They were heading east,” he recalled.

“She mentioned the hobgoblin company- ”

“They were heading east, we saw them,” Vanden nodded. “Across the bridge, near the abbey.”

“Do you know anything about that? From your experience?” She turned to the rest of the cart. “Anyone?”

“Not anything I know about particularly,” Vanden continued. “But it is something I would like to keep an eye on, to find out more about it. I don’t like the idea of hundreds of mercenaries heading east.”

“As if someone’s rallying them,” Cassian thought.

Boblem gulped. “Another war?”

Elyse frowned in thought. “Anything going on in the east?”

“What would be east from here?” Sariel wondered.

“Watchers Respite, Frostguard, Arakhis,” Vanden listed. “Down to the bay.”

“Let’s not jump to the worst conclusion straight away,” Astra warned.

“No,” Cassian agreed. “Just something to think about.”

“It could be a very unfortunate coincidence, who knows,” Elyse nodded. “But it’s definitely something worth keeping an eye on.”

“Onwards and upwards for now, I suppose?”

“Yes,” Vanden decided.

“Literally upwards,” Sariel sighed.

“And if we need to, we’ll come back to these ones, but… don’t really want to be attacked by street gangs in the night.”

“No, me neither,” Elyse grinned. “I mean, I’m sure we could take them, just an inconvenience, you know.”

“Unnecessary blood spill,” Cassian agreed.

They kept moving, Vanden riding ahead to search for the dwarf. After ten minutes, he found the man. The dwarf looked up at him nervously before continuing on with his task.

“Excuse me,” Vanden called.

“Ah? Yes, yes? How can I help?”

“I’ve seen you nailing notices to barracks?”

“Uh, yes, um, are you a renter? We’re desperately looking.”

“Could be.”

His eyes lit up. “Wait, really?”

“Yes, I’m interested.”

He waved a hand, beckoning him off the horse. “Come down, speak to me on my level, come on, come on.”

Vanden slid down the horse.

The dwarf held out a hand. “Meriz,” he introduced.

Vanden shook the hand. “Marquis.”

“Pleasure to meet you. I’m sure you know… there’s lots of people coming in, squatting and destroying the barracks. We need these rented, desperately. The city is hemorrhaging money. Frankly, I don’t know what we’re going to do for much longer if these places all remain empty.”

“Understandable. Is it just this level, or higher?”

“There’s one or two on the fourth.”

“We’d be interested in those. Myself and my companions.”

“Okay,” he rummaged through his satchel, pulling out a few scrolls until he found the right one. “No, that’s for here… that’s for here… Aha! Okay.” He read out an address. “I can bring you up there and show you. Each of the barracks there are going for 600 gold a month.”

“We’ll take a look, I’ll just wait for my friends to catch up with us. In the meantime, is there no attempt to stop these squatters?”

He gestured to one down the road, boarded up. “Attempting, certainly, but once they embed themselves… there’s little we can do.”

“Interesting.”

“Are you with a company, or a group?”

“I’m with an entourage.” He could almost hear the others laughing at him. “Simply looking for accomodation.”

“And you’re good for the rent?”

“Yes.”

“It’ll be paid in advance.”

“Yes,” Vanden rested the hand with the signet ring on his arm, tapping his fingers.

The dwarf noticed. “That’s a great relief. I don’t suppose you have many… friends in your circle who are also looking for long term accommodation?”

“I could be, if we were to strike some sort of deal.”

“Oh!” The man gave a laugh in elation, tears springing to his eyes. “I might not lose my job!”

“I’ll see to it that you don’t Just help us out.”

“Okay, okay, um, very well! Very well.” He turned his head, noticing the cart moving up the path. “Ah! These must be your companions?”

“Yes.”

“Hi,” Elyse waved.

The dwarf waved back. “Meriz! I work for the city. I’m told you are potential tenants looking at one of the old company barracks?”

“That’s right.”

“We’ll be heading up to the next tier,” Vanden informed them.

“Ah, good,” Cassian nodded.

Elyse straightened, trying to look important. “Of course.”

“Come, show us,” Vanden encouraged the man.

The dwarf began to lead them through. They walked for twenty minutes, passing a few more places. There was a store called The Shiny Coin, which seemed to sell curiosities and arcane artifacts. In the distance was the orange glow of the temple of Moradin, the Overforge, and the Anvilhold. They passed more barracks, some of which were lively and manned. They saw the companies of The Keepers of the Planes, The Shroud, and The Velvet Teeth.

They were led up, the gate doors now half closed. Only a few people were let through, with numbers of people being turned away. Guards were asking people questions, looking for a reason for admittance. Meriz walked to a guard, holding a brief conversation with them before he was allowed through, their cart following. The doors opened slightly for them, and then closed back.

Once they were inside, they saw fine stone buildings, with gargoyles and decorations clinging onto the edges of roofs. People no longer gave them the same dirty looks, though they would still look at the curious sight the group made. The streets no longer had piles of rubbish or waste against the walls. The buildings were orderly, with decently clean pavements and cobblestone floors. They came to another group of barracks. This one seemed slightly larger, with light grey stone and terracotta tiles on the low walls. The doors were closed, and they couldn’t see past and inside, but the dwarf took out a set of keys. “Am I to show you around?”

“I would appreciate that,” Vanden agreed.

“Okay, okay.” He turned the heavy key, the door pushed open. They saw a training ground, a courtyard of some sort, made of packed clay. Along the sides were low buildings, probably a stable. There were the remnants of an archery range, and a large C shaped building in the center. It was well built, with little decoration or embellishment, and dark oak fittings. He brought them through the courtyard, talking and pointing out amenities. The dwarf wandered them through empty rooms, most of which were entirely stripped. There were the barebones of furniture, bed cots and tables, the things too big to carry, but almost everything else was completely gone. The dwarf came to a door, and found it locked. He moved past.

There was a large mess hall, storage rooms, individual rooms, double rooms, and offices. It was probably built to suit a hundred people.

Vanden looked to the others. “Well?”

“Looks good for our purposes, I guess,” Elyse nodded.

“Seems fitting enough,” Cassian agreed.

Vanden leaned in to Elyse, whispering. “I suggested I might be able to bring more people to the city, to rent. Perhaps you can do some persuading to lower the rent.” He strolled on, looking around as if charmed by the place. “I think we have to have this one,” he declared.

“It takes your fancy?” the dwarf grinned.

“Yeah,” Elyse smiled, charming. “How much were we talking here, again?”

“Well, the price is 600 gold for the calendar month.”

“Oof…”

“Very reasonable!” he pleaded. “All things considered! It’s already been knocked down three times!”

“I understand that, but we’re a bit…. Hm. We have to consider our budget, you know.”

“I understand…”

Elyse began speaking in Dwarvish. As she did, the man perked up. “I’m sure, between us, you can knock it down a little bit. You understand,” she winked.

“I mean…” he blushed a bit. “Dwarves are great miners and stone masons, you know. We do knock things down very well.” He puffed up his chest.

She played with her hair, smiling at him.

“I’ll see what I can do…. Best I could do would be…”

“Please? For me?”

“560?”

She turned to the others, speaking in Common. “560 a month?”

Vanden thought. “Can we pay that weekly?”

“Of course, of course,” he agreed. “There’s an office on this tier…” he gave directions, explaining where rent could be paid. “Although the first month must be paid up front.”

“Right.”

“We can do that,” Astra reminded him.

“We can…” Vanden agreed. “Just considering if it’s good enough, whether we should go elsewhere.”

The dwarf pleaded with them. “I’m certain it’s good enough! I mean, look at the facilities alone!”

“Well, it’s been stripped bare, hasn’t it?”

“Well… yes… it would be more were it furnished, but… 540?”

“My Lord is used to a certain standard,” Elyse shrugged.

“I understand, but… please. That’s the lowest I can go.”

“535?” Vanden haggled.

He shook his head. “540 is the lowest I can do, any dreams of commission is gone.”

“Fine, fine fine fine.”

“540 it is then,” Elyse nodded. “Thank you for being so understanding.”

“I’m very relieved,” the dwarf sighed. “And I’m sure you’ll enjoy your residence very much. Um how will you be paying? By gold bars, or platinum?”

“I’ll come down with you and pay,” Vanden offered. “If you all want to get settled in?” he looked to the others.

“Sure,” Elyse agreed.

Vanden ushered the dwarf out, and the man led him fifteen minutes through the city to the offices. As they walked, Vanden glanced down at him. “Meriz?”

“Yes, Marquis?”

“These companies that are leaving the city…”

“Left the city, unfortunately. The last one, three or four days ago?”

“Are there any rumours as to why?”

“No idea. Up and left, a company at a time, over the course of a few weeks.”

“They all similar in size?”

“Identical in size.”

Vanden nodded, taking in the information. “I know some of the companies around here were looked down upon. Are they… good companies?”

“Fairly respectable.”

“And would anyone know where to get information on what they were doing?”

“I mean… there’s the shrine to their deity?” He gave directions to a place on the third tier. “But frankly, I haven’t seen any of the Fists, that’s what they call them. No, been a few weeks since they’ve all left. Ran out a lot of rental agreements.”

“I can see that.”

“Deposits be damned.”

“Fair enough. Anywhere higher up that might have more information? Or is that sort of thing not regulated here?”

“I confess, I don’t spend much time higher up,” the dwarf admitted. “This alone is a luxury.”

“I understand. If you do know anyone who can help with information…”

“I’ll see what I can gather. When you visit next month I’ll see if I have anything by then. Perhaps.”

As they reached the door, Vanden passed five gold over to the dwarf. The man gasped and took the coins. “I appreciate this.”

“Consider that your commision.”

The dwarf gave him a wink, leading him into a small two story building, with the crest of Shadebourne over the archway. Two swords and three stars, silver on black. Vanden was led through the process of securing a lease. He felt a bit awkward signing his cousin’s name.

The paperwork went through, and he was given a contract. He asked after furnishings, and was given a list of carpenters and vendors. It would probably be another 100 gold to furnish.

“Absolutely appreciated, Mariz.”

“It’s been a pleasure. Thank you, thank you.”

“Should you need anything,” he continued, “Should any trouble stir up that you need help with… come knock.”

“Alright… There are a few places where some uncouth type have begun squatting, taking up residence, and not a copper of rent. If they were ushered out, I wouldn't be opposed to that.”

“We wouldn’t be opposed to helping.”

“I’m sure we’re on the same page.” The dwarf glanced down at the sword on Vanden’s hip. “Blood needn’t be spilled, but…”

“I’m sure we have other methods.”

“Ushered out.”

“Ushered,” Vanden agreed.

“Kindly persuaded. I’m sure you catch my drift.”

“I do. I will see you in a month, if not sooner.”

“I look forward to it.”

Vanden gave him a nod, heading back to the barracks.

  
  


The rest of the group set about exploring the many rooms. The main building was two stories, with most of the single rooms in one cluster in a wing off the second floor. There were offices, canteens, kitchens, as well as planning rooms with long, long tables. Elyse was intrigued by the locked door. It seemed the lock had been broken, and nobody thought it worth the effort to push through.

Cassian searched for the fanciest room. The rooms were all practically identical, but he went about deciding which one was the best anyway. Elyse took a room with a nice window for roof access while Boblem set up the horses in the stables.

All the rooms were exactly the same, pretty bare, with basic furniture. They were all pretty tidy, as if the groups had taken the time to clean before leaving, rather than grabbing things to run. Sariel and Cassian looked around for anything left behind. They found a number of nails and screws, some arrowheads embedded into the walls where the archery range was, and a few horseshoes in the stables. There were three copper coins stuffed in a crack in the wall as well, which Cassian pocketed.

Elyse peeked through the keyhole to the locked room. There were plenty of things in there. It looked to be a storage room, not a full armoury, but there were half plates and breastplates, and a few crested helmets. With a bit of engineering, they were able to open the door. They found a bunch of armour, some studded leather, and a mannequin wearing a few more pieces. There were bronze helmets with long cheek guards coming down, red horsehair crests at the top. There were round shields with two indents taken out, as well as a few spears and shortswords. The leather was reddish brown with dark iron or bronze studs, layered on the shoulders and ribs, with sections covering the thighs, over the shoulders, elbows, and wrists.

Sariel held one up, not sure what she was looking at.

“You can put different pieces on,” Cassian explained. “Whatever suits you. Or we can get something for you.”

“Yeah, maybe. I suppose this will do in a pinch.”

“Exactly. Though hopefully we won’t get into any pinches too soon.”

When Vanden returned, they congregated in one of the large halls.

Cassian crossed his arms, concerned. “Do we all find it strange and slightly disturbing that this place was not… left in a rush? But rather… meticulously packed up and cleaned?”

“Definitely,” Elyse agreed.

Sariel nodded. “Yes.”

“Like they were planning this for a while?” he finished.

“I believe they probably were hobgoblins,” Vanden guessed. “Typically a very organized group.”

“Yes, but it begs the question…”

“What are they doing,” Elyse supplied.

“Yes. And how long they planned for.”

“Do we think the companies that left are doing something together?” Elyse wondered. “Or that, something is happening to draw all of them away, separately?”

From what they had heard, the first move outs had happened five or six weeks ago, with the most recent only a few days past.

“I find it strange too,” Vanden admitted. “I asked Meriz… there aren’t even any rumours as to what they’re doing, just up and leaving. Which is very strange in itself.”

“You said the city’s whole thing was having a bunch of mercenaries in it,” Elyse recalled. “So it’s strange they would all leave.”

“Why leave perfectly good work?” Cassian frowned.

“And it seems like the city’s entire economy is supported by it, so.”

“We weren’t really looking,” Vanden recalled, “But it’s not like we noticed other streams of tracks, like we saw near the abbey. Which makes me worry that they were going in one direction.”

“I wonder where… maybe we can ask around and find out more, but obviously we don’t want to draw too much attention to ourselves, considering what we’re doing.”

“Maybe if we find some allies higher up,” Cassian suggested. “They might have… pertinent information.”

“Yeah,” Elyse agreed. “Deal with this Weeping Eye thing first, then maybe we can snoop around a bit… I hope the Weeping Eye haven’t left. But it doesn’t seem like they have.”

Vanden shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. It’s just strange.”

“If the upper tiers are anything like what I assume them to be,” Sariel grimaced, “There’ll no doubt be gossip up there.”

“I’m sure there will.”

“Might be worth a snoop,” Elyse grinned.

Cassian nodded. “Perfect.”

Vanden’s expression hardened. “Those slums hurt my heart.”

“Me too,” Boblem frowned.

Sariel shook her head. “How is this allowed to exist like this? Such a clear definition between the classes.”

“People don't care enough,” Elyse shrugged. “They look out for themselves.”

“Money talks,” Vanden agreed.

“People up top like it that way,” Cassian offered.

Boblem was confused. “But there are so many empty houses around. And people sleeping on the floor. Why not just let them sleep in the empty houses?”

“Because according to the people at the top,” Sariel spat, “These people at the bottom aren’t good enough.”

“Yeah,” Elyse sighed. “They don’t deserve it.”

“But those at the top have their houses?” Boblem reasoned. “Why do they care?”

Sariel glared at the floor. “They don’t.”

Cassian looked quite sheepish.

“We should try and help them,” Vanden decided. “But not yet.”

“We’ll take care of our business, and then, maybe we can… see if we can do anything,” Elyse agreed. “But we need the element of surprise and subtlety first and foremost, so.”

“One thing at a time,” Sariel relented.

“And then we knock down these walls,” Boblem declared.

Elyse grinned. “Yes, we do.”

Sariel gave the boy a teasing grin. “Boblem’s going to dismantle the system.”

“I might!” the boy announced.

“So,” Elyse turned back to Vanden. “What do we want our first move to be?”

They moved into a room with a long table. Twelve seats were placed around it, as if it was some kind of war room. Vanden rolled out the map on the table, weighing down the corners and rolling up his sleeves. “Okay, so the Charnel House, you said it was…?”

“The first tier,” Astra repeated. “Against the second tier walls, a mile and a half from the gates.”

“In the swills, off of Miner’s Road,” Elyse nodded.

“There’s loads of blacksmiths nearby, so we should be able to find it.”

Vanden found the area on the map. “So it’s here. I would say… the information that we need, we need to know how many people come in and out of this building, how heavily guarded it is, anything we can know. If it’s anything like this one, perhaps you could fly Zip over the ends of the walls, see what we’re dealing with?”

“Yeah,” Boblem agreed.

“We need to know when they change their guard, how guarded they are at night. We need to put ourselves in the best possible position. I’d rather not engage in any further combat with them. We did well, but we were lucky. We had a good advantage.”

“And we need to know how many are going to be in there,” Elyse added. “If this is their stronghold, there’s going to be way more, probably.”

“And I’m sure we’d alert the attention of the city guards or the mercenary companies, all sorts. We don't want to do that. What we want to do is get in, get to their archives, find the record of who signed that contract, and get out again.”

“We should be able to do that. I’ve been practicing, and I think maybe I could cast invisibility on two people at a time. So maybe one of you could come in, with me. Cassian, you can disguise yourself.”

“Three of you can disguise yourselves,” Vanden considered. “And two of you can turn yourselves into some sort of creature that wouldn’t be noticed. Think it’s probably best, though I loathe to admit this, that I stay here and compile the information. I say we take this over several days.”

“Yeah, definitely.”

“I… suggest we give ourselves a timeframe of seven days. See what they do over a week. If anyone is willing to take shifts?”

“Absolutely,” Cassian nodded. “We’ll take this in shifts, people can take it in turns to prepare themselves.”

“And I’m sure people will want to look around the city also,” Elyse agreed.

“That’s what I mean,” Vanden nodded. “Prepare yourself for what’s to come, as well as trying to get a read on this place.”

“Yeah. We’ve got this.”

“We do. Then I guess we should break down who’s doing what, and when.”

“We could start today,” Elyse offered. “Or, we could take a day to collect ourselves and rest. Look around the city, familiarize ourselves a bit more.”

“I say rest,” Vanden agreed. “And give those guards on the first tier some time to forget that we’ve just passed through here.”

“Do we want to see how many more tiers we can get through?” Cassian suggested. “See if there are allies or potential information further up?”

“We could do,” Elyse shrugged. “We’ve got the rest of today.”

“See how far we can go before we’re stopped,” Sariel considered.

“I’d say that’s a good idea,” Vanden approved. “Familiarize ourselves with the city.”

“It’d be good to look around the lower tiers as well,” Elyse decided. “I know it’s horrible, but… the more we can know the layout of the first tier, the easier it will be if things do happen to go south. Which, we always have to plan for.”

“Shall we split up then? Some of us go upwards, some go down?”

“Yeah. Dunno what I’d rather do.”

“I’d like to go up,” Cassian decided. “See what it’s all about.”

“I don’t think I’ll be received particularly well, the further down we go,” Vanden admitted.

Elyse looked over the prince. “That’s true. Well, I know how to blend in with that well enough, so. And there seemed to have been a store I want to check out anyway, so, I'll make my way down. Gradually go down to the first tier, see if I can kind of memorize the streets down there.”

“I think Boblem should be with you,” Astra advised.

“Yeah, I'll go,” the boy agreed.

“You okay with that?” Elyse worried. “I know you might not want to go back into the first tier right now, but….”

“No, but, it’s important.”

Vanden tilted his head in thought. “Perhaps you can find out from the people down there… what they’re thinking and feeling. What they know. We will help them, when this is done.”

“Yeah. We will.”

“Sariel? Astra? If you two could take the middle tiers, Cassian and I will see how high up we can get.”

“Good idea,” Elyse nodded. “Yeah, look around this neighborhood, see what we have access to here. That would be useful as well.”

“We could do that,” Astra smiled.

“You could check out the carpenters,” Cassian suggested.

They could bring the cart around, load it up for a few hours, and get the barracks furnished. Astra grinned. “We’re going shopping.”

“Don’t get arrested,” the wizard teased.

Boblem gave Cassian a look. “Same goes for you!”

“I’m not going shopping,” he countered.

The group broke, going about their separate ways.

  
  


Elyse and Boblem moved down the hill, the sorcerer leading them past the Temple of Kord as they went. From the outside, it seemed the same as the other, if not a bit smaller. No priests or clerics were outside, but she might go in later. It took about an hour to walk all the way down. Elyse hadn’t seen any wanted posters or dragonborn, so she dropped her disguise, but she still wore the headscarf and plain black clothing to blend in with the lower tiers.

As they approached the first tier, they dipped into an alleyway, and Boblem shifted into the form of a spider. Elyse propped him on her shoulder, and they walked back into the slums, moving towards the Charnel House. As they did, a small crowd caught their eye.

They heard stifled shouts. Two guards were pushing through the group, and they seemed to be dragging a body. They had covered it with a cloak, but the shape was completely limp, flies buzzing around it. People were shaking their heads in disbelief, gasping. A couple followed after the corpse, the rest dispersing.

Elyse caught the attention of someone in the crowd. “Do you know what happened?”

“Another killing. Can’t be long ago. Brennan over there,” they pointed at someone else in the crowd, “Said he smelt it. Smelt the body.”

“Has that been happening a lot? I just got here, sorry.”

They were despondent. “Yeah. You could say that.”

“Do you know why?”

“No.”

“Desperation, or?”

“No. People killed, savage, in the streets. No man or soldier. This is something else.”

“Something else?” Elyse pressed.

“Mhm.”

“Well, if you knew them, I’m very sorry.”

“Not me personally, but… it’s been three months of this now. I’m not sure how much more the tiers can take. That’ll be fifty.”

Elyse gasped. “Really?”

“Around there.”

“Watch your back,” she advised.

“I’ll be locking my door.” The person made a religious mark over their face before pushing past. “Excuse me.”

“Of course.”

She kept walking for another half hour, much more on guard. Her focus was just under the jacket, out of sight. She made her way to the swills. There were puddles and grime, with waste piled up against the wall, an indomitable black slab of stone that seemed to go on forever. She heard the sounds of the city, glass breaking and people shouting around her. They moved past dodgy taverns and dangerous looking accommodations. She saw a few blacksmiths, and she guessed they were now on Miner’s Road. Elyse disguised herself again. Walking on a bit more, she found what she assumed to be the Charnel House.

There were wooden beamed walls with spikes across the top, and all around the perimeter. Inside was a wooden gatehouse, with a small wood tower. She couldn’t make out the details of what was beyond, but there was at least one L shaped building inside the space. It was maybe 120 feet square. One wall of the structure was right up against the tier wall, only about five feet of space between in a small alley.

There was one person on the top of the tower, two or three stories up in the gatehouse. She saw two people, one gnoll and one human, outside the gatehouse and standing guard near the closed doors. There were hyenas chained with them.

She wanted to walk around the perimeter, but didn’t want to be seen as suspicious. There were a few people walking the streets, blacksmiths and tavern goers to the sides. She walked around a corner, looking for more guards or buildings, but she couldn’t see anything else from the outside. Boblem waved his spider legs, motioning that he could scale the wall. Elyse held him out, his many legs reaching out as he began the ten foot climb.

As he crested over the fence, he saw that it was encrusted with broken glass, spikes, and shards of bones in a concrete mix at least a foot wide. It was fine for a spider, but if a person were to climb it, they would not enjoy themselves.

Standing on the wall, he saw a courtyard of packed dirt with a muddy track down the middle. Debris of arrowheads, broken scabbards, and loose bits of wood were thrown on the floor against the walls. At the back of the gatehouse, he could see that part of it extended into the courtyard. He noticed a large pen, with multiple hyenas inside. There were two giant ones, and 7-10 normal ones. He saw the L shaped building, two stories tall. There were a few people moving about, and one person with a crossbow shooting bolts into a range. The whole place smelled of rancid meat, piss, waste, and damp wood.

It took him a few minutes to make the trek, but he crawled over to the gatehouse and up to the top. The guard didn’t notice him. There was another gnoll, with a longbow, picking their talons with the head of an arrow. He spotted another two people on the other side of the gatehouse. He moved to the other side, eavesdropping on their conversation.

“When’s Kahnym due back?”

“Hells if I know. I just don’t wanna be stuck around here anymore.”

“Yeah, I feel that, heh. It’s alright down there, I’ve heard.”

“Yeah, it’s a good job. Few more days, our shift will be up.”

In total, Boblem remembered the hyenas, the three people at the top of the gatehouse, the two people guarding, and one person listlessly firing their crossbow. After a while, the archer headed into the L shaped building, the door closing behind. Boblem crawled down to the guards standing outside the gate, but they weren’t speaking, simply standing in solemn resentment. One of them occasionally threw a bone for their hyena, allowing the animal to run after it before yanking the chain so the dog couldn’t reach it.

Boblem headed back to Elyse. Nobody had gone down the alley as she had waited. Placing him back on her shoulder, she went the full perimeter of the building. The guards kept eyes on her as she walked. She wandered the streets for a while, looking for sewer grates, tunnels, and shortcuts. Interestingly, unlike the previous tiers, there didn’t seem to be sewers on this tier. She grimaced as she realized what that meant.

They headed back to the barracks, Boblem reforming as himself.

“What did you learn in there?” Elyse asked.

“I think that building is definitely where Vanden is looking for. They mentioned Kahnym.”

“The guard captain?”

“They were waiting for him to come back. And then they were gonna set off. I don’t know where or when.”

“Did they say when he was coming back?”

“No. But they seemed to have two large hyenas, seven normal ones, and two people guarding on another tower, besides the ones we saw.” He tried his best to relate the layout of the building.

“That’s incredibly useful, thank you. Um… if this guy comes back, that might make things more difficult for us. Although I’m sure Vanden would like some retribution.”

“At least we know they were due to come back here. It seemed like they were waiting for him,” Boblem worried.

“Yeah, we don’t know the time frame, and that worries me, but I guess there’s nothing we can do about that for now.”

“The least we can do is let him know.”

“Cool. Do you want to head back up?”

“Yeah.”

  
  


On the fourth tier, Sariel and Astra were getting to know their neighborhood, looking for supplies. Walking around their district for two hours, they learned that their neighborhood was called The Anvilhold. There were many, many fine craftspeople, smiths, armourers, and weapon makers who all lived in the area and outfitted the various forces of Shadebourne. Magical armour and weaponry was available here as well. There were dwarves, gnomes, elves, some orcs, the occasional minotaur, and a few people with red skin.

The central point was the Temple of Moradin, the Overforge. A wide, square building with no roof, it was ringed by heavy bronze columns. The central area was open and filled with liquid, and as they walked down the road next to it, they felt warmth emanating from the orange glow within. The central core was filled with glowing magma, running out and across in thin channels to sixteen forges, where the ring of hammer on anvil beat out constantly. There were many topless people wearing aprons and heavy gloves, wearing thick trousers or leather skirts as they beat out weaponry and armour. There were numbers of smiths coming up between the columns, lighting torches and flames from the center as they made prayers before heading back to their own workshops.

They passed a number of taverns; The Rare Book Inn, The Saloon of the Dukes, The Tavern of the Devils, The Virtuous Lion, and The Weeping Soldier. They passed a bookstore, The Song and Scroll. Sariel looked around for a place that might deal in magical armour. They passed a very fancy looking building with large wings, tiled black with bronze inlay. Emblazoned outside was a circle of patterns and lines, reflected in a sign hanging on the doorway.

There was another set of barracks, this one larger. They saw people wearing scarlet draping robes and copper scaled armour, with helmets that completely covered their face and red plumes. A group of six headed into the barracks before the doors closed behind. There was something familiar about them that they couldn’t quite place.

Astra watched them with interest. He remembered similar forces from when he had visited Fang… and then it clicked. Lady Turquoid’s houseboat. This could be the barracks of the Endigni. He tensed.

Sairel glanced at him. “What is it?”

“Should we head that way for a bit?” he pointed far off.

“Okay.”

They hurried off, Astra’s tail wrapping slighty around his companion. He dropped his voice to a low whisper. “That’s the Endigni barracks. Like, Lady Turquoid’s…”

“Oh, oh dear.”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Let’s go the other way.”

“I doubt she sent word about us.”

“Let’s be cautious.”

“Let’s be cautious,” he agreed. “They’re not nice people.”

“No. Okay.”

It was a bit worrisome that the Endigni were on the same tier as their own barracks, but the tiers were all very large. The Endigni were about two or three miles away from their new lodgings. Their own barracks were closest to the Overforge.

“It was pretty impressive though, that Overforge,” Sariel thought.

“It was, wasn’t it?”

“Very cool.”

“Although, to be honest, when I first started feeling the heat coming out, I thought it was another bath? And then I saw what it was, not a good bath.”

Sariel smiled. “No, you don’t want to bathe in that. Unless you wanted permanent armour, but I don’t suppose you’d be able to move after that.”

“No, I don’t think so,” he grinned. “I do like your new outfit, by the way.”

“Isn’t it nice?”

“Looks really pretty on you.”

“Cassian is so talented,” Sariel smiled.

“He is. He made it suit you exactly.”

“Which is why… I want to try and find some armour that would match it, sort of suit it.”

“Well, we can do that now,” Astra offered.

“I don’t know what I’m looking for.”

“Well, why don’t we just have a look? See if anything jumps out at you.”

“Might window shop.”

“Yeah, that’s all we need to do,” he agreed. “And then we’ll place in some orders for furniture on the way.”

“Yeah, get some supplies in.”

They were able to easily find tanners and armour workers. After an hour of wandering, loading furniture into the cart, they were pointed back to the black and bronze building they had passed earlier for enchanted armour. Ydra Warkers.

As they wandered, they saw chain shirts, half plates, hide armour, leather armour, padded armour, scale mail, spiked armour, and studded pieces. Sariel peeked in the windows, but she wanted to wait for Vanden to make any decisions. It would probably be 8 to 12 gold for regular hide armour, maybe more for something enchanted.

They moved back to Ydra Warkers, the fancy looking stone building, and pushed open the door. There was a tiled atrium of black and bronze flooring, with a large black ebony desk in the front. Two sets of stairs moved up, winged. There were people in uniforms, black and bronze tunics, moving up and down the stairs into side rooms. Above, at the top, was a glass interior window with an office behind. Some people were bearing stacks of books, tradings, and materials. One person, a more senior staff member, was walking through with a customer in flowing silk robes, talking over a fine dagger.

They felt a bit out of their depth, but Astra approached a staff member anyway. “Hi, we just wanted to see what you had available?”

They employee was a young elf with very short, cropped black hair, wearing very simple robes and a tunic. “Are you looking for something off the shelf or…?”

“Depends what you have on offer,” Sariel replied. “Looking at enchanted armour, ideally.”

“Ah, you’ve come to the right place. Ydra is where you want to be. I’ll have someone with you, please take a seat.” They gestured over to a row of chaise lounges.

“Thank you,” Astra nodded.

They took a seat. Another person in similar robes brought over a tray of iced water and wine. Sariel looked extremely uncomfortable.

A woman approached them, with purple-grey skin, white hair, and white eyes. “Ah, hello.”

“Hello,” Astra smiled.

“I’m Serilla.”

“I’m Verdant Astra.”

The woman looked over to Sariel, but the elf didn’t offer a name. “I’m told you’re looking for enchanted pieces of armour?” they continued.

“For my friend here,” Astra nodded.

“Well, come with me.” She led them through the atrium and into a side room. They were moved through a gallery of mannequins wearing embellished, gorgeous pieces of armour. There were racks on the walls of daggers, rapiers, maces, and all manners of blades. The pieces were high gothic style, full plates down to burnished, gleaming silver. There were a couple of stone plinths where various weaponry was laid. They saw studded leather, hide armour with patches of leather and cured, tanned pelt with white fur fine trim, in a scaled pattern. They looked like feathers bounding over each other. “Please, take your time. Are these for yourselves?”

“This is for me,” Sariel answered.

“We have armour that will simply defend against most blows, armour that can defend against something in particular, say the heat of a burning fire, or the cold of a wintry night. We have armour that can take on the appearance of something else if you so wish.”

“That sounds pretty good,” Astra nodded.

“It does,” Sariel admitted. “What sort of cost would this put me back?”

The woman took some time to explain. The best armour would cost over 400 gold, resistant armour at 280, and armour with glamour built in at 250.

Sariel whispered over to Astra. “This is why I never got armour, it’s so expensive.”

“I’d be happy to help with it,” he assured her. “I don’t need money.”

“No no, no.”

“I don’t need money, Sariel.”

“I don’t need this… fancy stuff.” She glanced around, feeling overwhelmed. “This isn’t me! Look at it all, this isn’t me!”

“It is a lot, isn’t it…”

“You pay for quality at Warkers,” the woman interjected.

“I’m sure you do,” Sariel replied, giving a nod to her before turning back to the bard. “This isn’t me!”

Sariel took a moment to steady herself before turning back to the woman. “I’ll think about it.”

“Of course. Any of these?” she gestured to a few weapons on plinths, half hopeful.

“I can tell you my friends would be very interested in these,” Astra offered. “We’ll come back with them. We’ve just recently rented.”

“Oh… renting?”

“We rented just down the road, we'll be back soon.”

“Friends of ours are much better suited to this sort of finery,” Sariel agreed.

Astra gestured to his belt. “As you can see, I don’t carry a weapon, so.”

“Hm.” The woman looked over the two. “Curious why you’d be in an enchanted armoury…”

“For my friend.”

“Of course. Well, thank you for your custom. I hope to see you with your friends again.”

“They’ll be here soon.”

The woman gave them a very insincere smile. Sariel reflected one back. Astra tried to tip her a silver for her time, but she put her hand up. “It’s not necessary.”

“Right…”

She gestured them to the door.

“Have a lovely day,” Astra tried.

“I’m sure I shall.”

Sariel did not tell her to have a lovely day.

They exited. As they left, they saw a figure in the top office looking out of a window. The pair walked out onto the street.

“Do you want to go look at… just regular armour?” Astra offered.

“Again, window shop.”

“Just window shop.”

There were plenty of places. There was one place run by a very, very old minotaur, with greying hair, punching holes through leather as they entered. He stood, “Welcome, welcome welcome. Day’s getting late, time for my tea soon.”

“Sorry to disturb you,” Sariel apologized.

“We’re just looking for some armour,” Astra explained. “For my friend here.”

The man looked over the elf. “Hmmm, I’ve got a few pieces that would suit you.” He brought out a few things into the center of the shop. A suit of light leather armour, and one of studded leather. Both had pauldrons, breastplates, and braces through the knuckles, wrists, elbows, and shoulders. There were chest pieces, hip pieces, and shin guards. It would be reasonable enough to integrate certain bits into her outfit. The hide was finely made, though much thicker, but she would still be able to move in it. It looked very warm, made in larger patches, not at all like the scaling and feathers from the previous shop.

“How much?” she asked.

He offered the studded leather for 45 gold, and regular leather or hide for 10. He pulled out a battered and beaten breastplate, all the dings polished over and buffed out. The bright silver was slightly tarnished, some kind of insignia still visible, a double spread eagle with two heads finely etched into it. There were shoulder plates, connections, and a back piece as well.

“How much for this?”

He appraised the pieces. “This has been through the wars. I’d say, 300 gold pieces.”

“Okay,” she squeaked.

“Which one do you like?” Astra prompted. “Think that one would suit you.”

“I can’t afford that.”

“Do you like it?”

“...Not enough. I’m not looking to get anything today, I just wanted to get an idea of what’s available around here.”

“Of course, of course,” the minotaur nodded.

“And I understand that you want to shut up shop soon.”

“I could give it some time.”

“It’s okay. I think I’ll go and think about it, and come back.”

He nodded. “I’ll be open all day tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

“Perfect,” Astra smiled. “We’ll come back.”

The old man returned the smile. “I’ll see you soon.”

They left, and as they did, the man pulled down the shutters after them.

“I like minatuars,” Astra grinned.

“So do I.”

In the total of their shopping trip, they spent about 100 gold to gather supplies, stock the kitchen, and grab basic furniture. They returned to the barracks and set about decorating with rugs, linens, hangings, soft bedding, lamps, cooking equipment, fixtures, fittings, and everything they would need.

  
  


As the others explored the lower tiers, Cassian and Vanden set out to see how high they could climb. As Vanden took the horse from the stable, he turned to the wizard with a question.

“Can you ride?”

“Uhhh…” the elf observed the horse, unsure. “I can certainly try.”

“You haven’t ridden before.”

“I’d say once or twice. It’s been a very long time.”

“It’s just gonna be a long way to the top if we go on foot.”

He rolled his eyes. “I can get on a horse, Vanden. Sorry,” he grinned, “Dorian.”

Vanden chuckled a bit, readying the horse for Cassian. “Do you need help getting up?” he teased.

“I’m… sure I can figure it out myself.”

Vanden crossed his arms, watching with interest. Cassian managed to get on. It was a little bit of a struggle, a little unsteady, but the horse responded well enough. At least, it didn’t try to buck him off. Cassian gave it an awkward pat.

“Keep the reins in one hand, at the front of the saddle,” Vanden instructed. “And keep your back straight, like someone’s pulling a string at your back. Like a puppet.”

Cassian didn't seem to enjoy the metaphor, but he complied.

The prince nodded, approving. “Better. And just a nudge, don’t kick it.”

“I’m not going to kick it.”

Vanden led them out towards the gates. They trotted out across a few streets, making their way through the districts and the Anvilhold, up and around the curve of the tier as they began the zigzag up.

“So what’s the plan of action here?” Cassian asked. “I’m not exactly a Lord. I’m sure my Merchant’s Guild status might get me a certain way, but…”

“Good question. Do we want to figure out how far you can get? Or do we just want to get up to the top?”

“Shall I go by myself first? And if it fails, then it looks less suspicious if you come with… someone else, per se.”

“Yes. Leave the horse here, try it out… come back and get me?”

“Okay.”

Cassian approached the gate to the fifth tier. The gates were actively closed, with four guards in front talking to each other. As he walked up, the doors were opened to let one person through before they were closed again. Unlike the other tiers, there were not many people actively trying to pass.

A guard looked him over. “You have business in the fifth tier?”

“Yes…” he pulled out the Merchant’s Guild scroll. “I am here to do some tailoring.”

The guard took the scroll, reading it over before handing it back. “I don’t see what business it has on the fifth tier. Run along, please.”

“I have… clients. In the fifth tier.”

“Do you have a letter from them?”

“Not on my person, no.”

The guard shrugged. “Then I suggest you find your letter, and return.”

Cassian pursued his lips. “...Understandable. Have a nice day.”

“Yourself as well, sir.”

The wizard turned, heading back.

“No luck?” Vanden guessed.

“No luck. They have quite the tight security. You need to have a reason to be there.”

“Hmm. Okay. Can you disguise yourself as anything?”

“...Well, anything within my height. More or less. I can appear taller, or smaller, but if someone touched me… it would give it away.”

The prince thought. “Make yourself into…. A goliath man. As tall as you can.”

“A goliath?”

“Yes. Handsome. Short beard, no mustache. Noble clothing. Red.”

“Red. Okay, I’ll see what I can do.” Cassian ducked into an alleyway, disguising himself to match the description as best he could. It was pretty convincing. He made a note of the heights of doorways, not wanting his head to faze through them and give it away. “Acceptable?”

“Looks pretty good.”

“Okay. I am interested to see where this is going.”

Vanden offered a hand to help him back onto the horse. “Just follow me, and stay quiet.”

“Okay?”

They rode up to the gates. “Good afternoon,” Vanden greeted the guards.

“Good afternoon.”

“Heading through to the cathedral?”

“Okay. Are you a resident?”

“Visiting.”

The guard began to shake his head. “Sorry- ”

“Lord Marquis from Riven.”

“Lord Marquis,” the guard’s interest was renewed. “Do you have papers?”

“Not on my person, but…” he held out a hand, showing off the family signet ring.

The guard bent to inspect it. “That’s nice. But, I’m afraid we can’t just be letting visitors through. If you bring your papers of note… I’m sorry, my Lord, but we cannot allow you through.”

Vanden was a bit surprised. “Right.”

“These are unsafe times, unfortunately. I’m sure you understand.”

“I do… unsafe how?”

“A bit of grisly killings. We can’t be allowing what’s been happening down below to infiltrate up top.”

Vanden frowned. “And yet, you’d leave us out here?”

“I’m certain you can cope for yourself, sir. If you bring your papers, proof of residence or status, we can allow you through.”

“Fine.” He glanced to Cassian. “Well, then let’s go get our papers.”

“There’s a few temples on the third tier,” the guard offered. “If you wish to pray.”

Vanden was a bit irritated at that. “Yes, I’m aware of that. Thank you.”

“Just trying to help.”

Vanden turned. As Cassian turned with him, the guard raised their eyebrows, noticing how the horse was not struggling to carry the goliath man.

“I thought that was going to work better,” Vanden lamented.

“One would have hoped, but… I suppose it’s tight security at the moment. We could try and forge some papers.”

“We could indeed.”

“I don’t know if you would know what that sort of documentation might look like…”

“I have one. With my own name on it.”

Cassian nodded. “We could simply try and make a different one.”

“Maybe not ourselves… I don’t know where to find someone who can. I imagine in a place like this, you probably could find someone like this quite easily.”

“Yes.”

They headed back to the barracks. “You can drop the stupid disguise.”

The wizard gave him a look. “I will wait until we are  _ back _ to just drop  _ magic." _

“Well yes,  _ obviously." _

Cassian blinked. “Okay, back at this tone again.”

Vanden rode on a bit faster, kicking up dust at the other man.

Cassian’s horse was a bit harder to lead without Vanden’s in front, trying to go off in another direction. With a bit of a struggle, he arrived at the barracks about ten minutes after the prince.

  
  


Vanden went to the room with the long table and the map, moodily pouring over it. A bit later, Sariel and Astra returned, choosing not to disturb him as they set up the house.

Cassian tacked up his horse, returning to the streets. He looked for couriers, hopeful. He found a central hub where the couriers met and delivered items, but there was nothing for him. With a sigh, he realized he had sent his previous courier off in the other direction, and it would be at least another few days before a response.

As Boblem and Elyse made the hike back up from the first tier, they passed by the Shiny Coin again, on the third tier. From the outside, it looked a bit dirty, and not as well kept up as the other places in the area. The sign had a single coin on it. Elyse stared at it in wonder. “I think we should go back and tell the other what we found, but I need to come back here.”

“I’m sure we will,” Boblem grinned. “I’m sure somebody else might want to come.”

There was faint music coming from inside the store. Cracking the door, the music grew louder, and she peeked in to see shelves stacked with all manner of weird looking things. Elyse sighed. “Okay, let’s go back.”

“We’ll come back,” Boblem laughed.

They headed to the barracks. Both horses were tied up, the cart in the courtyard, with the rest of the group inside. “They got back quickly,” Boblem observed.

They entered the main building, looking around for the others. Astra and Sariel were mostly done with the decorating, an immediate homey difference visible as Elyse and Boblem entered.

“This is looking a lot nicer!” Boblem smiled.

“We’re not done yet,” Astra countered. “Don’t worry.”

Elyse took it all in. “You guys made it look really nice!”

Sariel had sprouted a few flowers across the walls with her druidic magic. Boblem smiled at her. “It’s very pretty.”

“Well, if we’re all going to be staying here for awhile,” she replied, “I want to make it our own.”

“Exactly!” Astra grinned. “It’s a bedroom for each of us,” he pointed to the doors in the wing.

“I’ve never lived anywhere like this,” Elyse admitted. “This is amazing.”

“I’ve never lived with so many people before,” Boblem added.

“Well, I’ve lived with more people than this.”

Astra glanced at her with a grin. “Me too.”

Cassian strolled in. “So, how did everybody do?”

“We did pretty well, I think,” Elyse replied.

“Well, the fifth tier is locked up tight,” he huffed. “Even for a fucking Lord.”

“You didn’t get in then?”

Vanden shrugged. “Not without papers.”

Cassian nodded. “We need to…”

“Forge them.”

“Forge them.”

Elyse considered the plan. “Might be easy to find here. Do you know what that kind of thing is meant to look like, or…?” Vanden gave a wordless nod. “I’m sure we can snoop around,” she continued. “Find something. But yeah, we managed to scout out the streets down there a little bit. I think we got a pretty good recollection of what they look like. And Boblem managed to get inside as a spider, check out the Charnel House.”

“Well done,” Astra smiled.

“Thank you,” the boy nodded. “They’re definitely there. The company that… attacked your family.”

Vanden looked to the floor. “Good.”

“They were waiting for Kahnym to come back.” Boblem set about relaying what he remembered, drawing out maps and giving numbers. “They said as soon as he comes back, they would leave. They’re just waiting for him to come back.”

“But unfortunately,” Elyse added, “We didn’t hear how long that’s gonna be, so we don’t really know what the time limit is on that.”

Vanden frowned. “And we don’t know who’s leaving. Whether those guards are just switching up their patrol, or…”

“Yeah. But I’m sure if we scout out a bit longer we could find out more. Maybe if they all leave, we can just…?”

“I don’t think it’d be quite that simple, that would be a very hopeful thing- ”

“I know,” she sighed. “But obviously, all these mercenary companies are leaving the city for some reason. Maybe they’re planning to go with them too, we don’t know.” She turned back to Boblem. “Didn’t you also hear the guards also say something along the lines of,  _ yeah, it’s a really good job, _ referring to something else?”

“Yeah,” he replied. “But they didn’t specify beyond that.”

“They could have been talking about whatever it is all these other mercenaries are going after. Maybe that’s what they’re going after too.”

“Or whatever Kahnym is doing,” Vanden added.

“Or what Kahnym’s doing,” Sariel agreed.

“The Fang at the abbey said something about Kahnym working… underneath. I don’t know if that means in the Underdark.”

“Maybe the Underdark, yes.”

“If all these mercenaries are going towards the same job… would it be good to pretend to be mercenaries?” Boblem wondered. “Maybe not all of us, but… one or two of us? To go investigate, see if we’re offered the same job?”

“Maybe,” Elyse considered.

Vanden thought. “Possibly.”

“We’d have to know which company we’d belong to and stuff. Is it all quite well established within the city? Would people know the names of all the mercenary companies operating here?”

“And wasn’t it full companies of mercenaries?” Sariel added, “Rather than just individuals?”

“Also,” Boblem warned, “If we do go back to that place… I would not advise climbing the walls. There was glass and bone shards, and all kinds of sharp things on the top.”

“Immediately crushes my plans, but, there’s other things I can do,” Elyse shrugged.

“Also,” Astra cautioned, “I was going to make mention that we need to be careful on this level. Of who we talk to, and who we talk about. Because, a couple of miles down, it’s the Endigni barracks.”

“Oh no,” Boblem worried.

“Oh…” Vanden tilted his head. “Interesting.”

“They work for Lady Turquoid,” Elyse recalled. “Right?”

“Yes, but they’re just mercenaries. They’re just taking- ”

“I thought she was wanted in Shadebourne?” Cassian interrupted.

Vanden explained that this was just their headquarters. Some were stationed in Fang, some were on a permanent leave with her, and some were all over. “They’re just a mercenary company. I don’t imagine they would see us and attack us based on the fact that we spoke to Turquoid.”

“We just need to be careful about what we talk about, I guess,” Astra advised.

“Yes, of course.”

“And,” Elyse considered, “You never know, some of them could have come back from Sanskra recently, or heard word… I dunno.”

“I’ve only seen them at the one place,” the bard explained. “Nowhere else they’ve been.”

“Speaking of danger and being careful,” Boblem replied, “There was a murder? Down in the first tier?”

“Yeah,” Elyse sighed. “We saw a body being dragged out of an alleyway.”

Cassian and Vanden looked at each other. “That’s what the guards were talking about,” they chorused.

“Spoke to a man, they said there’s been about fifty killings or something.”

“Fifty?” Sariel repeated.

“They told us the gates are permanently locked,” Vanden continued. “Keeping people out, can’t go up there because of this.”

“Makes sense,” Elyse sighed.

Boblem looked to the others in confusion. “They’re just letting them die?”

“They live on the first tier. They don’t give a shit, Boblem. He said it was going on for about two months, people just being killed in the streets.”

Cassian raised his eyebrows in shock. “Fifty people in two months?”

Vanden thought. “The mercenary companies leaving… not necessarily associated.”

“Something’s on a spree,” Boblem gulped.

“Well, this city is a mess.”

“Yeah,” Elyse sighed. “So we just need to watch our backs.”

“I don’t know if there’s any sort of pattern to these murders, but it would be worth seeing,” Boblem added.

“Could go back and ask,” Elyse nodded. “We’re going to be around that area anyway. I just didn’t wanna pry too much.”

“Well if anyone needs to stock up on anything,” Astra remembered, “We found an armour shop, an enchanted armour shop where…”

As he spoke, Cassian and Vanden gave Sariel meaningful stares. She turned her head, looking between them. “I see you both!”

Astra glanced at them. “What?”

Vanden turned his gaze away. “Hm?”

“Nothing,” Cassian brushed them off, giving Vanden a look instead.

Sariel sighed. “I was hoping you would come with me,” she asked Vanden, “Because I don’t know what I’m looking for. And whether I’m getting a good price.”

“Of course,” he agreed.

“It was all so expensive! Why is it so expensive?”

“It’s a fine craft to make.”

“So?” She laughed a bit, still reeling from the prices. “That expensive?”

Cassian shrugged. “They’re charging people for the legwork, the time they put into it. As well as the materials, and…”

“400 gold?”

“Yes.”

Sariel shook her head.

“She wouldn’t let me pay for her,” Astra informed them.

There was a beat of silence. “I can help you,” Vanden repeated.

“Maybe you could trade in some items as well,” Elyse suggested. “Lower the price.”

“I don’t really have anything,” Sariel shrugged.

Vanden pointed a thumb to the closet they had busted open. “I mean, we have a whole cupboard full of armour.”

“Yeah!” Elyse agreed. “We could sell some of that, make some money from it. There's also a shop I want to check out, don’t know if anyone else wants to, a shop that looks like it sells some interesting arcane artifacts. Had some cool music coming out of it,” she grinned to Astra.

The bard perked up. “Oh, really?”

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t know if it was someone in the shop playing it, or whatever, but… I’m definitely going there, so if anyone else wants to go.”

“Sure!”

“Well,” Sariel looked around at the barracks, “We’re going to be here for a while I gather, so it’s worth a look.”

“Assuming we don’t get kicked out,” Elyse grinned.

“We’re not going to get kicked out,” Cassian declared.

Vanden overlapped his response with the same sentiment. “I don’t think we’re going to get kicked out.”

“We decorated!” Sariel protested. “We’re not getting kicked out.”

“Thank you for decorating,” Cassian replied.

“Yeah, thank you,” Elyse followed.

Vanden gave a sad smile. “Almost feels homey.”

“Looks very pretty!” Boblem encouraged.

“It is! It’s our home now,” Astra decided.

Sariel smiled. “It is.”

They wound up for the day, making preparations and plans in the Shadebourne barracks. It was a grim and desolate city. Though often beautiful, it was scary, dark, and gloomy, a place where they were surrounded by strange faces. They packed in for the evening.


	32. A Chance Encounter, Episode Twenty-Nine

They sat in the barracks as late afternoon set in.

“Well, we still have some of the day left over,” Elyse considered. “If anyone wanted to do more scouting, or shopping, or anything? Before we…?”

“Perhaps we should spend the evening planning for the week,” Vanden suggested. “Then get comfortable in this place, if we’re going to be staying for awhile.”

“We got the time,” Astra nodded. “And besides, when Sariel and I were coming back, the people were starting to close up shop. That minotaur dropped the shutter.”

“We might as well plan a course of action,” Cassian thought. “Figure out who we want to have where, and when. What disguises, or animals, might be used. And in the meantime, whoever’s not scouting can be looking for supplies, information elsewhere in the city… There’s plenty of stuff to be done.”

“I’ve had some thoughts on it,” Vanden nodded. “I don’t know how long you all can keep your disguises up…”

“Indefinitely.”

Astra raised his eyebrows at Cassian, surprised. “Oh…”

“Two hours,” Sariel offered.

“Yeah, two hours for us,” Boblem nodded, glancing at the other druid.

Elyse frowned. “An hour at a time for me, but I can cast it several times.”

“Same as Elyse,” Astra nodded. “But I’m still learning, so.”

“In which case,” Vanden decided, “I propose some sort of schedule. Shifts.”

“Yeah,” Elyse agreed. “We should definitely be working in shifts. We don’t all need to be there at the same time, it will draw too much attention.”

“And never go back as the same person if you’re disguising yourself,” Cassian advised.

“Yes, I was going to say that.”

“So,” Vanden cleared his throat, forming the plan. “I’d like one of you two, with your familiars,” he glanced at the druids, “Down there tomorrow. Perhaps to send in a bird, get a better scope on the inside.”

“We could send the owl in overnight,” Sariel offered. “See what they do when it gets dark.”

“An owl might be quite conspicuous…”

“Something small, then.”

“If we want to be particularly sneaky… we got quite a good look at that man we took down on the way here,” Cassian thought.

“Could turn into him,” Elyse considered. “That’s a big risk though, sending someone in alone.”

Vanden shook his head. “I am gonna say no. If that man comes back by himself without the rest of his company, there’s going to be a lot of questions.”

“Yeah, that’s a good point.”

Cassian nodded. “True…”

“I think your idea is right,” Elyse decided, nodding to Vanden. “We send in an animal, which if it’s a familiar… If someone does see it and squish it, no harm no foul. If it was one of you guys it would be a bit…” She trailed off noticing Boblem’s frown. “Apart from emotionally,” she amended. “But they can come back.”

“It’ll only hurt my heart,” the boy agreed.

Vanden glanced between the druids. “Which of you would be happy doing that first?”

“I don’t mind,” Sariel volunteered.

“In fact, if someone wants to go down tonight…with Sariel. Cassian?”

He glanced up. “Yes?”

“You can keep up your disguise for longest…”

“Absolutely.”

“If the two of you head down there, to the front of the Charnel House, you can find a spot to observe from. You sit somewhere safe, and send in your bird. Report back in a couple of hours?” They nodded. “In the morning,” Vanden looked to the others. “Who next?”

“I can do it,” Boblem offered.

“Yeah,” Elyse shrugged. “Good to go.”

Vanden nodded. “Boblem and Elyse? And then one of you two with Astra in the afternoon?”

“I can change into a cat or something,” Sariel offered.

Astra folded his hands. “Sounds good.”

“And we’ll just cycle through it like that,” Vanden concluded. “It’s going to be quite a task, but the more information we have, the less danger we’re in.”

“Quite,” Cassian agreed.

“And when you’re done with your shifts, you can bring it back here, I can compile it until we have a detailed plan.”

“Exactly. Use any free time gathering supplies and information as well.”

“Great.”

“But for now, before we do that,” Astra requested, “Can we just have a moment to actually relax and enjoy that we’re here together?

Sariel smiled. “Yes, let’s do that.” With the money they had spent, they had filled the kitchen with plenty of materials and food. “Vanden, we got something that isn’t rations.”

The prince smiled. “You did fantastically. I suppose we should eat.”

“We can go out when it gets dark.”

The kitchen was decently sized, suitable for cooking for a hundred people. There were fireplaces in most of the rooms. The kitchens were next to the main mess hall, and below the office’s mess hall, which was a bit smaller. The main mess hall had huge trestle tables, each for seating twenty people. Vanden went around with a tinderbox and flint, lighting a few fires in the kitchen and the smaller mess hall. Boblem cooked, trying to recreate one of his grandmother’s recipes from memory. He made a nice hearty soup with grains and potatoes, and some chicken in a separate pot. After some time, Boblem came up to the smaller mess hall, a bit of flour on his forehead, bringing up a big pot of stew. They laid out their new silverware on the table. For the first time as a group, they sat and enjoyed a home cooked meal together.

“Hope it’s good,” Boblem worried. “I tried to make it from a recipe.”

“It’s delicious Boblem,” Sariel smiled back.

Elyse took a huge bite. “It’s amazing.”

He brightened. “I tried to remember my grandmother’s recipe, but I don’t know if I managed.”

“I’m sure she’d be proud,” Astra assured him.

“It’s delicious,” Vanden followed. He was eating the chicken, picking out any semblance of vegetable to put them on Astra’s plate as he ate. The tiefling swallowed them up.

Boblem grinned at the sight. “You know, my grandma would find that quite rude,” he teased.

Sariel gave the prince a faux stern look. “Don’t want to be rude, Vanden.”

“Do it for Boblem’s grandma,” Cassian urged.

Elyse taunted him. “Boblem worked really hard on it.”

“I don’t want to waste it,” Vanden reasoned.

“You could try it,” Boblem encouraged.

“One,” Cassian grinned. “Just for grandma.”

“Try that orange one,” Sariel pointed. “It’s a sweet potato. It tastes really nice, it’s like sweets. Try it.”

The entire table was staring at him, daring. Vanden rolled his eyes. “Do not patronize me.”

“Eat your damn vegetables!” Sariel ordered.

The table laughed. Looking Sariel dead in the eye, Vanden speared a sweet potato, placing it on Astra’s plate.

“It’s okay,” Boblem shrugged. “If you didn’t like it. You don’t have to…”

Cassian gave teasing disapproval. “Grandma would be ashamed of you.”

Elyse crossed her arms, turning to the prince. “You upset Boblem. You upset him.”

Astra put the sweet potato on his fork, holding it near Vanden’s face. Vanden bit back a smile. “No!” He got up, leaving the room.

“My 16 year old sister eats hers!” Astra called after. “You’re worse than her!”

Elyse waited until he was well out of earshot to mumble, “Guess he’s scared of vegetables, too.”

Cassian choked.

  
  


The evening went by, the night growing black. After a bit of wandering, Vanden walked out to the training grounds. There were empty braisers all around the courtyard that could be lit with a torch, but he chose to practice in the dark, swinging his sword at a few mannequins.

Elyse climbed up and onto the roof. It was easy enough, a fairly gently sloping roof with terracotta tiles. From her elevated position, she was able to see the three tiers of the city below, lights twinkling, with the infinite vastness of dark beyond. She watched Vanden for a bit, casting the alarm spell around herself before pulling off her gloves and armwraps. She stared at her palms and hands, taking out the arcane focus to let it float. She spun it, staring at it and toying with it, channelling tiny flickers of electricity into it as she closed her eyes, thinking. “I don’t know if you're watching right now,” she spoke to it in Fulgan, “And I don’t even know if you know. But I just wanted to know, why me, and not him?”

There was no response, the focus softly spinning as the night air grew chilly. She allowed it to float back down into her hands, holding it to her chest as she laid back, staring up at the stars. She remained out there for as long as she could in the cold, imagining she was back on the airship. It was easy enough.

Sariel walked out into the courtyard, hoping to continue her foresight training, and found Vanden still there. He had a shortsword in each hand from the armoury in the barracks, practicing with both, absolutely mullering the mannequin in the dark.

“Do you want the lights on?” she offered.

He glanced up at the sound, stalling for a moment. “Um... sure.”

“Didn’t realize how dark it got so quick.”

“Yeah. You can see the stars really nicely out here.”

“You can. That’s why I came out.” She lit a few of the braisers. It softly illuminated the courtyard, shedding a warm, orange, flickering light over the training ground. “I can do this elsewhere if you want some privacy,” she offered.

“No, no it’s fine. Do whatever you need to do.”

“Okay.” She kept out of his way, spending an hour or so concentrating on the glass ball. She picked up a handful of pebbles, trying to envision what form they would fall in, before throwing them up in the air to let them fall. She meditated, looking up at the mountains of Shadebourne. Dropping the stones without looking, they landed in a vague triangle, almost resembling the mountain. She realized she had the image of the mountain in her head before she had thrown them. There was a vague connection.

Vanden looked over. “What are you doing?”

“Oh hello, um, just a trick that some people I used to live with could do. They had the gift of foresight.”

“That would be useful.”

“It would. I can’t do anything close to it, but, I thought I’d try.”

“You got that from… Old Maggie?”

“Yes,” she held up the ball. “It’s a scrying eye.”

“What do you think of her?”

“Maggie?”

“Mhm.”

“I feel that she wasn’t quite of this world.”

He blinked. “That’s… terrifying. What do you mean by that?”

“I feel she was more suited to the plane we ended up on, then where we found her. If that makes any sense.”

“I get the feeling you know what that was. Well, you understood better than I did.”

“I have an idea.”

Vanden sighed. “And I need to go around planting teeth, apparently. Little weirded out by that.”

“It’s quite a lot she gave you to do. Teeth, a name, a song, flowers from the teeth…”

“Lord knows what we’re doing in three years.”

“At least you can argue she was quite nonspecific with what she told you to do.”

He laughed. “I’m sure she was very specific in her own head. Suppose I might be… home again. By then.”

“I have no idea where I’ll be in three years time. But if that’s where you want to be, I hope you are home.”

“If I want to stay home, I can go home again after this. When we’re done here.”

“I hope you can too.”

“It’s nice travelling with all of you, but…”

She smiled. “You don’t like being on the road.”

“It’s more the being… walking into Shadebourne and seeing the state of the city here has reminded me how much I have on my plate at home, that I should be getting on with.”

Sariel frowned, looking to the ground. “I hate it here.”

“Me too. I’d like to bring some real change, but. I don’t know, I feel like we’re just going to end up in prison. We’ll see. I’m sure there’s something we can do.”

“I’m sure.”

“And then I can head home, and you can all head on to… your next adventure.”

“Won’t quite be the same without you.”

He paused for a moment at that. “You’ll always have a place in Mirrortail. After this.”

“I’d like to see more of Mirrortail, didn’t get to see very much of it.”

“It’s incredible,” he smiled a bit, wistful. “One day, I hope I can show you all around.”

“You will.”

“I’ll leave you to your… stones.”

“It’s alright, I’ve got to go anyway. Cassian and I are going to go on stakeout.”

“Yes, yes,” he nodded, remembering. “Be careful, okay? We’ll get you armour tomorrow.”

“Okay. Sleep well.”

“You too.”

Sariel went to find the wizard, who was waiting for her, meditating over his spellbook in the common area. She gently roused him, and he glanced up from where he was sitting. “Ready?”

“Yes.”

He nodded. “Off we go, then.”

They began the trek down. The streets on the third tier were quiet, and the first and second tiers were full of closed doors and shuttered, boarded windows. There were very few people on the streets, save for a few stragglers too deep in their cups to even know where they were, retching on their hands and knees. The walked by remnants of a few scraps and scuffles, but there were very few people out past dark. Cassian changed his disguise before every tier.

They followed the directions given. It was about a half hour from the first tier gate to the swills. They recognized the Charnel House from the description, with slick wet wood walls, palisades arranged in a large square, with a few buildings inside. A few buildings surrounded it, a few taverns, accomodations, and some closed blacksmiths. Behind the barracks was the second tier wall, rising up. There were braiser fires let inside the walls. From a distance, they could spot the sentries.

“Was the suggestion that we perhaps… rent a room? And then watch from there?” Cassian offered.

“The evening portion perhaps, if we do similar to what they did earlier.”

“Just have a walk around, and you send a friend in.”

“I’ll send the bird in,” she nodded. She summoned a shrike, a little grey and black bird with a pointed beak and sharp talons. The pair kept themselves out of sight, hidden close to the barracks. Cassian made his rounds ducking into alleyways and changing his disguise frequently, mimicking random people passing by at varied intervals. He pretended he was drunk, or lost, using every trick he had. The guards followed him with their eyes, hyenas snarling at their chains even from far away, but they didn’t seem to catch on that it was the same person watching them.

Sariel found a spot that would be undisturbed, an alleyway just off the two blacksmiths. She angled a couple of large barrels to seal off the alley a bit, taking cover behind them. Her eyes flashed, and she saw herself from the bird’s perspective as it began soaring up towards the Charnel House. She looked for any people patrolling or talking, trying to find entrances and exits. The bird flew over the wall, sitting on a post. Almost instantly, the hyena pen near her erupted, the place filling with noise as the canines slammed against the wall. They smelled something, fresh meat, nearby. With her heightened senses, she could smell the rancid meat, piss, and waste everywhere. The state of this place was disgusting, and with the dogs baying, she had to fly out and away.

Perching on a nearby building, she watched three people rush out of the L shaped building, two wearing armour and similar clothing she recognized, and one in a hooded robe, very clearly a gnoll by their muscles and build. They banged on the huge pens, one of them climbing the ladder to the top to shout at them in an unknown language. Someone on the ground threw a sack to the person up top, and they poured some kind of slop through a grilled ceiling to the dogs below. They yapped and barked before they ate ferociously, tearing apart the meat.

As the commotion occured, Cassian noticed that the two guards in front didn’t move, refusing to leave their posts. The one person at the top of the tower remained as well. On the second tower, people came in and out every so often, but it didn’t seem like they were actively watching from there.

They didn’t see the guard shift, but halfway through, at 10:00pm, they rotated positions. Sariel sent the bird out again. Soaring down silently, she rested on a small windowsill on the L shaped building. Looking in through dirty, smeared glass, she saw a stone room with lots of unknown items surrounding the walls. There were stairs going down, leading underground, and more stairs going up to the top level. Flying up, she looked in the top room. It was similar to their planning room in the barracks, a long oak table with lots of papers and charts around the top. After a time, she saw the remains of the meat sack brought into a building just off the gatehouse. The hooded gnoll didn’t come back out again.

After two hours, Cassian made his way back to where he had left Sariel. Sariel’s vision returned to her as the bird dissipated. At around 11:00pm, the guards began to flag, growing weary. They were tired, leaning up against things, the one up top almost falling asleep.

“That was worth doing,” Sariel nodded.

“Yes, I don’t think we should talk about it now though. On the way back.”

“Yes, let’s go.”

They made their way back easily enough, and no one stopped them. As they entered the fourth tier, Cassian reformed to his usual self. They passed on the information to Vanden, who took a variety of notes on when the guards swapped, the mysterious hooded gnoll, the layout of the compound, the entrances, and a vague idea of the building’s insides. Cassian added that the entire organization seemed unprofessional in manner to him.

Astra sat in his room, trying out a few tunes. He stopped frequently to restart, practicing over and over. Boblem spent some time writing in his journal, tracing the path they had travelled so far as he sat in the common room. When it grew cold, Elyse climbed back into her room, flipping through her research journal for a bit before reading the new poetry book she had borrowed from Vanden, and settling into sleep.

Cassian bid Sariel goodnight, lingering in the courtyard a bit longer. Vanden, who had been practicing with the swords for the past few hours, was very sweaty and tired. He had dark circles under his eyes, not having slept properly for the past week. Finished, he drove both swords into the clay ground, and turned around. “Did you want something?”

The wizard straightened as he was addressed. “I… just wanted to say thank you, for talking to Sariel.”

“You’re… welcome?”

“I had much of the same conversation with her, and- ”

“About the scrying?”

Cassian blinked in confusion. “What? About…?”

“About the armour?”

“Yes?”

“Right.”

Cassian gave him a look.

“I’m sorry,” Vanden ran a hand through his hair. “I’m very tired.”

“Maybe you should get some sleep then. But…” he averted his eyes, “Just wanted to say thank you. Because… it’s not that I don’t… care for people, but… she means a lot to me.”

He looked back up, and Vanden met his eye. “You’re welcome.”

“Thank you. Difficult, running away from home, so.”

Vanden fit the pieces together in his mind. “You were running away. When you left with us.”

He shrugged. “More or less.”

Vanden considered the information. “Guess I never stopped to think about why you left. Was it Mirrortail? Or something else that made you leave?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps a combination. You spend two hundred years in the same place, and things start to get a bit…  _ itchy." _

“I can imagine.”

“Yes. And, it- ” he cut himself off, squirming as he fought to form the words. “Things that were expected of me didn’t seem fair to me, so.”

Vanden shrugged in solidarity. “I know how that feels. But, I miss it, nonetheless. Terribly.”

“I miss aspects of it. I miss the smell of the ocean, the sound of the waves. I miss… the streets. The hustle and bustle of life there. I miss my father.” Realizing his mistake, he looked away. “I’m sorry. Bad timing.”

“It’s fine. Would you ever want to go back?”

“One day. When I have my own life.”

“I’d say you already do.”

“Hm. Tell that to my mother,” the wizard replied.

“I’m gonna go over the plans again. You should sleep.”

“So should you.”

Vanden gave a small smile. He walked past, squeezing Cassian’s shoulder as he moved by. “It’s nice being able to talk to you.”

Cassian looked at the hand. “You too.”

Vanden walked on inside, a bit quickly. He went over everything they had learned until he fell asleep at the war room table.

  
  


They awoke in the morning to the sounds of the city. Light poked in through the shutters. The beds had all been decently comfortable. It was a bit unnerving how identical every room was, the layout meticulously detailed, but their little corner of the huge building had a bit more decoration now. The rooms were spacious enough, individual spaces meant for officers while larger rooms to be packed with troops sat below.

Cassian made his way down to the planning room, waiting for the others to join him. There, he found Vanden, passed out with ink spilled across the table, and a bit on his face. The wizard took a moment before attempting to tidy up around the man. He wasn’t trying to wake him, but at the first sound of rustling the prince jerked up. He had a piece of paper still stuck to his face.

Cassian raised a brow at him. “Morning.”

“Morning,” Vanden sighed, pulling off the page. “Right, we should get on with things.”

The wizard gathered up the papers. “Elyse and Boblem first, right?”

“Yes.”

“First shift.”

The group convened, relaying what they had gathered from the previous night. They had a good idea of the courtyard, but the buildings were still largely a mystery. “We can try and get a familiar inside there,” Elyse considered. “If we get a room in the inn and we both sit up there, you can be looking out through its eyes and send it out through the window. And then I can be on guard just to make sure they don’t notice it, or they don't come up and disturb us.”

“Yeah,” Boblem agreed. “Sounds like a good idea.”

“That works,” Vanden nodded. “I would say, if there’s something underground, that’s probably their archives. So if you can make your way down there with your familiar…”

“That works I think,” Elyse approved. “Let’s do this.”

“Good luck.”

“Thank you,” Boblem smiled.

“Be safe,” Sariel warned.

“We will.”

They trekked through the city, the tiers opening up as people came into the streets, with many people moving between the first and second tier for work or trade. The pair moved to the back of the alley without any interruptions. Boblem summoned a spider, creating it in his palm. It dropped to the floor and began to crawl off. Elyse sat him with his back against the wall, holding his hand and keeping watch over the alleyway as Boblem’s vision left with the spider.

The two of them became invisible with her spell, ducking behind the crates and barrels. She heard the businesses to the sides opening, and though she couldn’t see them, she heard doors and shutters opening as people cursed.

The spider moved across the alleyway, climbing up to the top of the palisade and searching for an entrance to the L shaped building. It took about fifteen minutes to crawl over, searching each window for a crack, but they were all fairly well closed. It had to go all the way around the building, skittering underneath the front door.

The room had stone flooring and wooden walls, with stairs leading up and down. Items were hanging on the walls, including a bunch of skulls, some huge, hanging like trophies. There were two smaller humanoid ones, a larger one that was a bit misshapen, and one very large, very long skull. There was something on a plinth, a long twisting horn of ivory or mother of pearl, and a frame with armour dangling inside.

The spider scuttled down the stairs. Boblem heard the steps of someone coming up, and he moved the spider to the wall to avoid them. It was a gnoll who didn’t seem to notice him, carrying weaponry on its back, a shield, a spear, and a longbow with patchwork armour. It smelled.

At the bottom of the stairs, he looked down a long corridor. Twenty feet from him, he saw two doors on either side. Further down, there was another set of doors before the corridor snaked around. He moved around the corridor, heading right. There was a fairly nice door on his left, and another in front. Boblem sent the spider back upstairs, heading to the second floor.

There was a slightly less filthy room upstairs, with a wide oak table scuffed and stained with he dreaded to think of what. There were maps and papers, and a cabinet of liquor. The tables had scratch and burn marks, and one of the pages was a map of the Charnel House.

There was a roster, a list of all the troops. He tried his best to memorize, walking slowly over the paper. It took about twenty minutes for him to read it back out to Elyse through his own body. The leader, Kahnym Whitehide, was currently deployed in the Underdark. Next, Yerrix, based in the Charnel House. Then, Verris the pup, deployed in Frostguard and due back. That was likely the gnoll they had killed in the abbey. There were another three gnolls deployed at Frostguard, also due back, also taken down in the ambush. Another eight were deployed in the Underdark, with seven stationed in the Charnel House. Of auxiliaries, six were deployed at Frostguard, due back, never to return. There were two more in the Underdark, as well as another two in the Charnel House. The troop was small, and Boblem realized they had taken out at least a third of it already.

Boblem turned his attention to the maps, memorizing the one of the barracks. The geography of the Underdark was too large and too complicated to fully grasp, but notes on it seemed to imply that Kahnym would be back in two days with the other troops, suggesting that Kahnym would stay for a day before taking new troops down to the Underdark.

Elyse sent a message into the mind of the spider. “ _ I’m coming up to the end of the first hour of invisibility, but I can recast it. Do you need me to? Do you need more time?” _

Boblem’s voice echoed back.  _ “Yes, another hour might be good.” _

She recast the spell. Boblem went back to the first floor, looking at the skulls again. The two humanoid ones had long and pointed canines, one with the top of their head cracked in. The spider moved across to the building coming out of the gatehouse. It seemed like temporary storage, with manacles on the walls, sacks of flour, casks of oil and pitch, a bunch of torches, rope, a sack of loose meat that looked grey and smelled worse, and an iron bear trap.

He climbed to the pen. There were eight regular hyenas, and two giant ones. There were a lot of bones in there. Definitely human.

He went back to the cellar of the main building. He found a small T junction, with heavy, locked doors on either side. He went through the left door. Looking up, he saw stacks and stacks of shelves with scrolls rolled up. There was also a small desk with writing supplies. He crawled underneath the room on the right. As he stepped inside, there was a flash of bright red and white light. The form of the spider incinerated as Boblem gasped back into his own form.

Elyse looked at him with concern. “You alright?”

“Oh my gosh. Um, spider’s gone.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know, I stepped into a room, and then all of a sudden… it was a flash of light and I was gone.”

“Maybe you set off a trap or something.”

“It was in the downstairs.” Boblem explained that before the light flashed, he made out the shapes of a few chests.

“So a treasury, or something,” Elyse concluded.

“I think it’s better if we hurry back before the other hour is out. And report.”

There was loud commotion inside the Charnel House. They headed back to the first tier gate as the invisibility faded away.

  
  


Back at the barracks, Vanden offered to take Sariel out to find some armour. “Which one would you like to go to?”

“Well, there’s a few options,” she considered. “There’s a place run by a lovely minotaur gentleman, and then there’s a very posh place…”

“Ydra Warkers,” Astra supplied. “They had a lot of very fancy and expensive enchanted things.”

“Lots of nice weaponry. It’s a shame you two weren’t there,” she glanced between Vanden and Cassian. “I think you would have appreciated it more.”

“I did say we’d go back,” Astra considered. “She seemed rather frustrated we were not buying anything.”

“I don’t know if she’d want to see me again.”

“Well, imagine the look on their face if you walk in with a brand new suit of armour,” Cassian grinned.

“A cheap set of armour,” Sariel shrugged.

“Well,” Vanden decided, “You don’t sound too keen on the second one.”

She shook her head. “They were just very snobby in there.” Cassian and Vanden chuckled a bit. “They were!”

“Okay, first one it is.”

Vanden gathered a bag with some of the armour they had found in the barracks, and they walked to the minotaur’s shop. There were a couple people inside that the man was helping, but the shopkeep seemed to take notice as they entered. He put his things down, heading over. “Welcome back.”

“Good morning,” Vanden greeted.

Sariel nodded politely. “Good morning.”

“Hello again,” Astra smiled.

The minotaur looked over them. “Hello. Old faces, and new. I’m glad you returned. What can I be helping you with?”

“Still looking for the same thing,” Sariel explained. “But this time I’ve got a more… educated eye.”

The old man grinned, pulling up a pair of half moon glasses.

“Could I see a selection of your hide armour, please?” Vanden prompted.

The man pulled out a bunch of options, with a few in tans, greys, browns, blacks, and all manners of trims.

“Something black or grey,” Sariel considered. “A cooler tone.”

Vanden nodded. “Sure.” He looked through the pile for a bit.

Cassian continued to glance between the armour and Sariel’s outfit. There were pelts and patches of fur that would go well with it, and the wizard was curious to see what Vanden would choose. Eventually, the prince pulled out two options, one a waistcoat shaped body piece, and another a bodice piece of hide armour with black and grey fur trim, paired with braces.

“I like those,” Sariel smiled. “Wouldn’t have seen those yesterday, just far too much for me to take in.”

“You should try them on, see what fits comfortably.”

She took a piece. “Okay. How do I get into this deathtrap?”

“I can help you.”

It took about a minute to strap on. The minotaur helped as well. His fingers, despite his size, were very deft and adept. Though he dwarfed her, standing almost twice her size, he was very gentle. Remembering what happened with Astra, Vanden did his best to explain how the armour worked as they attached it.

As Vanden went to put on the armoured braces, he paused, realizing that Sariel already had some wraps courtesy of Cassian.

Sariel noticed him hesitate, and she looked over to the tailor. “So these won’t…? The ones you made, they’re just for the visual?”

“I thought that the pelts might be part of your look,” the wizard admitted.

“I really like them...”

“Well, you can always put on new ones,” he shrugged. “They can come off.”

“Oh! That’s clever,” she replied. Cassian pointed out where he had tied the detachable leather on with cord. “I like that,” she smiled.

“I’d say it’s worth trying these,” Vanden encouraged, holding out the armoured ones. “You don’t have to, but.”

“Okay.”

He looked at her arm. “Do you want me to…?”

“Yes please. I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Very gently, and a bit tentative, he began to take the braces off of Sariel. The touching was new territory for the both of them, but they managed. Her sleeve moved slightly, and Vanden noticed the scarring on her wrist. He froze up for a moment, not saying anything, and refusing to make eye contact.

“Everything okay?”

“Yes.” He pulled the braces carefully off, gently placing the armoured braces back over.

“I like these.”

“Yeah?”

“They go well with the pelt,” she glanced to Cassian for approval.

“Yes, sure,” he nodded back.

“Should keep you comfortable and warm, too,” Vanden added.

Astra grinned in the corner. “Suits you.”

“Thank you,” she smiled back.

Cassian endorsed the smaller plate she was wearing, dismissing the larger option on the table. “It would be a shame to hide all the lace.”

“It would. That’s partly why it would have been good to have you have as well, I don’t want to cover up all your hard work.”

He put up his hands. “Don’t value my opinion too highly, I know only rough things about armour.”

Vanden was certain the smaller piece would work well enough. “It looks good.”

“I do like this one,” she turned to the shopkeep. “How much was this again?”

“Ten gold pieces,” the man replied.

“I’ll take it.”

“And,” Vanden gestured to the bag he had brought, full of studded armour and helmets. He had kept the shield, but the rest was up for grabs. “If we were to exchange some of these in? I don’t know if you work with used armour, but…” he showed off the chestplate and various helmets.

The shopkeep peeked inside. “This… may exceed the value of what you are seeking. What you are purchasing.”

“Well, let’s exchange to the value, and if you want it, we can work something else out.”

“For everything you have here, I’ll give you… 120 pieces of gold.”

Sariel’s eyes went wide. “What?”

“And the armour for the lady?” Vanden pressed.

The minotaur nodded. “Of course.”

“Fantastic. It’s a deal.”

The man took the bag. “How did you get a hold of these? These are… hobgoblin?”

“Have you heard about the companies leaving the city?”

“I have.”

“We’ve come into partial ownership of one of the old barracks. Came with the territory.”

“New tenants,” the minotaur replied. “Odd of them to leave things behind. Hm. Nevertheless.”

“Do you know anything about them?” Vanden continued. “About them leaving?”

“I’ve twelve hundred fewer people to outfit,” the shopkeep sighed. “Can’t blame them, if they left the city, they left the city.”

“Do you know of any reason why?”

“I don’t know that many hobgoblins.”

“Understandable. Nobody seems to know why, we’re just curious.”

“It’s odd that there don’t even seem to be any rumours about it,” Sariel added. “It’s all just been very hush-hush.”

The minotaur shrugged. “It’s not that they kept to themselves, but, no word on the streets, no rumours, no anticipation of it happening. First legion marched out, maybe a month and a half ago? 5 or 6 weeks? No one questioned it. Legions march out from time to time.”

“And then more and more started going.”

“Mhm. Raised questions, but, they’re within their rights to do so.”

“Is it only the hobgoblin troops?” Cassian probed. “None of the others?”

“As far as I know.”

“Strange.”

“I don’t know. If you’re seeking gainful employment there are plenty more in the city.”

“No, it’s not that,” Vanden explained. “We just weren’t expecting to find the place so empty.”

“It’s mainly affected the third and fourth tiers, that’s where they were primarily based. The ripple effect has hit the whole city. With everything else going on, it’s not the best time.”

“I’m sure. Does any of that effect up here? The people going missing?”

“No, the killings have been restricted as far as I know to the first and second tiers. Savage, horrible attacks, people torn limb from limb. Some still missing.”

“Torn limb from limb?” Sariel pressed. “Like, an animal attack?”

“From what I’ve heard.”

“Strange.”

“One only a few nights, three or four back, down on the first tier again. Not as many people this time, only three or four, but… Apparently someone made her way out of it.”

“Someone alive?”

“Apparently so.”

“We can find information on her,” Vanden mumbled to the others. “Thank you,” he gave the minotaur a nod. “This has been very insightful.”

“My pleasure. Thank you for bringing me this,” he gestured to the bag or armour.

“Of course.”

“Thank you so much for your help,” Sariel added.

“It’s a pleasure. You wear it well.”

“Thank you.”

“Very fine craftsmanship,” Cassian approved.

The man looked to Sariel’s outfit peeking out underneath. “I’d say the same.”

“It is very good.” Sariel smiled up at the wizard.

The elf glanced over his work. “I know.”

Vanden moved the group to the door. “Let’s make our way onwards.”

  
  


They convened back at the barracks, Elyse and Boblem passing on their scouted information as Vanden wrote it all down. They explained the layout of the building, the roster, the archives room, the trapped room, and when Kahnym would return. Boblem drew out a map of the building, describing each room.

Boblem pointed to a spot in the courtyard. “In the hyena pen… there were human bones. And I don’t know if that might be somehow related to all the people going missing?”

“The animal attacks?” Astra worried.

“Yeah. Did you guys find anything on that?”

“Just the minotaur in the shop, he mentioned that people are being torn limb from limb.”

“But that somebody survived,” Vanden recalled.

Elyse raised her eyebrows. “Somebody lived through it?”

“On the first tier,” Cassian nodded.

“Only in the first tier,” Boblem frowned. “Where they are based.”

“The attacks were in the first  _ and _ second tiers,” the wizard corrected. “But the survivor is in the first tier.”

“Do we know where in the first tier?” Elyse pressed. “We could go and talk to them.”

“No, but it’s worth asking around. I’m sure it would be common knowledge.”

“Someone will know, yes. Well, lucky them, I guess.”

Boblem looked back to the map of the Charnel House. “They seemed to have a bunch of skulls in one room. As well as a fancy horn.”

“Like trophies?” Sariel guessed.

“Maybe.”

“They were mounted on walls, right?” Elyse glanced at the boy. “So they were sort of like hunting trophies, in a way.”

Astra grimaced.

“Yeah,” Boblem admitted, “But there was a horn… it didn’t seem like a trophy. I don’t know. I couldn’t quite tell what it was. As well as armour.”

“Maybe stuff they’ve pilfered,” Elyse guessed. “Or conquests of theirs, something.”

“You’ve both done so well,” Sariel praised.

“Thanks.”

“Well done,” Astra nodded.

“Very good information,” Cassian followed.

Boblem gave the table a small grin. “Thanks. I like your new armour,” he looked to Sariel. “Very tough.”

“Yeah,” Elyse agreed. “It looks really cool.”

“Thank you,” she smiled.

“Should give you some more protection if you want to get up close and,” Elyse made a tearing gesture, “Stab some people.”

“That’s the idea.”

Cassian looked across the table. “Vanden?”

The prince was staring off, lost in thought.

“Vanden?”

He glanced up. “Yes?”

“Kahnym. Your feelings?”

He swallowed, looking away. “Um…”

“We know he’s coming back in two days,” Elyse reminded them. “For one day, before he goes back into the Underdark. I don’t know if… I mean, it would probably be easier to do this when he’s not here, but I know that… you…”

“It’s probably best that we do it when he’s not here.”

“Also, when I entered the last room,” Boblem added, “When the spider entered the last room…”

“It set off some kind of trap,” Elyse finished.

“Yeah, it set off some kind of trap, so I think they might be… on the lookout? I’m sorry, I didn’t imagine it would happen.”

“You had no way of knowing in that form.”

“It’s okay,” Sariel consoled.

Vanden didn’t seem bothered. “They’ll find nothing.”

“But,” the boy continued, “They might be on their guard, is what I mean.”

“Sure.”

“Mabe leave it for the rest of the day?” Elyse suggested. “Just so we don’t arouse any suspicion?”

“Yes, we found out more information than I was expecting we’d get for a week.”

Cassian examined the papers across the desk. “I think, perhaps, with the information you’ve collected about the layout of this building, our best bet for the moment is to pick what sort of time we want to approach, and to study the guard patterns of that time. I know they were getting quite lax towards the end last night, so, perhaps night is a good bet.”

“Night is always best,” Elyse agreed. “But yeah, that’s also an option for infiltration when we actually go in to get the information as well. We’ve got a few different ideas now, so.”

Sariel looked back to Boblem. “Did it say how long Kahnym would be back in the Underdark after he returned to the Charnel House?”

The boy shook his head.

“I expect it might be awhile,” Vanden thought. “When we questioned the Fang, he already insinuated that Kahnym was in the Underdark, and they’d been away for awhile, so. Probably longer since, I don’t know.”

“I know the final decision is up to you Vanden, but, do you...” Sariel hesitated for a moment. “This might be the one chance to find him.”

“Get some retribution of some kind,” Elyse nodded.

“Even if it’s just a case of spying on him.”

Vanden’s face contorted as he stared into the table.

“May I also make a suggestion,” Astra began, “Potentially, if he’s coming back with a load of troops that’s been busy, and then he leaves again with the troops that are rested… that if we wanted to raid, we wait until the tired troops are in.”

“Very smart,” Sariel agreed.

Elyse thought. “Someone might tell him something set off that trap, which might make them a bit more on edge? Might make him not want to leave, possibly? I don’t know, I’m just trying to think of every possible option. But also you’re right, it would be best to do this when the tired troops have returned and he takes other people back with him. Well, for now I think we should just leave it for today and just make them think it was some kind of accident or something, not arouse any suspicion.”

“Let’s leave it for two days,” Vanden expanded. “Until the afternoon, the last day, we’ll go at night.”

“When he comes back?” Boblem clarified.

“Mhm. I… have to admit, the thought of confronting him…” he trailed off, shaking his head. “It’s what I want to do, I just know it’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid to have an emotional reaction to something like that,” Elyse consoled.

There was a long pause.

“What is it that you want to do?” Boblem asked.

Vanden ran a hand through his hair. “It doesn’t matter. I just need that information, and then, I can… I can come back here with an army, and kill him, if I can find out who did this, and go home.”

“We can also wait. Either do it before he comes back, or do it when he’s gone and break in, find the information we need to secure it here. But then, we’re going to stay in the city for a while longer. We can wait for him to come back, and confront him then. When we’ve already secured all the things we know we need, and then we’re not doing it at the same time.”

“You’re right.”

“There are options.”

“The only thing that matters is what’s on that piece of paper.”

“For today let’s… do something else,” the boy suggested.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.”

Vanden turned to the rest of the group. “Please, take the rest of the day and do whatever you need to.”

Elyse grinned. “I was planning to.”

“Did you say that you wanted to find a forger?” Sariel remembered.

“Oh yeah, for these papers?”

Vanden gave an imperceptible shrug. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“We could do that. Keep your mind on something else.”

Boblem slowly raised a hand. “Also, you wanted to go to the store where the music was playing?”

“Yeah, I really want to check out that shop,” Elyse nodded.

Vanden leaned back in his chair. “You know what, it doesn’t matter for now. I don’t want the chance of anyone knowing that I’m here until we’ve done what we have to do.”

“That’s fair.”

“And I can’t trust some random citizen of Shadebourne to look at my title deed, and not out us immediately.”

“You’re absolutely right.”

“Understandable,” Sariel agreed

“Go,” he urged. “You can go check out those shops and such, I’m going to stay here.”

Elyse looked at him. “You sure?”

“On your own?” Boblem worried.

He looked back to the papers. “Yes.”

“I don’t mind staying,” Sariel offered.

“You don’t have to. I’m just going to be here, I’m pretty confident this place is safe enough.”

“It’s up to you. Just in case you wanted some company.”

“...Whatever you feel like doing.”

“I’ll stay.”

Elyse looked to the others. “So you guys want to come with us, or?”

“Yes, I would like to,” Cassian answered. “But if you could wait a moment for me, I just want to… check on something.”

“Yeah sure, whatever. I was going to take a rest for a bit anyway.”

Cassian ducked out to the courier hub again. Nothing for him. He returned to the barracks.

While Cassian was out, Elyse sat with Boblem in the common room. “How’s the journalling going?”

“It’s quite a new thing. I enjoy it, it helps with being homesick? Kind of just pretend like I’m writing letters to my grandparents. So they know what we’re up to.”

“That’s really sweet.”

“Yeah, it helps me when I miss them. Which is a lot.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you do.”

“How’s it going with your journaling?” he asked.

“It’s not so much journalling, it’s… adventure stuff. Same as always, I’ve always done it, so.”

“Do you pretend to write letters to anybody?”

She paused for a moment. “In a way, I guess. I think about them a lot.”

“Yeah, you miss them too huh?”

“Miss them, don’t know if half of them are even alive… Can’t be certain of anything.”

“I’ll help you.”

“I thought I had a solution, and it didn’t work,” she sighed. “And I can’t be sure why it didn’t work exactly, and it’s just… Whatever, you don’t need to hear this.”

“It’s okay, I don’t mind. We can keep trying. Maybe there’s another solution.”

“Yeah, there’s… lots of ways, it’s just having the access to it. Who knows. I’m fine. Let’s uh, let’s get shopping.”

  
  


They made their way outside, meeting Cassian as Astra followed behind. They walked to the shop, standing outside the slightly dilapidated entrance. There were no windows, with just the single sign of a shiny coin hanging over the door.

Elyse led them through. Pushing in, they saw racks and shelves filled with all sorts of trinkets and assorted items. There were a couple of helmets, bottles, elements of clothings, small rocks, vases of plants, and all sorts of things. There was what appeared to be a mummified goblin hand, as well as a bunch of rings, chest pieces, a set of dice, a small cloth doll, a large green and blue peacock feather, a glass orb filled with moving smoke, a bunch of potions, and a multicolored stone disk with a ring through it.

There was one person behind the counter who had been fiddling with an instrument. As they looked up, the music stopped. The music hadn’t just been playing from their instrument, but echoing from all around somehow. “Oh! Afternoon!”

“Hi,” Elyse beamed with excitement.

Boblem tipped his hat. “Hello!”

“Good afternoon,” Cassian nodded.

The shopkeep grinned at them. “Welcome, all! I haven’t had so many customers in a while. Name’s Dingle!” They extended a hand, shaking each of theirs with enthusiasm.

“Aisha,” Elyse introduced.

“Pleasure! Pleasure to meet you!”

“Verdant Astra, nice to meet you,” the bard smiled. “Your song is beautiful.”

“Thank you, thank you, I spent a lot of time working on it. Dingle Flanigan. Welcome to the Shiny Coin.”

“Thank you.”

Cassian looked over the shelves. “Seems you have quite a few curiosities in here.”

The shopkeep straightened. They were a human, a little bit gangly, with curly, sandy brown hair. They wore a flouncy purple shirt with big puffy sleeves and a large collar matched on top of sparkly pants. “I do, I’m rather proud. You’re welcome to take a look and browse.”

“Absolutely. You have… enchanted items?”

“We have a few.”

“What sorts?”

“What sort of things?” Elyse leaned in.

Dingle waved his arms at the shelves. “I mean, take a look around! All sorts of magic if you just know where to look.”

“Anything that might offer… resistance, or protection?” Cassian pressed.

“Hmmmm… Perhaps, perhaps. What sort of protection you looking for? How much danger you planning to get into?”

“Well, who knows,” Elyse teased.

“I like to live quite dangerously,” the wizard answered with a grin.

“Oooo,” Dingle brightened with interest. “I like you, sir!” They strolled out, all limbs, reaching up to pull a small vial. Shaking it, a little burst of fire appeared inside, reflecting off their eyes for a moment as they grinned. Next, they pulled out a few scrolls of bound paper, collecting various items, including a set of panpipes and other trinkets, as well as the goblin hand and the round stone.

“This stone,” they gave an embarrassed laugh. “I get a good vibe from it, but… I’m frankly not sure if it does anything.”

“I mean, I could check for you,” Elyse offered.

“That’d be wonderful!”

“And maybe if we buy anything, you could knock something off the price?”

“Hmm. We could see about that…” They continued pulling things out, spreading items on the counter in front of them, glass chess pieces, dice made of bone, bottles of potions, a vial swirling with smoke, scrolls, two long green and blue feathers, and a large water jug.

“Protection?” Dingle beamed, grabbing a potion. “This fancy little bastard. Ever thought of breathing fire, good sir?”

Cassian seemed impressed. “...I have now.”

They shook it, little sparks flitting inside.

The wizard glanced to Elyse, remembering they already had one of those. “Put it to one side, I’d like to know what else you’ve got.”

The shopkeep raised their eyebrows in excitement.

Cassian raised his back.

“Ever find yourself in need of drink? Particularly parched?” Dingle asked. “Thirst just never sated?”

The wizard retreated. “I don’t drink. Elyse?”

Elyse gave him a look, irritated that he had given away her real name. “Excuse me!”

The shopkeep didn’t seem to have noticed, too focused on reeling Cassian back in. “Water, milk…”

The wizard moved back forward. “Ah.”

Dingle began to pour the jug, water tipping into their throat. It didn’t stop, the water flowing endlessly. After a minute, Dingle swallowed, belching a bit as they came back up.

“How much is that?” Astra wondered.

“This? Hm, let’s see… I’ll sell you this for 160 pieces of gold. It’s not just water, it’s wine, vinegar, acid, beer, mayonnaise…”

Boblem’s eyes bulged. “What?”

“Any liquid?” Cassian pressed. “More or less?”

They shrugged. “It’s limited to some fairly common things. You’ll get no liquid phosphorus or rarer substances.”

“I’ll bear it in mind,” Astra smiled.

“So whatever you pour into it,” Elyse concluded, “It puts out in infinite quantities?”

“Not infinite,” the shopkeep amended, “But a lot. And not whatever you pour in, you simply ask it.”

“Oh…”

“You speak to the jug. You say jug, infinite jug, endless jug, sater of my thirst, please provide to me beer on this day!”

Cassian tilted his head. “The whole speech every time?”

Dingle looked away, a bit red. “...Well, I do.”

“That’s very polite of you.”

They grinned. “I thought so.”

“Interesting,” Elyse considered.

“Can it be any liquid throughout the day?” Boblem continued. “Is there a set amount of times?”

“You ask for one liquid, it’ll give you that for the day,” they explained. “And the next morning, you can ask for something else.”

The boy nodded. “Also, you should not be drinking mayonnaise.”

Dingle bristled a bit. “Sir, you can’t just come into my shop and tell me what to do.”

“I’m just saying- ”

“It’s quite bad for your skin,” Elyse grinned. “It’s quite oily.”

Dingle looked her over. “How much mayonnaise have you drank?”

She tried to feign a sense of authority on the subject. “A lot.”

“And you’ve got great skin,” they countered. “Case in point, case in point.”

She rolled her eyes with a grin, giving up. “Well, thank you.”

Cassian moved them along. “What else do you have?”

Dingle pointed to a different bottle. “Take off the cap on this bottle, smoke will pour out. A lot of smoke, cover any area you wish to.” They moved to the pan pipes. “Ever heard the tale of the Pied Piper? These are his pan pipes.”

Astra leaned forward. “What do they do?”

“They’ll bring you many friends from the sewers.”

“Rats?” Boblem guessed.

“Rats, aye. Belonged to a famous bard, once or twice. So I’ve heard.”

“How much are they?” Astra wondered.

“Hm, this’ll set you back… I’d say 100. Belonged to a fella like you.”

“Like me.”

“Aye, horns,” they put two fingers at the top of their head.

“Right…”

“How about the thing with the smoke?” Boblem asked.

“Yeah,” Elyse looked at the bottle. “Is it one use, or?”

“Multiple,” they explained. “340 pieces of gold. A rare enchantment on this.”

“I might be interested in that, but I want to look at some other things as well… maybe talk about prices.”

“What about the feathers?” Astra continued.

“The feathers?” The shopkeep grabbed the pair, each about ten inches long, blue and green. “They’ll make you look wonderful.”

He grinned. “Okay.”

“Two gold a piece.”

“I’ll take them.”

“Both yours sir. They suit you.”

Elyse raised a brow, grinning. “Any sort of enchantment on that? Or they just look nice?”

“Depends on how you define enchantment. You’re enchanting me, sir,” Dingle nodded to the bard.

Astra tied one around the end of his lute, adding the other to his backpack.

“These scrolls,” Dingle continued. “These have enchantments built into them. 415 pieces of gold each.”

“Are they one use, or ritual scrolls?” Elyse wondered.

“Well, you could take the time, learn them… I’m not an arcanist, I can’t say for myself. If you read the scroll you could use the spell, or take longer and learn it I believe.”

“What spells?”

They popped the seals, reading them. “A floating disk, and… summoning of a familiar.”

That got her attention. “How much for the familiar one?”

“415 gold.”

“If I were to offer my services… to identify some items for you. Would you be willing to knock some off the price of that?”

“Perhaps I could…”

“I also have some items that might interest you.”

“I can take 15 gold off the price...? Tell you what, I’ll keep these here for you, if you need to save up, I’ll put them behind the counter.”

“Thank you,” she sighed. “I really appreciate that. Um, I’m also potentially interested in anything to enhance one’s spellcasting in any way, or move around with subtlety?”

“I’m afraid I don’t, these are the most powerful items I have, here. Everything else you see may have slight enchantments. If you’re lucky, they might have a story behind them. But I’m afraid these are my most powerful items.”

Cassian eyed the counter. “What’s up with the goblin hand?”

“Yeah,” Elyse followed. “What does that do? It’s gross, I love it.”

Dingle grabbed it, waving it about a bit as a finger wiggled loose. Boblem and Astra recoiled a bit.

“I don’t know,” Dingle shrugged. “I didn’t even buy this. I think someone just left this here. Maybe as a warning? Or a promise? I dunno, but I’ll sell it to you...”

Cassian wrinkled his nose. “No thank you.”

Elyse grinned. “How much?”

“No!” Boblem chided.

“This was a gift to the gentleman,” Cassian argued.

Dingle stared back at Elyse. “A gold.”

_ "No," _ Boblem warned her.

The sorcerer kept on grinning. “I kind of want it.”

“And do what?!”

Dingle waved the hand at her. The finger broke off.

“No!” Boblem cried.

Cassian gave Elyse a look that informed her he would absolutely incinerate the hand if need be. She smirked at him, daring.

Astra shook his head. “I don’t think it’s…”

“Tell you what,” Elyse thought. “If I identify that and the stone for you now, would you give me the money that you’d knock off the items?”

“If the items turn out to be magical,” Dingle shrugged. “Yes.”

“If there’s anything else you want me to identify for you…?”

“I’ve got someone who usually offers their services, so I think I’d be alright for now.”

“How much would you give me for identifying the stone right now?”

“Three if it doesn’t turn out magical, seven if it is.”

“Sure.” She set about identifying both objects as the others pursued. Neither of them were magical, but at least she got six gold out of it. “I’m an arcanist myself, I’m currently researching some artifacts and things… is there a library in the city that might have books on that sort of thing?”

“There are a few libraries, but, I’d recommend The Song And Scroll. It’s a bookstore around.”

“A bookstore rather than a library?”

“Aye, sort of specializes on curious books and such, the like. Check out them before you check out the library, I’d say.”

“Okay. Where’s the library as well, just so I know?”

They gave her directions to a place on the fourth tier.

“I’m very interested in those scrolls, so if you wouldn’t mind keeping them aside for a few days?”

“No problem,” they nodded, tucking the two underneath the desk. “Anything else for anyone else?”

Astra stepped forward. “Just as somebody that’s… Obviously, as musically talented as yourself, I was wondering if you’d know where in town would be best to perform?”

“Perform? There are a couple of open squares, I mean, you’d get more money the higher tiers you are, you get less rotten vegetables thrown at you. I’m not sure, I don’t take my music outside much.”

“Why not?”

“Oh, um… This place, it has a certain charm on it itself. When I play, my music plays all around as well.”

“That’s amazing,” Elyse grinned.

Dingle shrugged. “I inherited it from someone. I don’t feel it’d have the same gravitas outside.”

“Well, it’s incredibly talented,” Astra smiled.

“Thank you. I’m decent enough.”

Cassian readied himself to leave. “Thank you for your business and your time.”

“Been a pleasure. I’ll be right here. Or I won’t.”

“What?” Boblem tilted his head in confusion.

“Who knows. Might be having breakfast.”

“Ah, that’s true. You got me there.”

They walked out. Elyse turned to Cassian as they left. “Maybe if we find a good price for those gems, split the money, I might end up with enough for the scroll I’m after.”

“Perhaps,” he replied. “Do you mind if I keep one for myself?”

“Yeah of course, I figured we could just go to a jewlers together. We’re both pretty good at… convincing people to do what we want.”

“Yes, but do you mind if I keep a gem for myself?”

“Oh! Just in general? Yeah, sure, I guess.”

“Thank you.”

  
  


Back at the barracks, Sariel continued with her foresight training. She kept herself in the general vicinity of Vanden, giving him the option to talk if he wished. The prince spent the entire time sitting comfortably, vaguely near Sariel as he poured over all of the information they had collected. After about an hour, he spoke.

“Do you think, that I should… wait for him to come back from the Underdark?”

She looked up from her task. “Sorry?”

“Kahnym. Do you think I should… confront him? Do you think I should try and take vengeance?”

“It depends if you want the impulsive answer or the rational one.”

“Both.”

“Well, you know what my impulsive answer would be.”

“End him?”

“In the long and the short of it, yes. He did you a wrong, he deserves to pay for that. But, you also have got to consider the rational answer, which is what I know your heart tends to go for.”

Vanden shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense at all. To wait until he’s back here. It’s more dangerous for us.”

“Alright then.”

“My mother wasn’t a strong person, by any means, she wasn’t trained in weaponry or defense. God, I can’t get the image out of my head, of him snapping her neck.”

“That’s what people like him do. They prey on the weak.”

“If I had been stronger then. If I’d had the…” he trailed off with faraway eyes. “I want to be stronger, Sariel.”

“You can be, and you will be. And there’s no use in thinking about the then. I know, as hypocritical of me as it is to say it, but you can’t change the then.”

“What made you so strong?”

She thought about it for a bit. “Anger.”

“I’ve always found anger as my weakness.”

“It can be a weakness, and a cause of strength, I suppose. As you’ve described it, I can be quite volatile.”

He nodded. “I’ve been pondering bringing this up, but, those scars on your arm… is that something you want to talk about?”

She was silent for another moment, her face drawn and gaunt as she thought. She didn’t answer right away, but she took off one of the braces, rolling her sleeve up. The scars moved past her elbow, going towards her shoulder.

Vanden rubbed his own shoulders slightly. “How long have you had those?”

“You know… I think it was a side effect of the whole thing, but I can’t remember. I’ve lost track of time, quite a lot of time.”

“Did someone do that to you? Or something?”

“Someone.”

“Did you get revenge?”

“...Not yet.”

“But you want to.”

“I want to, but I’m not ready yet. Not strong enough.”

Vanden sighed, resting his chin on his hand. “I have a lot to think about.”

“I can leave if you want me to.”

“No, I don’t need you to.” He glanced at her. “I quite like having you here with me. Thank you. For sharing.”

“It’s alright.” She pulled her sleeve back down.

  
  


It was getting to be evening. The other four were heading back to the barracks, walking through the third tier, when Boblem heard something down an alleyway as they passed. A thud, a scream, and a curse.

“Oh boy…”

Cassian glanced at him. “You alright?”

“I heard something,” he began walking quickly towards the sound as the others followed. About fifteen feet down, the alley curved around the building.

“What did you hear exactly?” Elyse pressed.

As they moved, they all began to hear the pounding of wood on stone, muffled crying, shouting, and cursing.

A voice shouted. “Give us the fucking necklace! You can fucking walk away, with both your legs!”

Boblem gulped. “That don’t sound good…”

“We should definitely go and help them,” Elyse agreed. “But I might turn invisible…”

“Okay,” Astra agreed. “As long as we help.”

Elyse disappeared from sight, running down to the T junction. Looking down, it was a dead end, with barrels and boxes in dim light. There were four figures standing at the end, laying into someone on the ground. There was another figure, already facedown, a broad and muscular human with a shaven head and a sword at their hip, wearing fine-ish looking clothes. Of the four attackers, two had clubs, the other two simply kicking and punching.

“Stop that!” Boblem shouted.

One of the attackers turned. “You stay out of this!”

“Four against one, that ain’t fair!”

Astra reached out a hand, trying to keep the group at bay. Two of them froze in place under his spell. The other two began moving towards them. “What the hell was that?”

There didn’t seem to be a specific leader to them, they just seemed like a group of ruffians. “I think we can talk through to some sort of agreement,” Astra tried. He pulled his lute forward, shimmering light glinting over him as he began to play, pushing his magic out to fuel his allies.

One of them swung a mace towards Boblem. The boy brought up his shield to deflect the blow, but the man swung again, the second blow crunching into the boy’s ribs.

Cassian unsheathed his sword, and the faces of their attackers dropped. The wizard tossed it from hand to hand. “Now now… I think we can talk through this. No need to use violence so quickly.” He tilted the blade, allowing a thin beam of light to glint off the sharpness of the edge.

The man backed away for a second before cracking their neck. “Let’s see how you dance, pretty boy.”

Cassian cocked an eyebrow at him. His right arm lit up, and a second sword jumped out of the palm of his hand. The shadowblade almost pulled out from the brickwork next to him, forming out of the darkness as he yanked it free, standing with the double blades as he smiled at the man.

Elyse crept up behind the attacker, touching his shoulders with invisible hands before she reappeared. “I think you should listen to my friend. You really don’t want to fuck with us.”

The man jumped, looking very panicked between Cassian’s double blades and the electric form of Elyse.

As the second man ran forward, Boblem sent out a spell. Dead vines and shrubbery reached up around them, binding his feet in place. “I really suggest you listen to us!”

“Alright, alright alright! Sorcery and swords,” the man pleaded, terrified. “We’ll get out, we’ll get out. Just, don’t kill us, don’t kill us!”

“And you leave the man unharmed?”

“We’ll get out!”

Astra sent the earth beneath them into a shudder. “I really don’t like bullies. I think you should move on.”

Their faces were pale as the ground trembled below them. Astra stepped to the side as the first man dropped their mace, running past. Bobem dropped the entanglement spell, and the second one booked it out of the alley, screaming and crying.

Cassian glanced at one as they ran, sending his voice into their head.  _ “You didn’t see anyone here.” _

The man tripped, scrambling up to flee.

Astra kept up the hypnosis spell, the other two men still standing slack jawed and staring into space. “We need to get the other people out of here immediately.”

Boblem moved to the one who was being beaten. They were a drow, purple skinned with white hair tossed all over. Their nose had been decked, with blood all over their face and up their ribs. They had ragged, filthy clothes on, but it was clear that they wore fine silks and lace underneath. The drow was unconscious.

“If we can get them out of here,” Astra urged. “Because I can’t hold the spell up much longer on these guys, and then I can heal them.”

Boblem picked up the slimmer one. Elyse made note of the faces of the other two attackers before going to lift the larger man. That person, much bulkier, required two people to lift.

They pulled them out safely into the street. The larger man groggily came around, eyes flitting in and out of awareness. There was a large wound on the back of his head. Astra dropped the other spell, sending healing magic through the two. A few seconds after, they heard footsteps running as the other two attackers made their escape.

The drow was handsome and fairly tall, with purple skin and white hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. They had a strong jawline with a light dusting of freckles. The human had bruises on their face, eyes swollen. They were big and brawny, probably in their late 50s, with the crest of three teardrop diamonds on his lapel. The crest was half covered by rags and a shawl.

Suddenly, the drow snapped their eyes open. Elyse looked over with concern. “How you doing?”

“We’re getting you somewhere safe,” Astra assured them.

They blinked, slowly. “Where, where am I…”

“We scared off the mean guys beating you up,” Boblem explained.

“I don’t think they'll be coming back for you,” Elyse agreed.

The drow looked over them, not focusing. “Where’s Ezio?”

Boblem looked at them with confusion. “Who?”

“My bodyguard.”

“There was another man with you,” Elyse offered. “Is that him? The human?”

“Ugly. Big.”

“We’ve got both of you, we’re going back to our barracks, okay?” Astra consoled.

The sorcerer whispered over. “Is it a good idea to take them back to our place?”

“Where else are we going to go?”

“...Good point.”

They brought the pair back. The drow was completely out of it, Boblem carrying him bridal style through the streets. The human slowly came to, stumbling along, though not yet speaking. A lot of people watched them go, staring.

It took a while, but they made it to the barracks, pushing open the doors as they entered.

“We’re home,” Cassian sang.

“We need help!” Astra called.

Vanden looked up from his papers. “What?”

Sariel moved through the building to them. “What’s going on?”

“We picked up some strays,” Elyse gestured.

Vanden rushed to the courtyard. “Gods, bring them in.”

“They were getting attacked,” Astra explained.

They moved the pair to the common room. They offered water to the human, who took it with shaking hands.

“You okay?” Boblem worried.

The man took a moment to breathe before answering. “I’ll be fine. Is the Master okay?”

“I think so,” Elyse nodded. “Just needs some rest and healing.”

The human glared at the unconscious drow. “Bloody fool!”

“What happened, what did they want? I heard something about a necklace?”

“A necklace, a ring… thieves.”

“Muggers?” Cassian guessed.

“Well you’re safe here,” Astra assured him. “You can get some rest until you need to move on.”

The human glanced around. “Where are we?”

“The fourth tier, in our barracks.”

“We live here now!” Boblem smiled.

The man winced. He put a hand up to his face, and it came off bloody.

“We have beds,” Vanden offered. “You can rest.”

“Lots of space,” Elyse agreed.

Sariel sent a bit of her own healing magic to the pair. The human’s eyes seemed to brighten at that, focusing on the drow. “Iymril! Iymril, wake up, you oaf!”

They didn’t wake, deeply snoring with the heavy smell of alcohol on their breath.

The human shook his head. “Bloody fool, wanted to carouse with the folks in the first and second tiers.”

“Seems that’s pretty dangerous business right now,” Elyse warned.

“I tried to convince him, but not going to let him go alone, am I?”

Sariel observed the man closely. “Which tier are you from?”

“The house is up on the sixth.”

“Interesting,” Vanden mumbled.

“I’m sorry we can’t get you any higher,” Astra apologized. “But you can rest here until you feel better. I’m Verdant Astra, by the way.”

They nodded. “Ezio.”

“Boblem,” the farm boy shook his hand.

“Thank you. Truly. You saved this man’s life. Maybe even mine.”

“It’s not a problem,” Astra brushed off. “You were the ones getting attacked, I don’t take kindly to bullies.”

“Yeah, we weren’t going to walk past a bunch of people screaming and not do anything,” Elyse agreed.

Ezio shook his head. “Their mother is going to be pissed. If someone can come with me, I can go to the gates, we can fetch the guard. I can have an escort brought down.”

“I can come with you, if you like,” Astra volunteered.

“Thank you.”

“Are you able to walk? I can heal you again…”

“You can wait here longer,” Vanden urged. “You don’t have to go now.”

“Yeah, maybe take a rest now,” Elyse advised.

“We can’t stay the whole night out,” Ezio reasoned. “They’ll worry.”

“Give yourself some time to recover before you go.”

“I’ll… half an hour. Maybe.”

“Would you like some food?” Astra offered.

“I couldn’t stomach anything right now. Just some water.”

“Water we can do.”

Ezio looked around at all of them, a bit perplexed. He stood, groaning, their bulk almost twice the size of the smaller members of the group. He stood about as tall as Boblem, limping around to stretch their arms.

The drow snorted, and their eyes opened, pupils facing two different directions as they slumped.

“Been there,” Elyse grinned.

The drow blinked. “Well that was a scrape.”

“You okay?” Boblem worried.

Vanden eyed him. “Have some water.”

The drow glanced between them. “Yes, and no.” Vanden gently pushed a cup into their hand anyway. The drow took it before dropping the cup onto the floor. “I want wine.”

“You want wine?” Vanden smirked. “Here,” he got another cup of water, bringing it to him.

The drow took it, drinking as some dribbled down their chin. “That’s good wine.”

Vanden grinned at the bodyguard. Ezio looked furious.

“You’ve got your hands full,” Astra grinned apologetically, looking over to the bodyguard.

“Yes,” the drow answered. “With wine.”

“I think he could do with some food,” Boblem advised, cautiously looking over the drunk.

“Protein, maybe,” Elyse grinned. The drow burped.

“I’ll get some food.” Boblem came back with a bowl. The drow began drunkenly shoving it in their mouth.

Vanden grinned at the others. “My brothers used to get like this, after parties.”

“Didn’t even get t’ go to a party,” the drow slurred. “I wanted… drink w’ the common folk. See how t’other ‘alf live…” They poked their teeth with a tongue.

“While wearing your fancy jewels?” Boblem asked.

“Well m’not gonna take them off, am I? What if my sister sssstole them? From my desk, while I was away.”

“Wouldn’t they have their own?”

“...I ‘ssume so… We are very famous jewelers, so probably.”

Cassian leaned over. “Famous jewelers, you say?”

“Here, have some more wine,” Vanden pushed the water towards the drow again.

“You’re all very pretty... “ they slurred. “Not you Ezio. You’re an idiot.” He took another sip. “This wine’s better now.”

“It gets better the more you drink it,” Boblem grinned.

“We have a lot of it,” Elyse added.

Cassian wasn’t done yet. “I am also a jeweler by trade.”

They blinked at him. “Is tha’ so?”

“And a tailor.”

“Ana tailor?”

“Multi talented.”

“Man a’ many talents.”

“Yes.”

The drow grinned. “I like you.”

“Okay,” the wizard nodded. “Perhaps remember that you have friends in the fourth tier?”

“Have to…. Have something ‘rranged. I’ll have something sent by, in th’ morning.”

Ezio sighed. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep!”

“Don’t make promises you won’t remember,” Vanden grinned.

The drow blinked between the two of them. “Don’t tell me what ‘ta do.”

“I’m sure Ezio will remember his promises for him,” Elyse smirked. “I get the feeling he might do that often.”

“I dunno what you’re talking ‘bout…”

Ezio stood. “I’ll relish your company, but I need to make haste.”

“Of course,” Astra nodded.

The two took off towards the fifth, moving as fast as they could with Ezio limping. It took a short while, but the guard at the gate recognized him, one of them going back to send a message. They waited for about an hour, and a carriage emerged on the other side. It was drawn by four black horses, the crest of three teardrop diamonds and two arrows on the side of the carriage. There was a stable boy on as well, helping Astra and Ezio inside before they rode back to the barracks.

Vanden continued to amuse himself by giving the drow water as they sobered up. As they did, they began to wince a lot, complaining constantly about the pain. Sariel distanced herself, absolutely disgusted with the man. The drow noticed her leave. “You’ve hair like’a mine, pretty lady…”

“Don’t talk to me,” she sneered.

“Ohoo.. Don’t talk ‘ta  _ me _ ….”

“So what’s your business?” Cassian pressed. “The name?”

“Zauviir.”

He had definitely heard of the Zauviirs. They were known for their diamonds. Cassian thought about how jealous his mother would be to meet them, and smiled to himself.

“I’d like to let you all know something,” the drow announced, slurring a bit less now. “I feel like shit. And you’re not helping me feel any better. I would like some pillows.”

“We’re feeding you and giving you wine,” Boblem reasoned.

“And we’ve healed you,” Elyse added.

Sariel crossed her arms in a corner. “It’s more than he deserves.”

“Also stopped you from getting beat up,” Boblem reminded him.

“I appreciate that,” the drow conceded. “Okay, not pillows, just pillow, just one please. My head really hurts.”

“We have beds,” Elyse glanced to Vanden.

The prince sighed with a grin. “Come on.”

“Worse than a normal hangover,” the drow continued.

Elyse smirked. “I’m sure it does.”

“Yes, we saved your life,” Cassian clarified.

The drow focused on the wizard, still a bit hazy. “Thank you.”

“Let’s get him into bed,” Elyse urged.

Vanden lifted the drow up, moving them to the bunk room before gingerly placing them facedown on the slats of the bed. There was no bedding, so they flopped with their nose between the slats, pulling their cape over their head as they groaned. “I’m feeling very sorry for myself, I hope you know.”

“I can tell,” Vanden grinned.

“Good,” Sariel grumbled, keeping her distance.

“I’m sure you’ll feel better,” Elyse teased. “After some rest.”

“You’ll have to remember us,” Vanden pressed. “And pay my friends back for helping you out.”

“Maybe don’t go out drinking in the lower tiers looking like that. Asking for trouble.”

They heard soft snoring from the bed.

Elyse rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

“Ah, fantastic,” Cassian followed.

“Better leave them to it,” Boblem advised.

Some time passed, and carriage wheels rumbled outside. Ezio, with a bit more vigor, burst through the door, knocking on the barracks. Vanden answered the door.

“Still alive?”

“They’re sleeping,” he nodded.

“Right, if you’d show me where.”

“They’re got a very fancy carriage,” Astra whispered to the group.

Vanden glanced over at it. Ezio brought down the drow, scooping him up as he walked out, careful not to bump their head on the doorframe. They dropped the dead weight into the carriage, turning around to address the group. “Forgive my brusqueness. This will not be forgotten. Are you likely to be around here in the morning?”

“We will,” Elyse answered.

“Await us.”

“Are you alright?” Astra worried.

“I’ll be fine.”

“Take care,” Boblem advised.

“I will. This will not go unthanked.” They stepped into the carriage. The doors closed, and the horses flew off into the darkness.

“So,” Elyse turned. “That’s what the people who live in the other tiers are like.”

“Ezio was really nice,” Astra offered. “We had a good conversation on the way back.”

“The other fella,” Boblem grimaced. “Didn’t seem like that at all.”

“That family is…” Cassian let out a low whistle.

Elyse turned. “You recognize the name?”

“Oh yes.”

“Who are they?” Sariel asked.

“One of  _ the _ top tier jewelers on the continent. My mother would faint to meet them.”

Vanden had heard of them as well. They were the type to fit diamonds into crowns.

“Well, if they’re going to repay us for our kind efforts, hopefully, maybe,” Elyse shrugged. “I dunno.”

“Might be wishful thinking,” Vanden cautioned. “But that could be our ticket to the top tiers.”

“Perhaps,” Cassian agreed.

“Either way,” Astra reminded them, “We did a good deed for the sake of a good deed. Not for getting repayment.”

“Of course,” Elyse assured him.

“Well,” Cassian shrugged, “It’s nice to get repayment though.”

“Yeah,” she grinned.

“We wouldn’t just let someone get beat on like that,” Boblem looked to the bard.

“Exactly,” he agreed.

“Still,” Elyse crossed her arms. “How dumb do you have to be to go down to the first tier dressed like that, and drink,” she put up air quotes, “With the common folk?”

“They’re treating it like a joke,” Sariel bristled. “Dressed up in their clothing, and made a mockery of them.”

“Yeah. Yeah, they probably are a joke to them, aren’t they…” she sighed. “Nevermind. Maybe we’ll find out more in the morning if they do come back.”

The evening set in.


	33. Blinding The Eye, Episode Thirty

After a rest, the group of adventurers woke for another morning in the city of Shadebourne. Vanden was the first at the war table, followed by Cassian, Elyse, and the others. They sat around the table with their breakfasts.

“Is everyone well rested?” Vanden surveyed. There were nods all around, and he continued. “I’ve been thinking overnight…”

“Plan?” Cassian prompted.

“Plan. I know I said wait two days before we continue our reconnaissance, but… after talking with Sariel yesterday, I think it’s best that we do this before Kahnym returns. I say we do one more day of reconnaissance today, we rest, and then in the night tonight… we infiltrate. Because we have one more day of reconnaissance, I’d like to send you all down there. If everyone’s okay with that?”

“Yeah,” Elyse nodded.

“Yes,” Sariel followed.

“There are still some things we don’t know. Like what’s in those other rooms.”

“Exactly, you said there are other rooms in the basement,” Vanden recalled. “If you and Boblem could, again, do what you did before, turn invisible to sneak down there in your creature form and see what’s under those doors. Or Sariel. One of you two, you can find traps. If you could detect that from the surface level, and see if there’s anything else down there, that we don’t know about.”

“See if they’ve set that other trap up again.”

Boblem shook his head. “I can’t really do that if I’m…”

“One of you can do it,” Elyse clarified.

“If you both go down there,” Vanden nodded. “Cassian and Astra, if you could spend the day watching the guard pattern and tracking their movements, that’s something we haven’t done yet. Seeing when they change, if they change. See if there’s any particular moment when more guards are there, or some of them leave. Just so we get a vague idea of the kind of people we’re up against. Um, and… as much as I’d like to come down with you…”

“It’s too much risk,” she agreed.

“I can work on the plans for infiltration. Work out a route.”

“Yeah.”

“Thank you. This is creeping up on us, but I know we can do this.”

“Yeah, we’ve got this.”

“Absolutely,” Cassian nodded.

“We’re a team, after all,” Astra smiled.

Vanden looked at him. “We are.”

Slightly in the distance, they heard a large, heavy knock on their front gates.

“Ah, perhaps a gift,” Cassian stood.

“Our friends,” Elyse grinned.

They filed down and out of the barracks, across the courtyard. They opened the gate, and saw the familiar carriage before them. It was wooden and black, beautifully carved ebony pulled by four gorgeous horses. Two people stood before them, as well as a stableboy. The two people were both drow, though neither was Iymril. It was hard to gauge their ages, but one seemed fairly young, and the other was a middle aged man with a cropped silver beard and swept back hair cut short at the sides. They wore very nice garb, dressed in formalwear. The younger one wore a white fur over an ivory colored dress, shimmering to the ground with gloves and handwarmers on. She had long white hair, flowing straight down her back.

“You must be the helpful people we have heard of,” the man nodded.

“Morning,” Boblem greeted.

“Good morning,” Astra smiled.

Elyse looked over at the carriage. “Hi.”

“Good morning,” he replied. “My name is Ardusine Zauviir. Might I come in?”

“Of course,” the group agreed.

“And this is my daughter, Iyreia,” he gestured to the woman.

“Nice to meet you,” Vanden smiled politely.

“Nice to meet you both,” Cassian followed.

“Pleasure,” they returned.

“My name’s Verdant Astra,” the bard smiled.

“Boblem,” the boy tipped his hat.

“Cassian,” the wizard offered.

“Nice to meet you all,” they stepped in, looking around the barracks. “Is this your domicile?” the man asked.

“We’ve recently moved in, yes,” Astra nodded.

“Decided to rent,” Elyse explained.

“Interesting, interesting,” Ardusine looked them over. “Have you been in the city long?”

“A few days, a week perhaps,” Cassian shrugged.

“Might we bring the carriage in?”

“Of course,” Astra waved a hand to invite them inside.

Ardusine gave a whistle, and the carriage did a three point turn before moving through the double gates, under the archway. The stable boy took off the reins, unhitching the horses as he directed them to the stable, parking the carriage inside before leading the horses to wait with the other two. The pair of drow stood, watching expectantly.

“Please, come inside,” Vanden offered. He led them inside to the common area, Elyse subtly closing and locking the door to the war room as they passed.

They entered, taking a seat with very reserved and upright posture as they took in the sight.

“Would you like a drink or anything?” Astra suggested.

“Water,” Ardusine replied.

“Water, we can get you that.”

Iyreia raised a hand. “Just the same as well, for me, please.”

Once everyone was seated, Ardusine began to speak. “I apologize for Iymril’s absence. Unfortunately, they are, as you can perhaps understand, not feeling their best.”

“No, of course,” Astra nodded.

“Weren’t looking their best yesterday,” Boblem agreed.

“No,” they admitted. “First things first. I have to extend my sincerest of thanks to you all. You may perhaps have saved my idiot child from bleeding out in the street. From what I heard from Ezio, the… I’m not sure how many, four of you? All of you?”

Vanden gestured to the four in question.

“Four of us,” Boblem offered, pointing.

“Regardless, you have saved the life of my child, and I am in debt to you.” He looked over to Iyreia, who quietly smiled. “There is nothing that can truly be attributed in value to preserving the life of one’s child, but, if you need a favour, if there is something you need in the city, please let me help you. In addition... We would like you to be our guest. Come, visit our residence. We have a tier house, we stay here for the summer. And, we would like to extend an invitation to you. To the ball, held on the sixth tier, in a few day’s time.”

“The ball?”

“Yes, it’s all the talk of the tiers right now.”

Iyreia beamed. “It’ll be quite an event, from what I’ve heard.”

“What kind of ball?” Cassian wondered, leaning forward with interest.

“Masquerade.”

Astra and Boblem gave a polite smile, pretending to know what that meant while Sariel bristled.

“Lord Valentinian is hosting,” they continued.

Vanden knew that name. The dwarf Lord Haitius Valentinian was recently married to the human Sir Laurel of the Azurite Steps, the Beaming Blade. He was a knight of fame and fortune, who had broken many hearts over a long career, a dashing rouge and hero of history who had fought alongside the lizardfolk of the Azurite Steps against incursions from fiends and all sorts of terrible creatures. He was famous in the south for uniting many lizardfolk clans, and bringing them together against a common foe. He was known for being classically beautiful, and always smiling. Both of them were in their fifties or sixties. He hadn't met him, but he had heard of him. Vanden raised an eyebrow at the name.

“He is hosting in his manner,” Ardusine continued. “We have been extended an invitation, and I have conferred with him this morning over breakfast. He is more than happy to extend an invitation to the six of you. It would be my honor to bring you as guests.”

“How wonderful,” Cassian nodded.

“Give him our deepest gratitudes,” Vanden agreed.

Boblem grinned. “Why, thank you.”

“It’s the very least I could do,” he continued. “We’re more than happy to host you at the tier house for a day or so, and any expense, don’t worry about it. If you have finery with you, wonderful. If you don’t, we can have you dressed and fitted.”

“Yeah, I don’t really have anything like that with me,” Boblem blushed.

Elyse gestured to her rather torn clothing.

Cassian was looking quite enthusiastic. “I think we could do with some finery, perhaps fine tailoring? Would be a lot of fun.”

Iyreia silently looked the wizard up and down, comparing his outfit to the others.

“No expense will be spared,” Ardusine agreed. “I can attribute no cost to the value of my idiot child. Iyreia shall be attending…”

“Yes, I shall,” she smiled. “I like to show my face at these events.”

“No one will really be showing their face, now will they,” Cassian grinned.

“It’s a figure of speech.”

“Of course.”

She giggled a bit.

“You are welcome to come stay,” Ardusine repeated. “We will be there for… perhaps five more days, before we return to Bronze Harbour. Around the course of the ball, you’re welcome to stay with us. It might be easier, regarding transport. Share carriages.”

“We have business in the city today and tonight,” Vanden explained. “But perhaps afterwards.”

“The guards of the gates,” Cassian recalled, “They are always asking for paperwork to get further through. Could I get some sort of seal on your behalf?”

“Already been thought of,” he nodded. Iyreia pulled out a very fine looking scroll, sealed with purple wax, emblazoned with the three diamonds of the Zauviir crest.

Cassian took it, pocketing the scroll. “Our humblest thanks.”

“The thanks are all ours. What business do you have in the city, if you don’t mind me asking? Are you… mercenaries? Of sorts? I’m not sure if that’s the correct term…”

“Not particularly.”

“Travellers,” Astra offered.

“Getting some information, that’s all,” Vanden covered.

“Information seekers,” he nodded. “Very well, I shan’t pry.”

“No, don’t father,” Iyreia chided. “Let them do whatever it is.”

“Well, either my wife or myself will be in at some point. Iyreia will be around… the staff have all been given a description of you. Present yourself at the house when you see fit, and we’ll set aside some quarters. You will be looked after. Iymril is feeling sorry for themselves, but I’ve a direct report of their behavior, passed onto me by Ezio, my loyal man. On their behalf I would like to apologize, but I assure you, Iymril will be apologizing for themselves as well.”

“We make mistakes when we’re young,” Astra shrugged.

“That we do, that we do. Regardless, I’m grateful you all were there. I can’t stay long for now, business to attend to in the city, I’m sure you understand.”

“Us too,” Vanden nodded. “Understandable.”

“Any inkling of when you may...? Come up? We can have something prepared.”

“I suppose tomorrow morning?” Astra turned to the others.

Boblem looked to Vanden. “Tomorrow?”

“Perhaps tomorrow,” Vanden agreed.

“Very well,” the man nodded. “I await you.”

“Thank you,” Boblem smiled. “That invitation is mighty kind.”

“It’s no problem. It’s the least we could do.”

Iyreia stood. “Thank you all for your time. I’m looking forward to getting to know all of you.”

“Of course,” Vanden replied.

“It’s been a delight to meet you,” Astra grinned.

The pair inclined their heads, and Astra bowed in response. Boblem, unsure of what to do, followed. The two drow put their drinks aside, and Vanden showed them to the door as the carrigehand rounded up the horses.

“We’ll see you tomorrow,” Ardusine waved.

“Tomorrow.”

The pair headed out, leaving them to their business. As soon as they were gone, Astra whirled on the others. “What’s a masquerade ball?”

“Yeah, I’d been meaning to ask,” Boblem followed.

Cassian let out a low breath as he reeled from the encounter. “Oh my goodness…”

“Why do we gotta look fancy for that?”

The wizard practically moaned. “Oh, Boblem, Astra, it’s going to be divine.”

Vanden rolled his eyes. “Ugh, I hate formal events.”

“No, they’re so much fun, you don’t understand,” the elf countered.

Boblem looked between them. “What do you do?”

“You just- ”

“Drink, dance. Talk to people,” Vanden explained.

“Like you do at a tavern?” Boblem clarified.

“Sort of.”

“But way fancier,” Elyse teased.

“So much more ostentatious,” Cassian agreed.

Vanden frowned. “Everybody has a stick up their ass.”

“Not everybody.”

Boblem looked very concerned. “What? Figuratively?

“Not literally, Boblem,” Sariel consoled.

Elyse grinned at him. “It's not part of the costume.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Vanden assured him.

“Although the way some of them act,” Sariel sneered, “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“But the games you can play with people when they let their guard down,” Cassian continued, looking to the ceiling in delight as he laughed.

“So we get to dress up really nice?” Astra smiled.

“Wear masks.”

“Apparently,” Elyse shrugged.

“I don’t have any of that,” Boblem worried.

“Well, they said that they would.”

“They’ll pay for it,” Vanden nodded. “They’ll cover all of it, whatever we want to wear.”

“Feel a bit uncomfortable about that,” Elyse admitted. “But also, taking advantage of their  _ money, _ oh my gosh,” she grinned.

“They seemed really nice,” Astra considered.

Boblem looked over to Vanden. “It does get us to the tier you wanted to go to.”

“It does,” he admitted.

“And a ball like that’s going to have…” Cassian sighed, eyes dancing with delicious possibilities. “ _ Information." _

Vanden looked over the wizard. “I’ve never seen you quite so excited.”

Cassian turned his eyes on him, face beaming with a devilish grin. “I like parties. And this kind of one is right up my street.”

“Have you ever been to one like this before?” Astra wondered.

“A few.”

“Yeah?”

“Perhaps not quite this caliber, but… I’ve been to a few masquerade balls in my time.”

Elyse sent a teasing smile to Vanden. “I’m guessing you’ve been to plenty.”

“More than enough for the lifetime of everybody at this entire table,” he agreed.

Elyse chuckled. “I’ve been to one. I was not invited.”

“Makes complete sense,” Cassian nodded.

“It was a lot of fun.”

“I’m excited for the chance to meet Sir Laurel,” Vanden considered.

Astra looked at him in question. “Sir Laurel?”

“Lord Valentinian recently married a knight from the south. Not so much is known about the south, I have a lot of questions. I don’t imagine this would be an opportunity to ask them, but maybe.”

“Well, you never know,” Elyse shrugged. “People get loose lips at these things.”

“Maybe.”

“Ask the right questions,” Cassian agreed.

“Powerful drinks,” Elyse followed.

“It should be fun,” Vanden shrugged, “But we have something slightly more pressing to concentrate on first.”

“Let’s do that first,” Sariel nodded.

“Try to get through all of this alive.”

Elyse laughed. “Then we show up there covered in cuts and bruises when everything goes horribly wrong tonight.”

“Oh, don’t jinx it,” he cringed. “We should get on with the reconnaissance if everyone's ready.”

“Yeah.”

“Yes,” Astra smiled.

Vanden surveyed the team. “Is there anything anyone needs before you go down there? Is there anything you’d like me to buy in the daytime whilst you’re out?”

“I’d quite like to buy the jug,” Boblem considered. “That we saw in the Shiny Coin?”

“I really want that scroll,” Elyse sighed. “I just don’t have the money.”

“How much money do you need?” Vanden asked.

“You don’t have to buy it for me, it’s fine.”

“I’m not saying I’ll buy it for you, but I can lend you the money if it’s something quite pressing to get. If it’s something you’re only going to get the chance to buy here and now.”

“I don’t really know. It cost 415, but then I need materials on top of that to transcribe the spell, and practice it.”

“It’s fine, I can do that. Just list it out for me.”

Elyse blinked in surprise. “Thank you…”

“And the jug?” he glanced to Boblem. “Tell me about that, too?”

The boy thought. “Well, it’s a jug, and you talk to it? And once you talk to it, it just gives you whatever liquid you want. It could give you water, ale, wine- ”

“Mayonnaise,” Elyse grinned.

Vanden stared at them in confusion.

“Mayonnaise?” Sariel prompted.

Astra shook his head. “He was really insistent…”

Elyse started counting on her fingers. “Acid, poison…”

“Oil,” Cassian suggested. “We could burn the house down, if we wanted to.”

Boblem looked up with concern. “This one?”

“No.”

“The Charnel House,” Astra explained.

“The Weeping Eye House, Boblem,” Cassian shook his head.

The boy seemed relieved. “I don’t know, you’re dangerous!”

“I see its value,” Vanden admitted. “I’m just absolutely weirded out. Sure, I can get that.”

“I’ll give you the money,” the boy passed over a pile of coins.

“Anything else? If this is what I’m spending my day doing while the rest of you are doing this for me. Anyone? No?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Elyse thought. “I just need to figure out how much money I’m giving you…”

She passed over some coins, and the group set about their tasks. Vanden made his way to the Shiny Coin, picking up the jug and the scroll before returning to the barracks. The other five set off towards the first tier, Cassian peeking at the couriers once more to no avail.

  
  


As they walked, Sariel noticed the new feathers decorating Astra. “Those suit you.”

“Thank you.”

She grinned at him. “Got the idea from a particularly handsome tiefling?”

“It… it looked good!” he defended.

“It does look good,” Elyse teased.

“It looked nice, on him, so. I wanted, to have them too.”

“Now you match,” Boblem smiled.

Astra sputtered a bit. “They, they’re not, the um, they’re not the same. His, his were yellow and these are, this one’s green, and this one's blue, and…”

“Yeah,” Elyse nodded. “It’s totally different.”

“They go together well, then,” Boblem amended.

Sariel glanced up at the tiefling. “They suit you very well, Astra.”

“Those are more your color,” Cassian approved.

Astra looked away. “Thank you.”

“I think the yellow would have clashed a bit,” Sariel observed.

Cassian appraised the bard. “No, the yellow would go nice with his eyes.”

“Oh yes…”

“Yeah,” Elyse grinned.

“Th- Thank you,” Astra stared at the ground as they walked.

The group moved down to the first tier. Astra transformed into Rufus, strolling around with his lute to see if any guards would pay him much attention. Cassian rented a room with a window view of the compound by the hyena pen, passing over seven copper for the grim space. Elyse took the druids to the small alley behind the Charnel House. Sariel put her hands on the ground, reaching out with her senses to search for any traps. She detected one arcane trap, and one physical trap, both rather close to each other.

“Interesting,” Elyse considered. “So one of those could be that they’ve set back up the trap we already set off last time.”

“I'd imagine so,” Sariel agreed. “From what you’ve described.”

Elyse turned to Boblem. “So when you send your spider, or whatever, it would be useful if you could try and find out where the other trap is as well. It could be on the same door, but it could be on the archive door. Right, let’s do this.”

Elyse took Boblem against the wall, linking arms with him as they sat. As Boblem called forth the spider, the sorcerer cast her invisibility spell over the pair of them, pulling out her journal to take notes.

“See you both later,” Sariel nodded.

“Bye!” the disembodied voice of Elyse replied.

Sariel transformed into a grey tabby cat, beginning her own recon.

Boblem sent in the spider. It crept over the walls, past the pen, and down the courtyard. He very narrowly missed a boot as someone exited a door, trying to squish him. The spider scuttled away, and his attacker didn’t bother to pursue. “Rude,” he reprimanded the boot.

The spider headed down the stairs. Peeking through the first set of doors, he saw racks of beds. Another door revealed a long table, a mess hall of some sort, with food waste and small bones chucked around by the benches. A third door held a large room with an array of weaponry, glavies, longbows, shortswords, longswords, and axes. A fair few of the shields bore the sigil of the Weeping Eye, a red eye with a drop coming off it, the same as the one outside on the front gate.

He looked for traps, but didn’t see any tripwires. He moved into another room. It seemed similar to the one upstairs, a long table with tables, chairs, and maps. There was a human and a gnoll speaking to each other, playing cards amongst the round tables and beat up chairs. They were concerned that the troops from Frostguard hadn’t yet arrived, that they should have been back a few days ago, and there hadn't been any communications from them. Kahnym was going to be angry.

The other room was a planning room, confirming what he already knew from the rosters and the maps he found before. Rounding a corner, he came to the final stretch. Two doors were on his right, one on the left down the end, and the T junction he saw before in front of him. Sneaking under the first door on the right, he saw a single room, stripped out. It was bare, with a cot and an empty chest, as well as a mannequin stand for armour. The room on the right was another accommodation, but someone had been actively using it. There was a small chest on the floor, and a desk with candles, and some form of unknown ritual marks in a strange language, runes painted on in a red-brown color. The thick red liquid filled a few more vials. Also on the desk was a horn, a whip, and an ivory statue of something. There was a shattered mirror with the painting of a bloody eye upon it. Climbing up the wall, he saw a wooden cot, with filthy rags and matting laid inside. The place smelled rancid.

The spider reported back, and Boblem considered the runes. One looked like a thick, downwards Y with a few bars across it. One was like a moon, with another circle half over it. A third looked like a K with a line through it. There were smaller ones as well, but those were the largest. He didn’t understand them, but he relayed them to Elyse to write down in case anyone else in their group would know.

The next room was slightly larger, a bedroom. Beyond the door was a spring, a modified bear trap held on by some form of wire. If the door opened, this would spring out. In the room was another cot and empty chest, with not much left inside save for a wickedly curved sword on a desk, various apparel and trash on the floor. There was a lot of white fur in here.

Boblem sent the spider to the archive room. It seemed the scrolls were in loose chronological order, with dates scrawled on the edges. There were three walls of them, and one contract open out on a desk that he glanced over. He saw the words, “Underdark,” “Twilight Courts,” “Sabotage,” and “Sow Seeds of Terror.” The contract was signed with a single L, and a smear of blood underneath.

Satisfied, Boblem dismissed the spider. Elyse had been writing everything down as Boblem relayed it. Cassian watched from his window as Sariel jumped onto a neighboring rooftop to observe the Charnel House. As her spell ran out, she made her way back to Cassian’s room.

Astra, in the form of the green half-orc with patchy grey skin, pulled around his lute and walked past the street. He feigned pursuing the blacksmiths, trying to gage the guard’s reaction to a bard in the area. It wasn’t good. The hyenas snapped at their chains, going taut. After about twenty seconds, one of the guards shouted down. “Move on!”

“Just having a look around,” Astra replied. “Never been here before. Where am I?”

“Nowhere you want to stay!”

“Oh, okay… I’ll be on my way then.”

The guard let the chain run through their hand a bit, the hyena creeping closer.

“I said I was on my way!” Astra protested.

“Make quick work of it.”

“Aright…” he left, joining Cassian.

Though Astra didn’t see much, the wizard had been watching intently, taking in every detail. With the new information they gained throughout the day, discussing with the others, they had a very detailed picture of the Charnel House. Materials were occasionally stored temporarily in the building off the gatehouse. There were vents in the courtyard with occasional smoke rising from them. The hyenas howled and yelped whenever someone went past. They were fed at 6:00am, midday, and 6:00pm. Between noon and 1:00pm, they were let out of the pens. One of the gnolls didn’t seem to take part in the watch, wearing a dark hood with an eye painted on the back, and walking with a limp. The hooded gnoll was a bit scrawnier than the others, ordering people about. The gnoll rested when the third shift rested. There were two guards by the gate with two hyenas, and one guard in the gatehouse tower. The guards rotated every eight hours, once at night, once in the morning, and once in the afternoon. They rotated positions within their shift every two hours. Only three would be on a shift at a time, the others working or resting, not actively keeping watch. The guards rotated at midnight, 8:00am, and 4:00pm. The guards began to flag and get weary in the last hour of their shift, new ones replacing them and debriefing for fifteen minutes before their shift started, leaving a forty-five minute window where the guards were tired and alone.

Elyse and Boblem made their way to the room at the inn as well, sharing what they had learned about the inside of the building. Elyse didn’t recognize the runes, and showing them to Sariel and Cassian, they couldn’t guess either. Astra took the journal, touching the scrawled markings on the page as he concentrated with his magic, identifying the language.

“It’s Abyssal,” Astra shrugged.

Cassian nodded. “That perhaps confirms my suspicion, that limping gnoll is some sort of arcanist.”

“Better watch out for that then,” Elyse advised.

“I don’t trust that they would let someone weaker boss them around like that if he didn’t have hidden powers.”

“Oh, definitely.”

Astra frowned. “So, we either need to fight him when he’s in his room, or fight him when he’s patrolling.”

“Hopefully not have him notice us at all.”

“Hopefully not at all is the best way about it, but I can tell you one thing, I’m not sure I’ll be able to cause a decent distraction at the front gates.”

“No?”

“They didn’t take kindly to me even just walking past. But I can stand and look at the blacksmiths, if need be. Just to be in that position.”

Elyse nodded. “We have plenty of options for distraction and everything.”

“I think, if we do have to fight him,” Boblem planned, “Just get to him quickly? Make sure he doesn’t have a chance to cast anything.”

“Should we get back and relay all this to Vanden?” Sariel urged.

“Yes,” Cassian agreed.

Elyse nodded. “Yeah.”

  
  


They walked back without incident. It was now late afternoon. The group relayed everything to Vanden, who took copious notes. He passed Elyse 50 gold back, as well as the scroll and the jug. All of the information was organized, written clearly out in front of them on the table.

“I’ve slept already,” he explained. “I decided that was the best use of my time so I can stay up and plan. From what you’ve told me, I would say our best chance of infiltration is… close to seven in the morning. Just before they start to get completely exhausted. Because, it’s going to take us a long time to get in there. We want to catch them when they’re tired. It sounds like this… I’m assuming Yerrix, the Fang stationed in the Charnel House, is a spellcaster.”

“Yeah, seems that way,” Elyse shrugged.

“Spellcaster,” Cassian repeated. “Absolutely.”

Vanden looked at the pages. “Best for us if he’s sleeping. My idea so far is that, Elyse, you turn the two of us invisible. If we know the archive is dated, I can search for the exact date.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “And you’re going to know any of that better than us, so you have to be in there.”

“Sariel, if you could use that spell on us that allows us to pass by unnoticed?”

“You’ll have to stay on us, though,” Elyse considered the druid. “If you could wildshape, as well? Maybe?”

Sariel nodded. “I can do that as well.”

“Something small.”

“Stay on our person as something small,” Vanden agreed. “Um, and then, Cassian, Boblem, Astra, if we could station you up high within range of the outside. Boblem, at the abbey, you were able to explode the ground?”

“Yes,” he nodded.

“If you could prepare yourself to do that under the hyena pen?”

“I can do that, but I just gotta be able to see where I’m doing what I’m doing.”

“We can do what you did today, and rent cheap rooms with vantage points. Prepare yourself to do that.”

“We still have the room for the night,” Cassian shrugged.

“We can take multiple rooms with multiple vantage points if we have to. We can spare the copper. If you prepare that under the hyena cage it should keep those off us. Cassian or Astra, if you could… Astra, if you could do that…” he waved his hand in the air trying to demonstrate, “Dancing pattern thing that you did at the abbey fight? That was incredible. Preparing yourself to do that. We know that at least five of them are probably going to be in the barracks building at the back. So perhaps for the door, should they come out... Cassian, if you could take the front entrance? Or vice versa?”

Cassian looked over the layout of the Charnel House. “I have something that could thoroughly stop them at the front, but it would be dangerous for the rest of you to move through.”

“We’ll need to keep that out of our range so we can escape.”

“Exactly.”

“Well I’m hoping we’ll be able to hop the wall,” Elyse looked to Vanden.

He nodded. “We should be able to do that.”

“Even with the dangerous sharp stuff at the top?” Boblem warned.

“We know they’re there,” she countered.

“We can be careful,” Vanden assured him.

“With Ren?” Boblem worried. “I mean, Vanden?”

She looked over to the prince. “I can’t bring you with me…”

He shook his head. “It’s fine, I can climb it.”

“I can help you up if you need.”

“I have gloves, I can protect my hands, it’s fine.”

“In terms of getting out, assuming the best, we can go back over the wall,” Elyse agreed. “Assuming the worst, and we need to keep the scroll… You could give me the scroll and I could fly out very quickly.”

“And leave him there?” Boblem admonished.

Vanden thought to himself. “If we’re not sneaking out, I’m assuming we can blow our way through the front doors, if it comes to it. Don’t worry about it.”

“Just an option,” Elyse shrugged.

“It’s a good option. We’ll, I don’t know… have some sort of code word, so you know when to release your attacks up top.”

“I’m able to send a message now,” Astra offered. “To people.”

“The two of you could do that.”

Elyse looked at the bard, curious. “The way I do it? Or the way we did it before?”

“The way you do it,” he assured her.

“Okay. Yeah, if I cast that while invisible, it will drop, but I can respond without it dropping.”

“I can send one to you.”

Vanden rubbed his chin. “And I’m assuming if you need to cast, we’re already in trouble.”

“Exactly,” Elyse nodded. “If we do encounter any locked doors, I have lockpicks now, so I should be able to open one without casting a spell. But if worst comes to worst, I also have that spell again. It just makes a loud noise, so, if I’m going to cast it I would need to drop invisibility and need a distraction anyway. So I would have to message someone to cause a distraction.”

“That might be a good time to explode the hyenas,” Cassian offered.

“Yeah.”

“Be wary of the traps that I’ve mentioned,” Boblem warned. “But also, when you take the scrolls, it might be good if you take a couple of other ones as well? So it doesn’t look suspicious if they look back through and only that scroll is missing.”

Vanden raised his brows. “That’s a very good point…”

“That’s very smart Boblem,” Sariel agreed.

Elyse was impressed. “Yeah, good point.”

“Very good point,” Vanden repeated. “Okay. I think we have quite a solid plan.”

“We should rest,” Sariel advised.

“You should all sleep. I’ll go over this in case there’s anything we’ve missed.”

  
  


Most of them went to bed while Vanden continued to work. Elyse spent two hours transcribing the spell from the scroll, elated with her success. Sariel did a bit more of her foresight training, sitting outside for a bit before going to bed. Astra fiddled with his bag for a moment before turning in for the night, Boblem following shortly after. Cassian didn’t need much sleep, and he hadn't done much that day, so he stayed up with Vanden to go over the plans. 

After a few hours of working, they felt the plan was finalized. Vanden sagged back in his seat, quiet for a moment. “I hate admitting this, but I’m… scared.”

Cassian looked over at the admission. “That’s completely fair. What in particular?”

“Of what I’m gonna find. I know we’ve got this tactically, we’re proving time and time again that we’re good at that, but…”

“But it could be anyone’s name on that scroll.”

“Yes.”

“And if the one Boblem found earlier is anything to go by, could be just an initial.”

Vanden gave a small, desperate laugh. “It could be nothing.” He swallowed, steadying himself. “I need this scroll to go home and clear my name. I’m hoping there will be information on it, I might find out what happened to my brother… and it could be nothing. And then what?”

Cassian sighed. “I don’t know. It’s… a lot. But, hopefully it will yield something, and… if not, we are in the city for longer. That Kahnym fellow is going to come back and find his place absolutely ransacked. We can always go back for him. Take it from his mouth.”

“You’re right. Uh…” he looked at the table for a moment, forming the words before looking back to the wizard. “I don’t think I’m strong enough to take him down.”

“There’s six of us and one of him,” Cassian assured him. “He won’t make it out alive.”

Vanden nodded. He turned to rest his head on the other man's shoulder, defeatedly. “I’ve spent years of my life studying how to do things like this, and I just feel… out of my depth.”

“I’ve spent none of my life doing things like this. And…” he chuckled a bit as he trailed off. “Yes, we’re all rather out of our depths, aren’t we.”

“Yeah.”

“But we make a good team, and…”

“I have a lot of faith in all of you.”

“We all have a lot of faith in each other, in at least some regards.”

“I just don’t have any faith in myself,” Vanden finished.

“Well you should. Why do you think everyone listens to you, for orders, and advice? You’re good at it. You’re a Commodore, after all.”

The prince let out a small laugh against Cassian’s shoulder. “I guess you’re right. I’m gonna get these ready.”

Cassian fixed him with a stare. “You told me I was a better man than I gave myself credit for. I think you should allow yourself the same kindness.”

Vanden stood up. Half suppressing a grin, he reached out to ruffle Cassian’s hair before walking away. The wizard set about fixing it immediately, watching him go with a mixed expression.

The prince began to ready himself in his room, taking off his chainmail and slipping on the leather jacket with the black hood. He took a shield from the armoury, as well as the longsword. He had practiced with it all week, but it was still different from what he was used to. The shield was heavy and bronze, with two indents, and two protrusions on the other side. They could lock into each other, with a hole up top to place a spear through. From reading history books, he knew they would form an indomitable wall together. He slid the javelin through, and it worked well enough, but its real strength was in unity.

  
  


Vanden let the group sleep, waking them in time for the raid. They headed down to the first tier. As they entered the swills, Sariel cast her stealth spell, and she slipped into the small alleyway behind the Charnel House with Elyse and Vanden. The first tier hadn’t seen Elyse’s real face yet, so the sorcerer didn’t need to disguise herself, but Vanden’s face was completely covered with the hood and scarf.

There was a five foot alley between the two blacksmith buildings, perpendicular to the Charnel House. Cassian changed his form to a slightly different looking elf, tucking himself into a corner, silent as the night.

Boblem moved up into the room Cassian had rented earlier, giving himself a view of the hyena pen. Astra tried to get a different room, but as it was so late, there weren’t any available. He climbed to the top of the building instead, moving a block down to climb some rickety stairs before treading carefully back over the rooftops. It was about 7:05am.

About a block over, illuminated by the moonlight, Astra spotted a figure running across the rooftops, bounding between them. They weren’t fully upright, or on all fours, but a mixture of the two. It moved parallel to them, only two blocks away. He glanced the humanoid silhouette for only a second before it disappeared, moving towards the main gate. Astra disguised himself.

Vanden turned to Sariel in the alley. “You need to wildshape into something small, and get in my pocket.”

“Okay…”

“Sorry, I know that’s strange.”

She was a bit hesitant, pondering it. Vanden put out a hand.

“Haven’t done this one in awhile,” she sighed. Her form shifted into a mouse. Scooping her up, Vanden gently tucked her into a pocket in his coat.

Vanden braced himself for the next spell, screwing his eyes shut. “Do it Elyse, you can do it.”

“You ready?”

“Yep.”

She cast invisibility over the two of them. Vanden groaned with slight nausea as the spell settled. The three of them vanished into the dark. Turning, Elyse flew into the air, landing on the other side of the wall. Vanden began to carefully climb, avoiding the glass at the top. The wood had rotted a bit, with enough give to scale it. He put his chest softly down at the top, resting the thick leather of his armour against the spikes before carefully putting himself down.

Thanks to Sariel’s magic, no footprints appeared in the mud as they walked. The gentle thud of Vanden’s landing alerted Elyse that they could move. They listened carefully by the hyena pen for a minute. There was a small scuffle between a few of them, but they didn’t seem to have been alerted to their presence.

From outside, Boblem watched the pen. They squabbled occasionally, biting each other or stealing meat. Most of them were asleep, but three were awake.

Vanden reached out an arm, feeling around for Elyse. Finding her arm, he whispered, “Inside. Stay together.”

They moved to the building. The windows were blacked out. Vanden pulled Sariel from his pocket, feeling very weird as he whispered to the mouse. “Can you peek under the door? See if anyone is immediately right there in the corridor? Then I’ll put you back in my pocket.”

Elyse glanced around, but she didn't see anyone that might notice them open the door. Vanden lowered Sariel to the ground, and she squeezed through to observe. There didn’t seem to be anyone. She came back out, climbing onto Vanden’s hand to report back. He put her back in his pocket, gently pushing the door. It moved about an inch before he had to turn the handle. With a bit of a grind, it opened.

They slipped inside, quietly shutting the door behind them. Astra and Boblem watched the door open and close from their vantages. Vanden kept a hand on Elyse’s arm as they walked forward, moving down the steps. There was nobody in the corridor below. They heard no footsteps, but there was loud snoring coming from the rooms on either side of them. They pressed themselves up against the wall, peeking around the corner by the officer’s mess and the armoury.

Cassian kept his eyes on the front of the building as the heist proceeded.

Elyse and Vanden crept forward, moving around the next corner. There were a few rooms to the side, one at the far left, and the T junction ahead. From the floor plans they had studied, they knew this would lead to the contract room and the treasury.

As they passed the door just before their goal, a line of static broke over them. The hair on the back of their necks stood up as a bell started to ring, growing louder and louder.

Vanden, Sariel, and Elyse were in a ten foot wide corridor, with a door on their left and right. Ten feet ahead was the T junction with the contract room and the treasury. Vanden took Sariel out of his pocket, placing her on the floor. “Do something!”

The door to their right, five feet in front of them, smashed open. The gnoll, hood down over mangy black snout looked out with baleful, burning green eyes. He waved a hand, and something moved over them. Though the two were still invisible, the gnoll snapped back their head to look at where the pair stood, before glancing at the floor by Sariel. He shouted something in Abyssal.

Astra watched the building from the outside, unaware of the danger. He sent out the message to Elyse.  _ “Have you reached the archives?” _

Sariel scurried under the door to the contract room, returning to her usual form. She began to frantically search, not sure what date to look for. Further up the corridor, doors thudded open, steps hurriedly approaching.

Cassian was still leaning against the alley wall, waiting for a signal.

Hearing the voice in her mind, Elyse returned Astra’s message.  _ “We set off some kind of alarm. Go.” _ She pushed out her hands, sending a wave of thunder at the gnoll as their invisibility dropped. The gnoll held his footing, the wave of energy rippling past and thrashing out, his fur and hood fluttering. He bellowed in their faces as she flew back. Looking around the corner, troops were fast approaching.

Hearing the boom of Elyse’s spell, Boblem made a judgement call, erupting the earth under the hyena pen. A fountain of earth and stone moved up, shattering through the grill on the top of the pen before raining down. The two giant hyenas staggered from the blow, baying and yapping as the rest of the dogs perished. Everyone was on alert now.

Vanden pulled around his crossbow, loading the magic suppressing bolt they had picked up from the bandit camp. He fired it at the gnoll, and it sunk into his shoulder blade. Vanden, within range of the bolt’s power, felt sound disappear for him as well. He smirked at the gnoll as it staggered. The gnoll’s mouth opened and closed in the deafening silence as he yanked the bolt out, snapping it. He turned to step close to Vanden. The prince looked him dead in the eye, still smirking as the gnoll limped forward.

From a nearby rooftop, Astra nipped his finger. As a drop of blood appeared, he sent out a spell towards the three guards visible at the front gate, inhibiting their ability to fight. Sariel was still searching through, grabbing a huge chunk of papers from the general timeframe she was looking for as she skimmed through the pile. Finally, she caught the word “Argentfort.” She grabbed it, taking a few others, as well as the one on the desk.

One of the guards at the front gate ran into the center of the courtyard with a hyena. The other gnolls looked around, panicked, readying themselves as they searched for a target.

Seeing the commotion, Cassian extended a hand, casting strange magic over the entire gate. The spell surrounded the two guards left by the gate, as well as the second hyena. They were completely blinded by a huge ball of darkness, and Cassian took the opportunity to run from his alley, ducking into a slightly closer position by the gate.

In the basement, Elyse saw two gnolls coming down the corridor, and the mage heading towards Vanden. There were more people running at them as well. Elyse backed into the middle of the corridor. Grabbing a head off the amulet of lycanthropy, she tore it off to crush it. With a huge growl, Elyse transformed, a lightning blue werebear filling the space. Terror filled the members of the Weeping Eye. One of the gnolls stopped in place, “It’s here! It’s here!”

She roared at them.

Boblem’s eyes widened as he watched the large orb of darkness appear, surrounding the gate as Cassian ran. All the regular hyenas in the pen were down, but the two giant hyenas still staggered a bit, surviving the boy’s previous attack. He saw one half-orc and one hyena bolting through the courtyard. A pillar of silvery white light arced forth as he sent a moonbeam into the fray. The hyena, unable to stop its own momentum, ran directly into it. With a bark, the animal burned away.

Snapped bolt in hand, the mage was moving towards Vanden. The prince raised his longsword, attempting to knock the item from his hand. He carved down into the arm, and they dropped the bolt to the ground. The encounter was still completely silent, the bolt's powers pervading as blood poured from the mage’s wound. Vanden swung his sword again, aiming for the neck. He carved cut after cut, soundlessly slashing out. Moving around the gnoll, he headed for Elyse. The gnoll kicked the bolt through the corridor, and it clattered down the hall as the gnoll growled. In the next moment, the mage vanished into mist.

Elyse saw the gnoll reappear down the hall, behind the other two gnolls and safely away from the bolt. Though she was now surrounded by the silence, her new shape was maintained. The mage stepped back, retreating towards the canteen behind.

Sariel began to tear apart the archives room, yanking shelves off the walls and pulling scrolls everywhere, throwing them all around before pushing through the door, stumbling out.

From Astra’s vantage, he could see the half-orc running past the moonbeam. Reflecting off the starlight, a birch crown wrapped around the man’s head, locking them still, illuminated in the ghostly light. The bard’s spell had trapped him under the sizzle of the moonbeam.

The half-orc, eyes glazed as white flame licked over them, dropped their sword. Pulling out a crossbow, it was compelled to take a shot at one of the hyenas still standing.

At the front gate, the guards trapped inside the strange black bubble shivered from the cold, blinded as they tried to stumble out. The void was a gateway to the dark between the stars, filled with unknown horrors, creeping whispers, and milky tentacles that reached out to caress them. Acid burned at the guards, their hyena long gone by now.

In the tunnels below, the other two gnolls ran forward to attack Elyse. They lunged forward with spears, one glancing far off, one just barely managing to hit. They snarled and growled, looking tired and scared.

Cassian climbed up a wall, glancing over the courtyard before disappearing in a flash of mist, reappearing on the small bridge between the supply shed and the gates. Dropping his disguise, the henna on his arms lit as two beams of swirling blue-black energy shot out at the giant hyenas. Boblem blinked with surprise as he noticed the wizard fire double bolts from his hands, with no wand in sight. One of the dogs went down instantly, the other looking very rough.

As the bolt skittered across the floor to Elyse, her eyes went wide for a moment. Brushing off her thoughts, her gigantic form barrelled down past the two gnolls, heading for the mage. As she shoulder checked the gnolls, they swung out at her, a spearhead jutting into her before breaking off. Roaring and snarling, her huge bear form reached out for the mage with deadly claws. Lightning spitting and crackling from her eyes, she gutted him, slamming the mage’s limp body against the wall as she tore it in half, throwing the two pieces to the ground. As she looked up, she saw two more guards running down the end of the hall, coming from their bedrooms. Elyse turned back to the gnolls behind her, snarling as blood dripped from her.

As Sariel ran from the room with the scrolls, Vanden gave her a questioning look. She nodded, and Vanden charged towards the other two gnolls, running through the zone of silence. He swung down the sword, swinging out at their legs. Hacking and hacking, battering them with the shield, he landed a barrage of blows. Relentless, he beheaded one, plunging his sword through the ribs of the other. The gnolls down, he winked at Elyse. The giant bear winked back.

Sariel ran down the hall, rounding the corner to watch Vanden drive his blade into the two gnolls. She was a bit surprised to see the giant blue bear, readying herself for the approaching attackers.

Astra sat cross legged on the nearby roof, but there was nothing he could see. Glancing around, there was no one else approaching. The moonbeam was still beating down on the half-orc in the courtyard, and the mercenary was compelled to shoot a final bolt at the remaining hyena. The animal perished as the bloodied half-orc began to move again, Boblem following him with the burning white glow.

The two guards at the gatehouse escaped the blistering cold of the blinding black orb, inky tentacles following behind as they pulled themselves from Cassian's trap. One of them shouted in a language the wizard didn’t understand before an arrow whizzed past him. He fired bolts of energy back at the pair, but the attacks only fizzled off their shields. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the strange black orb, calling forth his shadow blade instead. Darkness coiled and manifested around his hand as he pointed the weapon down to the gnoll below him.

As more gnolls barrelled down the corridor, Sariel held her staff forward. Letting out a lupine howl, two dire wolves appeared in front of her, created seemingly out of the air. Elyse slashed her claws out, battering a gnoll against the wall. They barely managed to stand, and she roared and snarled as electricity crackled over her.

As the two guards escaped the strange bubble of darkness, Boblem guided the moonbeam away from the half-orc and over to the pair. One perished, burning up in an instant while the other was badly scorched.

Vanden looked down the hallway at Sariel, the huge form of Elyse, and the two dire wolves facing off against the remaining gnolls. He dashed through them all, ducking under spears and charging forward up the stairs as he yelled to his allies, “You guys have got this, right?” As he moved up to the first floor, he saw a collection of skulls, one nearly a meter long.

Astra shuffled to the edge of his roof, dangling his legs over as he watched the battle unfold. Pulling around his lute, he began to play. Cassian felt the familiar music surround him, and he raised his sword at the bard in acknowledgement. Astra gave a wink.

Sariel began to follow Vanden, taking a misty step to the other side of the chaos, appearing down the hall at the bottom of the steps. Looking back, she saw the wolves round the corner, flanking the giant blue bear as they approached the gnolls. She booked it up the stairs. 

Sariel was able to recognize the skulls with ease. One was a troll of some sort, and another seemed to be something draconic. Hanging on a mannequin was a silvery white chain shirt, with a hint of blue. Looking at what first appeared to be a tusk, displayed in the center of the room, she realized it was something she had never seen before. But everyone had heard the mythical tales of the unicorn. She grabbed the horn. It was about a foot long, spiralled bone and mother of pearl, shimmery green and blue on the carved mantle. She looked to Vanden. “We need to get out of here.”

“Not yet.”

“...Okay?”

Above, the half-orc was still under Astra’s command, compelled to shoot a bolt at the remaining guard as the other fizzled away under the moonbeam. As he did, the bolt burned away as well, disappearing under the white light as the half-orc grabbed his sword.

In the basement, Sariel’s wolves pounced. The gnoll battered to the wall by Elyse backed up, already bleeding out. It put up a hand, shrieking “No, no!”

The wolf ripped off their head as the second wolf bit towards the other. The second gnoll was able to fend it off with a spear, desperately trying to run away as Elyse laughed in a low growl. Feral vengeance took over as all three of the animals tore the gnoll to absolute shreds, howling all the way.

Cassian hopped down from the platform, taking a swing at the crowned veteran orc with his shadow blade. Carving through him with a path of darkness, he fell to the floor, the willow branches dissipating. The wizard turned to give a challenging grin to the remaining gnoll. As he did, Boblem flared the moonbeam in intensity, temporarily lighting the place as the gnoll’s ashes fell to the ground.

Tearing through the corridor, Elyse smashed through the door with a roar. There was nobody left, save for a gravely injured hyena still locked in the pen. Vanden and Sariel stepped through just in time to see the remaining mercenary fizzle away to dust.

Looking up, they saw Cassian, mildly glowing and wielding a dark sword. He gave a wave as he gazed across at the bloody, giant blue bear. Boblem began making his way towards the others as Cassian walked over.

Vanden held out a hand towards Sariel, staring at the battlefield. “The scroll?”

She passed it to him, the two wolves at her sides.

He unfurled it, and looked down.

His worst fears were confirmed. Mattijn du Argentfort, and a smear of blood at the bottom.


	34. Friends In High Places, Episode Thirty-One

Vanden was stunned. By the time Boblem arrived, he was still standing in place, staring at the scroll. Astra chose to remain on the rooftop, keeping watch. The rest of them congregated in the courtyard, smoke rising from where the moonbeam had burned into the grass. The first rays of dawn crested over the hill, just poking through the dim light onto the first tier of Shadebourne.

Sariel reached a hand up to touch Vanden’s shoulder. He didn’t look at her.

Boblem walked over. “I’m guessing y’all found what you were looking for?”

Elyse shifted out of the form of the bear, the blood disappearing along with the fur. She glanced to Vanden. “Sariel found the scroll, I don’t know what’s in it.”

Vanden was still holding it, folding it in between his hands.

Cassian posed the gentle question. “Is it the answer you were looking for?”

He didn’t look up. “...I have my answer. We should see what other information we can find in this place.”

“Absolutely, we can ransack this place now,” Elyse agreed. “But I think we should maybe post some people outside and disguise them as Weeping Eyes, just in case anyone comes, about the commotion.”

“If we go about this,” Boblem warned, “We better go do it quickly.”

“The guard will be one thier way already, I’m sure we made a lot of noise,” Sariel agreed.

Elyse nodded. “But we might be able to mitigate it a little bit.”

The boy seemed worried. “Still, they’ll have to believe us as well.”

“We can try.”

Vanden had already turned, moving back inside and down the stairs. He began shoving open the doors that weren’t trapped. He saw fairly large accomodation rooms with mangy cots inside, bare and wooden, stripped with little equipment remaining save for the bed mats. He moved on to the armoury, and then the mess hall. Elyse followed.

Cassian disguised himself as a Weeping Eye, standing outside the gate and giving a wave to Astra.

Astra sent his voice into the wizard’s head.  _ “What’s going on? What’s the plan?” _

_ “The threat is gone. We’re just checking over, I’m going to stand guard.” _

Astra nodded.  _ “I think I should stay up here, because isn’t today the day that Kahnym’s coming back?” _

_ “...Right. Let me know if there’s anything approaching.” _

_ “I’ll keep eyes on it.” _

_ “Thank you.” _

The rooftops were hit with light, down below still covered in darkness as the mountains loomed. Neither of them saw anyone approaching.

Sariel sent her wolves to stand guard at the door to the L shaped building as the druids followed the others inside. In the armoury, they saw glaives, longbows, shortswords, longswords, axes, shields, spears, and crossbows piled against the walls. They all looked pretty dodgy, and they smelled. Glancing in the mess hall, they saw nothing but another door, likely leading to a kitchen. They carried on. The planning room had a large central table, with details on the Underdark mission. Vanden glanced over them, taking piles of paper into his bag. They rounded a corner, moving to the room with the bear claw trap. From the outside, Elyse found the catch, trying to dismantle and disarm it. She heard something click, but she couldn’t be sure.

Standing back, she opened the door with her mage hand. As the door swung open, the trap swung forward, a collection of rusty metal slamming into the wood. They bypassed it, investigating Kahnym’s room. There was a wickedly curved and jagged sword, an empty chest, and stripped beddings. The room smelled of gross rot, but there was a different odor cutting through the air underneath. They noticed a small bag under the chest, and Boblem bent to examine it. It was a bag of fried ears. He decided not to mention it, pushing it back. “Just rotten meat.”

Vanden looked at the sword. It was jagged and rusty, with a lot of dried blood on the side, and a few runes on it. He had seen it before, on someone’s back.

Elyse glanced over to him. “Do you want this?”

He took it, walking straight back out.

After finding nothing on the mage’s torn body, Sariel went to check the mage’s room. There was a desk with candles, ritual marks, three vials of a thick red liquid, a chest, a horn, a whip, and a carved ivory statue. Boblem peeked in the room, noticing the whip. He had seen gnolls use whips like that before.

Sariel looked in the chest. It was unlocked, holding twenty pieces of gold. It didn’t seem like the sigils were causing an active spell. She assumed it was general warding. Perhaps it was what initially triggered the alarm spell. But there was something wrong and dark about the magic, the feeling of hunger and death radiating off the pages. It was dark magic, scrawled in blood.

Vanden moved to the records room, torn apart by Sariel, with shelves of scrolls on the floor. “I’m sorry,” she apologized from behind. “It was just in case they came in here and tried to find out what we took.”

“I understand.”

“If you’re unsure what’s important,” Boblem advised, “We can try and gather them all up, put them in the big bag we have?”

“I have the Bag of Holding,” Elyse offered.

Vanden looked across the room. They all seemed to be contracts, maybe close to a hundred of them. “Put them in the bag.”

Boblem and Elyse began to gather the pages. After a while, Elyse went to examine the other trapped door. She saw no runes, nothing glowing, and nothing to suggest that the door itself was enchanted. It looked heavy, made of black wood and studded with iron.

She formed a plan. “I’d suggest maybe we all wait around the corner, and then try to mage hand it open, and then we send one of your familiars through? If nothing gets set off by opening the door, just to be sure?”

Sariel looked at the door. “Alright.”

“Is that okay with you?”

“Yeah,” Boblem gave a nod.

Elyse gathered the others around the corner, peeking out before trying to open the door with her mage hand. The door was locked. WIth a sigh, she cast her unlocking spell. A large thud rang out, and the door swung open.

“If you’re unsure if there’s a trap still in there,” Boblem offered, “I can use my spell to find traps again.”

“Sure, why not,” she agreed. “Just to be safe.”

He did. The trap was still there.

Elyse looked to Sariel again. “Do you mind if we send one of your familiars through?”

“Can’t we just throw something in there?” Vanden countered.

Elyse took one of the green rocks she had swiped from the pyramid out of her bag. The mage hand threw it inside, and it clattered to the floor. They didn’t see anything but three chests in the room.

“Might need to be a living creature,” Boblem frowned.

“That’s what I’m thinking,” she agreed. To be safe, she threw a firebolt against the wall. No effect. “I feel like it might have to be some kind of living creature, to set it. I’m sorry.”

Sariel whistled, and one of the wolves silently padded down, obedient. She nestled her face into it. Its form became a bit less corporeal as it sensed what was to happen. Sariel gave it a scratch before it walked into the room. There was a flash of flame, and an arcane rune lit up on the floor. The circle smoldered as the wolf looked back at them with sad eyes, injured.

Sariel called it back, nuzzling into it. It smelled a bit burnt. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

Now that they could see the circle, Boblem sent out a spell to break up the floorboards. Chunks of rock smoldered before going black.

There were three chests inside. They all seemed normal, nothing special about them. Elyse used her mage hand to open the one in the center.

A huge set of jaws opened, the chest splitting in half as a long purple tongue lashed out, snatching at the ghostly hand. None the wiser above ground, Cassian and Astra stood calmly at their posts while the other four prepared for another fight.

A second chest opened its jaws, and two metal bolts in the wood flickered open, revealing themselves as eyes. Its long purple tongue lashed out, sizzling where it hit the wall. Sariel called forward a knife of ice from the air, flinging it to pierce one of the chests. As the blade exploded, the other chest reeled. Elyse sent her electricity towards the center chest. It rose up slightly as hundreds of centipede-like legs began to scuttle out, the long purple tongue lashing out against the sorcerer. She was grappled by it, the tongue holding her captive.

Vanden pushed in front of Sariel, kneeling down with the shield to fire a crossbow bolt through the hole. The projectile hit as Boblem sent searing flame across the wooden chest. Its tongue retreated from Elyse as it burned.

The second chest scurried out, lashing its tongue out against Vanden and sticking into his shield. Sariel’s wolf tried to take a bite, but somehow the chest mimic’s surface warped, sticking to its fur as the wolf yelped, unable to get away.

Sariel swiped at the tongue on Vanden’s shield, her fingers extending to claws. With a single slash, the tongue severed, acid spewing as it sizzled before the entire creature melted into a purplish grey ooze.

Elyse sent another bit of lightning at the remaining mimic before ducking into the archive room. Another crossbow bolt came from Vanden, aiming carefully to hit. Boblem threw another fire attack at the creature, setting it aflame as patches of grey smoldered underneath. 

Suddenly, the chest vanished. The wolf was let free, looking very confused. As it set about sniffing, it noticed something on the floor. One of the crossbow bolts scattered on the ground was not a crossbow bolt. The wolf pounced on it, grabbing the bolt in its mouth. It bit, snapping down. The bolt melted, reforming as a puddle of grey and purple ooze on the floor.

Sariel pet the wolf. “Proud of you!”

Vanden stood, looking at the puddle. “Disgusting.” He went to check the third chest. It was locked, but it did not bite him. “Elyse?”

She walked over, attempting to unlock the chest with her thieves' tools this time. It took about thirty seconds, but she was able to spring it open. She smiled, opening the lid. There was a bit of gold in there, maybe 300 to 400 pieces.

Vanden looked over the pile with disinterest. “Great.” Turning around, he went back upstairs. Elyse scooped the gold into the Bag of Holding.

  
  


Cassian and Astra didn’t see anyone approach. It was only a few minutes past dawn, a couple of ravens squawking to sit on a nearby chimney stack.

Astra was still sending him messages from the rooftop.  _ “So what do you want to wear to the ball?” _

Cassian glanced up at the bard.  _ “I have plans. I could design something.” _

_ “Oh yeah, you’re good at that.” _

_ “It’s my job.” _

_ “Yes, you made Sariel a really nice outfit.” _

The wizard looked away, trying to focus on his task.  _ “Thank you.” _

Cassian regarded the ravens with a careful eye. One squawked at him. “Bugger off,” he grumbled. It squawked again, hopping closer. “Get out of here, bird.”

“Caw!”

Cassian glared at it. The bird definitely had a dodgy glint in its eye. It soared off over him, heading into the courtyard. It pecked at one of the bodies before flying off with something shiny in its beak.

_ “Good, you made a friend there,” _ Astra’s voice came to the wizard.

_ “...I don’t think that was a friend.” _

Boblem ran back upstairs, Elyse and Sariel following behind. Vanden grabbed the chainmail from the trophy room, and the four of them exited the building.

Elyse disguised herself as she emerged, and when Cassian saw the others arrive, he went over to check the body that the crow had perched on. Looking over the corpse, he guessed the crow had simply stolen a bolt off it.

“I can cast for stealth now, if we want to use that to get back,” Boblem offered.

“Yeah, I can also make two people invisible again, if that’s necessary,” Elyse shrugged. “But I don’t know.”

“I’ll use it to be sure.”

Sariel glanced around. “Where’s Astra?”

“Oh, he’s still on the roof,” Cassian assured her. Looking up, Sariel saw the bard wave, still in the form of Rufus.

Sariel dismissed the wolves, and they drifted away like black soot on the wind before she turned her own form into a familiar cat. Cassian swapped his Weeping Eye disguise for a less conspicuous looking person as Boblem sent his spell over the group.

Astra began climbing down the building, speaking to Cassian once more.  _ “Potentially… Should you all burn it down? Considering that somebody’s returning today? And you’ve just left a load of evidence?” _

_ “I’ll put it to the group.” _ Cassian looked to the others. “Astra thinks we should burn the compound down.”

“I want to,” Vanden agreed.

Sariel meowed.

“Be a lovely message for Kahnym,” Cassian smirked.

“I want to do it,” Vanden repeated.

Boblem handed him the endless jug, already filled with oil. “Do you want to do the oil?”

“Yes.”

It took about ten minutes, Vanden circling the main building. He pulled out some oil from the storage building as well, soaking the courtyard. The fumes began to get to the heads of the others. Vanden, wearing his scarf like a face mask, finished his task in silence. Anyone who made a move to help was fixed with a warning stare from the man. He walked to the edge, taking off his black coat and throwing it to the ground as well.

With his flint, he lit a spark. With all the fumes in the air, it roared to a flame instantly. Astra had already been walking back to the barracks for a while, and as the spark lit, the rest of them turned to leave. Vanden stared at the fire for a bit before flicking it onto the main building. WIth the old wood soaked with pitch, the place became an instant blaze. He ran, the heat unmanageable in seconds, turning his face away as the flames licked at his back.

The group made their way into the street, running away from the scene. As they did, they noticed Vanden wasn’t following, standing just outside the gate as he realized what he had done. “Shit,” he muttered.

He ran between the doors in the alley, screaming out warnings. “There’s a fire! Get out of the area! There’s a fire!” He looked back at the blaze, horrified by his actions. Shutters and doors opened as people began shouting and screaming, pouring out of their buildings. Thirty or fourty people came out, half asleep and half dressed, fleeing their apartments into the street. They cleared away, like rats from a sinking ship.

The Charnel House was a bit segregated from the town, a good five meters between it and any nearby building. The wet soil didn’t catch, keeping the fire in place, but a plume of black smoke coalesced above. Once he was sure he had knocked on all the doors, Vanden fell into the crowd, fleeing.

  
  


It was another hour before they returned to their barracks. They emerged, bloodied and breathless, but not burned. The thick column of smoke was visible from the fourth tier, rising up.

Vanden stood in the main room. “I don’t know what to say…”

“You don’t have to say anything yet,” Elyse consoled. “Process, it’s fine. Get rest, if you need to.”

“Have a wash if you need to,” Boblem offered.

“It’s done. When you’re ready to talk, we’ll be here.”

Vanden walked back to his room. As he did, he took out the scroll, leaving it on the table before he shut himself in his room.

Cassian and Elyse went to the scroll right away. There were details on how the entire royal family du’Argentfort living in the palace were to be killed. Any royal guard or staff who put up a fight would be killed as well. There was a princely sum of money offered for the job, and the scroll was signed by Mattijn du’Argentfort himself.

It referenced a subcontract as well, detailing the fake operation and assault, confirming that Mattijn’s trip to Arakhis was a hoax, merely an alibi.

Elyse sighed. “Well, shit.”

Cassian stared at the scroll. “It’s an answer, at least.”

“Mhm.”

“Might not be the one that he was looking for, but.”

“But it's better than not knowing,” Sariel agreed.

“It’s better than it being his name, and him not remembering.”

“And now we have evidence that it definitely wasn’t him,” Boblem nodded. “And we can prove that his brother was up to it.”

Cassian shook his head. “Somehow, I don’t think that feels particularly good for him, though.”

“No. But he can clear his name, at least.”

Elyse sighed. “Maybe we should let Jocelyn know. She might not be safe, she’s gone back there. Maybe wait for Vanden…”

“You should let Vanden decide that,” Cassian agreed.

“I’d need to take a rest anyway, before I could do that,” Astra replied.

“I think we’ll all leave it for now.”

“How could anyone…  _ family _ do that to family?”

“Family doesn’t always feel like family.”

Elyse took out the Bag of Holding, emptying it onto the table. Turning it upside down, she was forced back a bit as everything poured out. All of the gold clattered out, as well as a bunch of jagged spears, a great axe, a warhammer, skins of wine, furs, a map of Shadebourne with the location of the Charnel House, and a mass of ball bearings, at least a thousand of them pouring out all over the floor.

“Agh, I’ve just cleaned this place!” Astra cried.

Elyse was standing in shock. With little tears stinging at her eyes, the items just kept coming and coming. “Uhh… sorry?”

“I just cleaned! No!”

Coins and metal balls piled around Boblem’s feet as they boy stared down. “I forgot they might have actually used the bag…”

“Get the ball bearings!” Astra yelped. “They’re going everywhere!”

Elyse stared at the mess. “Um… I’ll help you clean up.”

“I’d appreciate it!” Things were still pouring out. “Stop holding it upside down!”

Elyse closed the bag. Reaching in, she felt a bit more still inside. She dropped the bag with a grin.

“No!” Astra scolded. “You’re getting out of this room right now, I don’t want to see you for the rest of the day.”

“I said I’d help you!”

“No, you’ve helped enough!”

Astra set about cleaning, Boblem and Sariel assisting him. Elyse checked over the weapons, searching for anything magical, but nothing stood out to her. Looking at the giant warhammer, Sariel attempted to pick it up. She couldn’t hold it for too long, it was almost bigger than her.

Boblem looked at the other druid with a bit of fear in his wide eyes. The hammer was vicious, flat and curved on one side with a long spike on the other. “Getting any ideas?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Looks good on you,” Elyse teased.

“It’s too big for me. But it’s cool.”

Cassian watched Astra freak out for a moment, noticing Sariel pick up the giant weapon before he turned to read in his room, not helping with the cleanup.

From his own room, Vanden heard the clattering and shouting. Astra was pretty loud, and he was able to deduce what had happened. He kicked his door, trying to make a loud noise in return, but the others couldn’t hear it over the sound of a thousand ball bearings. Cassian jumped at the thud as he passed by on the way to his room.

Astra spent the rest of the day cleaning. Elyse helped as well, taking a few ball bearings for her own pouch. They put the rest of the tiny balls in a separate bag before adding it back to the Bag of Holding. There had been a thousand spread across the floor, including 385 gold pieces.

  
  


They heard bells through the city. In his room, Cassian went to open his shutters. As he did, he found something barring them closed. It felt as if there was something holding them closed from the outside, something wedged in between. He spent some time wiggling it out. As he forced the shutters open, a crossbow bolt tumbled in, hitting the windowsill. There was a snake engraved around the bolt, with a piece of parchment wrapped around it. Cassian looked out the window, searching. “How do you know I live here…?”

He opened the scroll. It read,  _ Opportunities abound above. _ It was signed with a familiar name. Cassian frowned. “I know you can’t hear me, but I already knew that,” he chided the air. With a sigh, he rolled his eyes. “Thanks.”

After about an hour of rest, the wizard returned downstairs to find the rest of the group. They had just finished cleaning. “We said that we would visit Iymril’s family? Up on the sixth tier? We should hold good on our promises, yes?”

“Yeah, we should wait for Vanden though, surely,” Elyse replied.

“Of course, but, there’s plenty of time in the day.”

Boblem gave a nervous look at the others. “Do we want to disturb them?”

“The family, or Vanden?”

“Vanden.”

“Let’s give him some more time,” Elyse advised.

Boblem slowly raised a hand. “Might I suggest that before we go, we still smell like smoke… we don’t want to smell like smoke. Considering the situation.”

“Yeah, we need to wash and maybe change clothes.”

“Like I said,” Cassian shrugged, “There’s plenty of time in the day.”

“It wasn’t exactly the most… respectful way to get rid of the bodies,” Astra reflected.

“It was a good call you made, though.”

“Hmm.”

“Got rid of any evidence we were there,” Sariel agreed.

“Those people certainly had no respect,” Cassian followed.

Elyse sighed. “Yeah, you saw the way that guy… treated it like a joke, what they did to his family.”

“They had trophies, skulls,” Boblem gulped. “So many human bones in the hyena pen.”

“They weren’t good people.”

“I know they weren’t,” Astra replied. “Just because other people are nasty doesn’t mean you should be.”

“I get that,” Boblem agreed. “But we also gotta protect… us.”

“Ourselves,” Elyse nodded.

“Of course,” the bard sighed. “I know.” He neatened his hair, a bit frazzled from all of the stress of the mess.

“I’ve got something I wanna do, before we head off,” the sorcerer announced. “And I’m sure we need to give Vanden some time anyway, so.”

In his room, Vanden was examining the chainmail. It didn’t seem to be magical, made from elven chain. After another half hour, he came back downstairs with the chainmail shirt. Astra was sitting, stumbling through some new verses with his instrument. Cassian was sitting there as well, giving the occasional suggestion. Sariel had busied herself with more foresight training. Elyse had left to the training yard, while Boblem set about bathing, washing the smoke and speckles of blood from his body. There were fairly basic washrooms in the barracks, with no heated baths, but there was running water.

Vanden walked through the room, chucking the chain shirt down on the table. “For Elyse,” he announced, moving through to the washroom. He didn’t speak to Boblem as he entered, stripping off his shirt to silently wash his face and hair. He kept his ring on. After several minutes, he walked back out and upstairs to change, taking the time to perfect his appearance.

Elyse walked out to the training ground. After the hilarity of the ball bearing situation had fizzled out, she felt herself creeping back to the stage she had been nearing an hour ago. She looked to make sure nobody had followed before staring down at her left hand. Taking off the glove and armwraps, she looked at it. Allowing electricity to run down her arm, she punched a dummy over and over. When she tired of letting out her frustrations, she put back her glove and wraps before washing and changing.

  
  


They convened. Vanden picked up the chain shirt, passing it to Elyse. “You can wear this if you can’t wear armour.”

“...What? Really?” She took it. It was very, very light. It felt like she was holding nothing at all. “Oh… thank you.”

Vanden looked at the warhammer on the table. It was made of solid wrought iron. He picked it up. It was heavy.

Cassian gave a gentle smile. “Mind yourself, that belongs to Sariel.”

Vanden let out a short laugh as he turned it over in his hands. He had feared he might know the owner, but upon examination, he realized it was not Mattijn’s.

He dropped it back on the table, a bit too heavily. “We should go.”

“You ready?” Boblem asked.

“Yes.”

The boy turned to Sariel. “How are you feeling about going there, Sariel?”

She looked very, very bitter. Elyse looked a bit nervous as well.

Vanden reached out to squeeze Sariel’s hand. “It’s going to be okay.”

Sariel did not want to go. She didn’t say anything, but she squeezed back.

“I have good faith that this is the right thing to do,” Cassian assured them.

Boblem was still a bit concerned. “Let us know if there’s anything we can do to make this easier for ya?”

“No,” Sariel shook her head.

“Okay…”

“Thank you for trying.”

“We’ll be here.”

“I know. Thank you.”

“We can try to hide our disgust,” Elyse sighed.

“I won’t.” Sariel replied, certain of it. She glanced back to Cassian. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he replied.

“Just take the horses up, then,” Vanden decided. He left for the stables, readying the carriage.

It took about forty five minutes for them to ride to the gates. Cassian presented the writ to the guards. Unfortunately, they weren’t the same guards as before, but they did let them through after looking them over. The group made their way in. The morning sun was shrouded from most of the city, but there was more light here than on the first few tiers.

Ranked tier houses lined the streets, oil lamps banishing the gloom as people walked or rode through with a sense of purpose, and a bit of haughtiness. There were guards present, but they were much more relaxed, only keeping active watch on the gate and the walls to prevent those on the lower tiers from forcing their way through. They passed through the fifth tier, past a three spired enormous work of art, piercing the sky. Clad in shimmering marble, the cathedral of Bahamut stood out against the darker architecture of the city. The walls were adorned with statues, gargoyles, and frescos depicting religious iconography. There was a platinum dragon entwined around each spire.

They pushed past a few taverns; The Ogre and Lion, The Rare Sword, The Tavern Of The Wolves, all places that looked wealthy. A drink would set you back a fair bit here. They moved through to the sixth tier. They stopped at the next gate, looking out behind them over a wedding cake of black granite. The walls were forty feet thick, and a hundred feet high, a monument to dwarven architecture looking down over the city. The first and second tiers were just a blur from where they stood, but they were able to see for miles. They saw the rolling hills, the ridges, and the glimmer of a river in the distance. For most of them, it was the furthest they had ever been able to see, making their chests tighten as they realized how high they had climbed, and just how small they were in the wide, wide world. A stoic, single tear escaped Cassian as he looked out at the view in awe.

They pushed through to the sixth tier. It was extremely wealthy here, carriages drawn by fine horses gliding smoothly through well paved streets. Finely dressed and bejeweled citizens dipped their hats on the street as they passed one another. Flowing dresses, fine silks, and dark velvets were a common sight. The businesses they saw were bespoke, their clientele wealthy and eager to spend. The streets were impeccably cleaned, lined with flagstones of polished black granite. Every building was a marvel, each seeking to outdo their neighbor in ostentatious presentation and decor.

They rode up a row of identical black tier houses, clad in black sandstone. They were all very nice looking buildings, many with individual guards posted outside. They arrived in the heart of the sixth tier, outside the Zauviir residence, a magnificent three floored building.

Vanden stopped his horse, swinging down. There were people outside, staff and guards, wearing tailored jackets and high boots in the same colors. There were small shortswords at their hips, but they weren't actively holding arms. They stepped forwards as the group approached.

“Good morning,” Vanden nodded.

A staff member eyed them. “Good morning.”

“I have a feeling you might be expecting us.”

“I have a feeling you might be guests. Please, come in. We’ll take your horses, don’t worry.” They took the horses by the reins, leading them off and around the street.

They were led through the pavement, up a few steps, and into a mahogany door against the black sandstone building. Pushing through to a hallway, they saw luxury and splendor. Crisscrossing wood beams on the floor gleamed enough for them to see their reflections. Paintings, artwork, and sculptures lined the twenty foot hall. A grand stairway went up in front of them, with a few doors leading off to other rooms. A staff member pulled them through, beckoning them to a room on the right.

It was a very ostentatious waiting room of some sort, a reception area with plush, deep purple velvet chaise longues. There was a gleaming table in the middle, and a desk at the side with crystal decanters. There was a painting hung over an ornate fireplace, depicting two adult drow and three younger. They recognized Iymril and Iyreia as two of the siblings. A fire crackled gently beneath.

For most of them, this was splendor like they had never seen before. Astra was overwhelmed from the moment he saw the dresses and outfits outside, staring with excitement and wide eyes at everything in the room. Elyse was the opposite, feeling incredibly uncomfortable and out of place in her torn, muddy clothes. Boblem was the same, suddenly taking note of his outfit, and looking a bit angry for the first time. Vanden didn’t seem to have noticed.

“The family will be with you very shortly. Please, take a seat.” The staff member left the room to stand outside the corner.

There was something akin to fury in Sariel’s eyes as they waited. Cassian was enjoying himself, a bit smug. Vanden sat quietly, looking over the room. Artwork, fine candlesticks and candelabras, a gorgeous chandelier hanging from the top, a small bookcase against a wall, and a huge, gorgeous map of Caldera, very finely made, adorned the space. Vanden stared at the map, Boblem and Elyse examining it as well while Astra pucked at his strings. It was huge, taking up almost the full wall. The sorcerer looked over to the west side, full of places she had never been, or heard of. She was quite far from Arakhis.

Vanden leaned over to her. “It’s very different to Ospeia, isn’t it?”

“...Yes.”

On the other side, Cassian sat next to Sariel. “It will be alright,” he assured her. “I’m not going to tell you to hold your tongue about anything.”

“I’ll have to hold my tongue, otherwise I’ll say something that the rest of you might regret.”

“That is up to you. I apologize that this is my element…”

“No. I’m glad to see you happy. But… I hate this. I  _ hate _ this.”

Cassian took in the words. “That’s okay.”

They heard footsteps, and the door opened. A few figures stepped in, Ardusine, Iyreia, and Iymril, as well as another older drow they recognized from the portrait. Bowyer, the mother.

Ardusine spoke. “Friends, familiar friends. How are you today?”

“Good,” Astra smiled.

“Good morning,” Vanden greeted.

Boblem gave a small nod. “Hello.”

“Very good,” Cassian replied.

Iyreia piped up. “Nice to see you all again.”

“And you,” Astra responded. “It’s nice to see you looking better, Iymril.”

Iymril, eyes down on the ground, made a small noise in reply. Their face was quite beat up. Though the family had light purple skin, making it hard to tell if they had black eyes, both of Iymril’s eyes were swollen. Their nose was a bit crooked, lips split, but they had obviously been very well tended to.

Bowyer introduced herself as they all came in to take a seat. Following behind them was a young dwarven man in the staff uniform, carrying a platter of fruits, cheeses, meats, and breads, as well as a number of drinks. They began pouring and serving.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve all been formally introduced,” Vanden began, “We didn’t introduce ourselves properly.”

Bowyer smiled. “Please, enlighten me.”

“Cassian Rivani,” the wizard nodded.

She gave a nod, turning down the line to Sariel. “My lady?”

Sariel didn’t respond.

Bowyer flicked her eyes to the others before moving on. “Sir?”

“Uh, Boblem?” the boy offered.

“Pleasure.”

“Verdant Astra,” the bard smiled.

The sorcerer was next. A bit hesitant, she decided to give her real name. “Elyse.”

One name left.

“Prince Vanden of Mirrortail.”

Bowyer raised a brow at the introduction. “You know, I had a feeling. Far from home.”

“I am.”

“What brings you to Shadebourne, if I may ask?”

Vanden’s voice shook slightly. “Important business, but now perhaps isn’t the time to discuss it.”

“Well, I’m honored to be hosting royalty. And all of you, as well. Please, our home is your home. Iymril?”

Slowly, Iymril put their elbows forward. “I believe I have an apology to make to all of you. And a thanks. Let’s not mince words. You saved my life. You saved my man’s life. We…  _ I _ … am in your debt. Words don’t begin to describe. I could have been dead in a ditch. Who’d of known, ey?” he grinned a bit, as if it were a joke. “Were it not for all of you and your quick thinking, the things you did.”

“I’m glad to see you’re safe,” Astra nodded.

“Thank you. You know, was never in any real trouble, but- ”

“No, you were.”

“Definitely were,” Elyse agreed. Vanden did his best to stifle a laugh.

“It’s good you had all four of us, really,” Boblem followed.

Iymril shifted a bit. “Yeah, I suppose, I suppose.”

Iyreia gave him a look.

“There was so much blood,” Elyse recalled. “And the screaming.”

“And the crying,” Boblem added.

“And the crying.”

“Be nice,” Vanden chided the pair.

“Please, please,” Iymril held up a hand. “Thank you.”

Ardusine reached forward, sipping a cup of tea. He undid his jacket, taking it off to recline. “Like we said. This place is yours to stay for until the ball. We would be honored for you to be our guests. Please, spend some time with the society of Shadebourne. They are wonderful, wonderful people, with some fantastic insights.”

“We’d be delighted,” Vanden agreed.

“I thought so. We can host you, should you wish, until then. We are more than happy to provide with…” he looked over a few of them, “Suitable apropos for the ball. I mean no offense, but…”

“Certain standards are in order,” Cassian finished.

“Certain attire is required.”

“It’s understandable,” Vanden assured them, giving the others a meaningful glance. “No offense taken.”

“I’m sure you can rustle something up. Whatever you wish for, please. Spare no expense, we can have you sent to the finest tailors in the tiers. It’s no skin off our backs.”

Sariel opened her mouth before forcing it shut.

“It’s greatly appreciated,” Vanden covered.

“Thank you, thank you. These events are usually interesting affairs. We enjoy popping in, from here to there.”

Iyreia spoke up. “So tell me, how have you found Shadebourne so far?”

The group was silent for a moment.

“...Delightful,” Astra offered. “Rather interesting, lots of…”

“The city is wonderful, isn’t it?”

“Lots of queer folk around.”

“Certainly, culture, history…”

Vanden leaned forward. “Actually, a lot of interesting news coming from the lower tiers.”

She wrinkled her nose a bit. “Really? Oh…”

“Horrible things, killings and that,” Elyse explained.

“Ah, yes, we’ve heard of that. Thankfully it has not spread to up here.”

“And all those people starving down there,” Boblem added.

Vanden gave the boy a very pointed look.

“Surely not,” she continued. “Food is cheap down there, life is cheap. You’d know, wouldn’t you?” she glanced to Iymril, who was sheepish.

“I just wanted to see how the other half live,” they defended. “Can’t blame me for that, can you?”

Elyse rolled her eyes. Iymril noticed. “Is there a problem?”

She looked away. “Nope.”

“I thought not,” they grinned a bit, and Ardusine shot them a look. Iymril’s face dropped under the glare.

Vanden continued on. “Interesting news about a number of mercenary companies just abandoning the city.”

“Ah, now that is interesting,” Bowyer leaned forward. “Obviously our businesses aren’t affected as much as many other places, but it’s certainly curious.”

“Very curious,” Cassian agreed.

“What causes twelve, thirteen hundred strong swords, mercenaries, to gather up and in the space of a few weeks, leave their defensive post? Leave everything behind?”

“It’s all organized, as well…”

“No rumors from up here?” Vanden pressed.

She shook her head. “None that I know of, sadly. The folk are known for their organization, their drive.”

“Yes, but that’s what makes it even more curious,” Cassian continued. “If they are known for organization, and being driven, what is driving them?”

“Good question, good question. I’d certainly like to find out.”

“As would we.”

“So if you do hear anything...” Vanden tilted his head.

“We’d be very interested to know,” Elyse finished.

Ardusine smiled. “Well, we do owe you a favor. It has a knock-on effect on our trade, the purchase and sale of diamonds in commonplace within ranks. The hobgoblins themselves often bear mages of war. Diamonds commonly used in battle, perhaps many of you know, perhaps you don’t.”

“We might actually be in the market for diamonds at some point,” Cassian recalled.

“Is that so?”

“Useful components,” Elyse nodded.

Cassian looked over the family. “Very useful components.”

“We can put in a word,” Ardusine responded. “Perhaps have something sent to you as a token of our gratitude. We’re aware of what these are used for. A life for a life. You saved two of our own.” He gave another look to the smug, smirking Iymril, causing their face to drop once more. “We’ll have something arranged.”

“Thank you. Very generous.”

“We’re known for our generosity.”

“You certainly are. Word has travelled far and wide of your family, and the excellent quality of your products.”

“I should hope so, I should hope so,” he continued, enjoying the snacks. “We are looking forward to having you at the ball.”

Iyreia smiled. “I might be able to fit some of you, if you wish to borrow something, perhaps.”

Elyse fiddled with the neck of her outfit. “I know that I don’t have anything on me that would be suitable for such an event, so…”

“Neither do I,” Boblem shook his head.

“Worry not sir,” Ardusine assured him. “You are more than welcome to claim anything of mine, or we can take you out on a shopping trip. Show you the sights of the tiers. It would be our pleasure.”

Cassian’s eyes lit up.

Ardusine pushed away his plate. “Would you like a tour? Of the house?”

“Please,” Vanden accepted.

He led them off. They were shown through three floors of magnificence, and a number of rooms on the top floor had been set aside for them. Lavish hallways displayed opulence, plenty of stone busts with jewels, tiaras, and necklaces hanging off them. Famous pieces had been created and left on display. Staff milled about the house, though not actively watching them. A few times, when he didn’t think anyone was looking, Cassian slipped a few seashells from his bag to inconspicuous places. There wasn’t anything around that seemed arcane, but there were plenty of antiques, statues, paintings, calabras, pieces of artwork, and wood and stone artifacts.

Bowyer turned around. “Regretfully, Shadebourne doesn’t lend itself well to gardens. Our grounds in Bronze Harbour are much nicer than this, but you know, sunlight isn’t necessarily our friend anywhere. We are particularly sensitive to the sunlight.”

Astra looked over the family of drow. “Oh, right.”

“Many of our people come from the Underdark. This city is one of the first places that the drow, the dwarves, and the gnomes breached forth onto the surface. It was several thousand years ago, of course”

“I don’t mean any offense, but I’ve never met a drow before.”

“I’ve not met many tieflings before.”

“Your house is magnificent,” Vanden complimented.

“Thank you. We worked very hard to get this.”

Sariel’s face tensed.

Ardusine took over as Bowyer excused herself. After a time, Iyreia left as well. They walked through, their host talking about old paintings and what they meant, and who certain relatives were. It seemed that the family had control of the business for five or six generations. Considering the long lifespans of drow, that was quite a bit of time. They traced themselves back almost to the first drow emerging from the Underdark. The tour went on for about an hour, and their feet began to hurt. It was information overload, but Cassian was very attentive. Vanden politely remained in step with Ardusine, asking questions. Boblem was at the back, feeling a bit overwhelmed. Elyse took interest in the art and antiques, learning how to mask her discomfort the longer they went through.

Finishing the tour, Ardusine turned. “Do you wish to be staying? Or will we be seeing you again?”

Elyse looked to the others. “Do we?”

“I think it would be wise for us to return to our home, for today,” Cassian decided.

“Things we have to collect, things we have to do.”

Sariel gave Cassian a grateful look. She appeared visibly unwell.

“I might stay a little longer,” Vanden decided. “Spend some time at the cathedral.”

“Ah, the cathedral is a work of art,” Ardusine approved.

“Never had a chance to visit before.”

“Regretful. Well, we can arrange a time, we can have a carriage pick you up and take you to your shopping, to purchase some finery. When would be suitable for you?”

“Perhaps tomorrow, the day after?” Cassian glanced over the group. “If anyone has any business?”

“Tomorrow sounds good,” Vanden agreed.

“Tomorrow.”

Ardusine nodded. “We are glad you could see our home.”

Iymril yawned. “What are you going to be getting up to in the next few days, then?”

Vanden frowned. “Can’t be saying yet, but- ”

“Mysterious.”

“More out of lack of knowledge of the city.”

“I’d be happy to show you around. I know the place pretty well.”

“I’d be interested in that.”

“And I might attempt to go visit the first and second tiers again,” Iymril puffed their chest. “With you six at my back, I won’t be running into any danger. You... I mean, I’m assuming you’re going to come with me if I go, yes?”

The prince gave him a once-over. “Maybe you can show us around up here first, and we’ll decide if we want to.”

They shrugged. “Right, okay. After you’ve seen everything I’m not sure you’d want to go back down there,” they laughed. “Nonetheless. It’s been a pleasure. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.” They turned, footsteps clicking away. After a few minutes, they heard the terrible screeching of a lute.

Astra cringed. “Oh my goodness, he’s  _ killing _ it.”

“At least he’s trying,” Vanden whispered.

Boblem glanced between them. “Is he?”

Ardusine only seemed to have picked up on Astra’s remark. He tugged at his silver beard, rolling his eyes.

“Sorry,” the tiefling offered. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be offensive.”

“No, don’t worry. I’m rather handsome, I’m used to it.”

Astra blinked, a bit confused before the understanding set in.

“How long has Iymril been playing that?” Vanden asked.

“Long enough,” Ardusine sighed.

“They’re only new to it,” Astra reasoned. “Right?”

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Astra here is a wonderful musician,” Vanden smiled.

“One of the best,” Elyse agreed.

Ardusine looked over the bard. “Is that so? I’m sure you could find a place at the ball to perform some of your music.”

“Oh Astra, you should,” Vanden encouraged.

Cassian nodded in agreement. “Absolutely.”

“Some of the cacophonies those people play,” Ardusine shook his head, “It doesn’t bear mentioning.”

“Well, that music you played in the tavern was so good,” Elyse grinned at the bard. “So good to dance to. Should definitely play it.”

Ardusine thanked them for their time, and motioned to the staff. Attendants led the group out, fetching their horses. Ardusine looked over the cart, raising his eyebrows. “Been a pleasure.”

“Thank you for having us,” Boblem replied.

“We’ll send a carriage by tomorrow to bring you up and around. See you soon.”

“See you soon,” Astra repeated.

“I’ll see all of you later as well,” Vanden addressed the group. “I’m not following you back down.”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Elyse shrugged.

“Stay safe down there,” Ardusine advised.

“Of course,” Astra replied.

The door to the carriage closed with a few of them inside, Vanden following the cart for a bit before he pulled away from the others at the fifth tier. The rest of them carried on to the barracks while Vanden rode to the Temple of Bahamut.

  
  


It was an incredible sight, the cathedral reaching up past the higher tier above it, spires on level with some of the higher buildings. He tethered his horse outside, waking up the steps with eyes full of wonder. He had never seen a temple to his own deity up close, and this was nothing like he had ever seen. A fair few people came in and out.

He went through the doors. There were dark wooden floors with marble clad pillars, opening to an awe inspiring sight. Deep voiced choirs sang, the acoustics sending notes rippling through the walls. The inside was lavish, grand in scale, decorated with fine hangings and carvings, platinum accoutrement, and a decorated altar with icons of worship. Many priests were walking the halls, attending to the cathedral, leading worship services, and assisting a few people in pews, deep in meditation. There were about a hundred people inside, spread out through the wide space. He walked through, quietly and respectfully, taking it all in.

When he reached the front, footsteps ringing on the tile, he took a seat. The wood groaned beneath him, and he smelled the dust from the cushions as choirs echoed out, priests passing and going about their business. He sat, clasping his hands in front of his face. For a while, he was quietly emotional, shaking slightly. He murmured to himself, “Why would this be allowed to happen? I don’t understand. This sort of… injustice. I don’t understand what I’m supposed to do now.”

His expression grew angry as he clenched his jaw. A rare shaft of sunlight caught against a stained glass window on the other side of the building, illuminating a patch with a sword, a crown, and a fiery angel. He shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

He sat for hours and hours on that bench, feeling completely numb. Over time, a few priests came over to him. One spoke. “My child, do you wish to talk?”

“Maybe?”

It was an elderly gnome, a priest with a shaved head and simple white robes. “My name is Marla. Welcome.”

“Thank you. I… I’ve never been in a temple to Bahamut before.”

“It’s wonderful, isn’t it?”

“I suppose so.”

“What plagues you?”

Vanden gave a desperate laugh. “I don’t know where to begin.”

“Well, why don’t you start at the beginning?”

Vanden spilled his guts to the priest, telling them everything he could remember. It took almost a half hour to retell the entire tale, and he did not look presentable by the end of it. He was shaking, hands in his hair, staring off.

The dwarf held out a small hand towards him. Vanden took it. They squeezed it tightly, beginning a prayer in a language Vanden didn’t understand, but it sounded familiar, almost like the sound of the singing reflected by the choir. It sounded angelic.

He let it happen, but Vanden felt increasingly numb through it, realizing that he had been relying on finding an answer here. But this place couldn’t provide what he was looking for, or if it could, he wouldn’t have understood it. Once he was alone again, he left.

As he exited the cathedral, people moved out of his way to let him pass. A young woman clad in platinum silvery white armour held the door open for him. She was covered almost head to toe, helmet removed to reveal flame red hair. She wasn’t a guard, though she had a wide shield and a sword strapped down low. She was simply holding the door.

He looked over her. “Thank you.”

She gave a silent nod, making her way in. Her armour echoed out as she walked, ringing across the floor.

Vanden rode onwards to the library. Praying had not helped. Perhaps reading would.

  
  


Elsewhere, Cassian searched for a place to trade in a few of the gems Elyse had given him for coin, as well as for materials to make some jewelry of his own. Keeping a few gemstones for himself, he collected enough materials, as well as 285 gold for the gems. Completing the errand, he walked back to the barracks.

As the other four arrived at the barracks, Elyse announced she wanted to go to the library, offering for the others to join.

“I’m fine,” Boblem declined. “Thanks.”

“Okay.”

She headed to the one on the fourth tier. It wasn’t a massive building, maybe two stories, but it was sizable. She spoke to the front desk, searching for records on Moirenia’s Map of the Inner and Outer Planes, or notes of artifacts that could help her. It took her a couple of hours, but she was able to find some writings on Moirenia themself, though none about the ring she had found. Moirenia was an arcanist and researcher who had researched the planes, likely lizardfolk or Yuan-Ti. Their communication was cut off suddenly, mysteriously, about 500 years ago. There was nothing about the pyramid. She headed back to the barracks, nearly evening now.

Sariel looked sick, the color drained from her face. She spent the afternoon to herself with her foresight training, unable to think of doing anything else.

Boblem approached her. “You know, I can kind of see why you dislike him so much now.”

She took a minute to respond. “It’s not just him, it’s everything he stands for.”

“Yeah, that whole tier didn’t quite sit right with me. I was thinking, maybe not today, but one of these days I’d like to go down to the first tier and distribute some food? If you wanted to come with me, and help me do that?”

“I think that’s a really nice sentiment Boblem, I do. I just don’t know how much it will really help.”

“I know, but, I just… Something is better than nothing, you know? It’s the most I can do right now. I just don’t want to do it while Kahnym might be there.”

“Probably best to avoid it for a few days anyway.”

“Yeah. I was thinking, if you wanted to come, I’ll happily have you join me.”

She thought. “I might. Ultimately, there needs to be bigger changes than just that.”

“Yeah, but, right now that’s all I can do. I’ll leave you to it.”

“You’re a good person Boblem.”

“Thank you. I hope so. You’re a good person too, Sariel.”

She didn’t reply. Boblem walked back to his room.

Astra fiddled with his lute for a bit. He walked outside, and noticing that Boblem and Sariel were talking, he turned back to clean instead.

Cassian returned. Noticing Elyse was out, he deposited 120 gold in a pouch in her room. He wrote a little note,  _ “For the gems.” _

He went to his own room. Scrubbing off all the henna, he decided to redo it. He changed the design a bit, the top of his head now bearing a third eye, with more gold brought further down and under his own eyes.

Laying out all of the materials he bought, as well as all of his seashells, he began picking out the nicest ones. He started to work, inlaying them with gold and gems, tying chains to make earrings or necklaces, and humming to himself.

  
  


When Elyse returned, it was nearly dusk. She headed out into the training area, giving a few punches to a dummy before heading straight up onto the roof. She sat down, taking out the transcribed spell and the material components. Her arcane focus floated beside her as she ran electricity through it. Beginning the ritual, lines of static danced between her fingers. She closed her eyes, picturing all the interesting animals she had seen in her life before settling on one.

She summoned an Ospeian hunting falcon with blue eyes. She opened her eyes as it bristled its feathers. Putting out her arm for it, its claws dug in. It was heavy, piercing the skin a bit as she winced. “You’re meant to be my friend,” she chided. “But it’s really nice to meet you. I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time.”

It chirruped at her. “Do I get to name you?” she asked. It didn’t respond. “How about Rana?”

It straightened. She pet it, the downy feathers ruffling a bit. “You’re so beautiful,” she smiled, laughing with excitement. She launched it off to fly, lying back on the roof. Holding the arcane focus to her chest, she allowed herself to see through its eyes. Her own eyes shimmered and went clear white as her vision shifted, the barracks getting smaller and smaller underneath her as the bird flew. She saw the tiers laid out before her in incredible detail. On the tier below, she saw every individual person moving, a cat darting out underneath something. There was the glory and majesty of the upper tiers, and the bird flew up level with the sixth tier, looking out at the array of the city beyond, making a slow circle back down to herself as the sun set.


	35. The Green Knight, Episode Thirty-Two

It was early evening, the sunset fast approaching. Vanden rode back from the library, having spent the rest of the afternoon there. He brought the horse into the barracks, tying it up. Heading to his room, he dumped the bag of books before returning to the courtyard.

Astra picked up the Bag of Holding, heading out of the barracks and into the town.

Vanden looked up. “Astra? Good evening.”

The bard turned, giving a smile. “Hello.”

“Going somewhere?”

“Heading out. Too much stone.”

“I was thinking of heading out as well.”

Astra nodded. “Feel a bit trapped in towns.”

“Need to get some fresh air and clear my head. I’m suggesting, do you want to go together?”

“Sure. Want me to get the cart?”

Vanden shrugged. “You can climb on the back of my horse, if you want.”

Astra raised his eyebrows. “Okay. I’ve never ridden a horse…”

“You don’t- I’m gonna ride the horse, Astra. Here,” he climbed up onto the back of the animal, putting an arm down for Astra. The tiefling climbed on after, not really sure what he was doing. The horse seemed to detect his nervousness, and Vanden pet its neck to shush it.

“Okay?” Vanden asked over his shoulder. “Comfortable?”

“This is snug,” Astra replied.

Vanden tensed up a bit, realizing how close they were. “Don’t know why I thought this was a good idea…”

He looked back at the barracks before riding down the courtyard and towards the city gates. They rode out of the city, watching people pack and move things away for the night in the third tier. In the first and second tiers, doors were shuttered and boarded, the sound of locks and bolts behind doors. The streets were quiet and empty.

For the first time in a few days, they rode out of the main gates. They saw the rolling hills of the landscape before them, illuminated in a soft golded light as the sun peeked behind. There weren’t many hours where the sun was directly visible beyond the mountains, but there were still a few strands of light sneaking through. Riding forth, they saw clusters of trees, and a few little ponds. Mostly rolling countryside, there were a few smaller towns in the distance, though no major signs of life. Half a mile outside the city, they looked back to see the majesty of Shadebourne behind them. It was all they could see in that direction, taking up enormous height and space.

Astra smiled at the horizon. “Much better being out here.”

“I don’t know what you want to do out here,” Vanden shrugged. “I was just going to ride.” He was getting more uncomfortable the longer Astra was pressed against his back.

“I wanted to collect some stuff.”

“Okay?”

“Some cuttings of stuff.”

Vanden nodded. “I can leave you here, and come back and get you?”

“Yeah?”

“Sure.”

“Alright.”

Vanden shifted a bit. “Do you want to…” he nodded to the ground, “Get down?”

“Yeah, I figured that’s part of being left here.” He hopped down. “Thank you for the ride, that was a lot faster than walking.”

Vanden was much more comfortable now. “I’ll be back in, I dunno, an hour?”

He looked at the sun, checking the time, and rode off. He continued to ride, openly and fast, clearing his head. He saw a number of wild animals, and a few people who had been working in the fields returning to the city with their arms around various supplies. Few people paid him mind. Vanden’s hair streamed behind as he rode across the countryside, leaving the shadow of Shadebourne behind.

At the barracks, Elyse spent a while seeing through Rana while Cassian continued his work. Boblem made his way to the kitchens to get started on dinner, baking assorted bread dumplings and stuffing them.

  
  


Astra was left near a small grove of oak trees, very large and very old. There was plenty of animal life nearby, with a number of deer drinking from a pond, a small family of pigs, and many birds in the trees singing their evening songs. It was tranquil, reminding him of home. He felt very relaxed for the first time in a long time, looking for cuttings of flowers to take. He walked for a bit before sitting with his back against a tree, plucking at his lute.

He played for about twenty minutes before he heard the sound of hooves breaking branches, stepping over small bits of stone and moss. He looked up, and saw a curious figure. Where he expected a horse, he saw a giant goat. Its fur was covered in moss, as if growing out of it. It looked old and tetchy, and a figure rode on top of it. It seemed to be a human man with dark brown skin, covered in plate armour from head to toe. But the armour wasn’t made of metal, it was something he had never seen before. Bark and vines grew from it, all of it deep green and covered in beautiful, swirling patterns. The pauldrons were made of thick, dark green wood, as well as the chestplate, covering him neck to toe in the material. Strapped to his back, with antlers protruding, was a full face helmet and a large round shield with patterns of leaves and flowers. The rider was a broad older man, maybe in his 60s or 70s. He had wrinkled dark skin and smile lines, and a white trimmed beard framing short, cropped hair.

“Mind if I share a resting spot with you?”

Astra smiled. “Of course.”

The man dismounted. Where Astra expected to hear the clinking of armour, he didn’t. It sounded like trees rustling in the wind as he sat, taking off his shield to sling it on the back of the goat. He pushed aside the helmet, pulling off big, heavy gauntlets as he cracked his neck to sit. He had no weapons.

He scratched the goat, which bleated to him before munching at the grass. The man sighed as he sat.

“You look like you’ve been travelling,” Astra grinned.

“I’ve been travelling awhile. Name’s Mareth.” He held out a hand.

“Verdant Astra,” he shook the hand.

“Verdant Astra. It’s a pleasure to meet you. What brings you to these parts?”

“Staying at Shadebourne but, felt a bit cooped up, so.”

“I understand that. I’ve not been into the city myself, but, I know how it can be.”

“Stuffy.”

He nodded. “Stuffy, aye, aye.” He popped open a wineskin, offering it out to Astra. The bard accepted, taking a sip. It was good, nice wine. The man pointed to the goat. “This here is Ivy.”

It bleated again. Astra smiled. “They’re beautiful.”

“They’re a good one, they’re a good one.”

“Never seen anybody riding a goat before.”

Mareth shrugged. “We’re not as common as you might think. And I guess that’s not too common. I like it.”

“You said we?”

“We, aye, there’s a few of us who ride goats, sure. I learned from an old friend, a long time ago. Maybe one day you’ll find yourself riding a goat.”

Astra laughed.

“Takes some getting used to, mind,” the man conceded with a grin.

“I’d imagine. I only just rode a horse for the first time today. A bit sore.”

“The first time today?”

“Mhm.”

“Huh. You’re pretty far out, did you walk all the way to Shadebourne from... the next nearest place here? All on foot?”

“I was in the back of a cart,” Astra explained. “But before then, I was walking everywhere.”

He nodded. “I should’ve thought, I should’ve thought. You look like a fellow of the land yourself. Where are you from, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Near Riven.”

“Riven, Riven’s a lovely place. I spent a lot of time in the woods up near there.”

“Oh really?”

“But, I could always spend longer.”

Astra smiled. “How’d you find it?”

“Beautiful. Very serene, calm.”

“It is.”

“I’d go back in a heartbeat.”

“Me too.”

The man leaned forward, and Astra noticed a familiar looking brass amulet around his neck, a ring with an obelisk coming through it. There was another with three wave-like swirls. The old man was wearing quite a few.

He noticed Astra looking. “You like it? It’s the symbol of Melora.”

“Melora?”

“She’s the Wildmother, the um… She looks after nature. Nature looks after her. A deity.”

“Oh!”

“She’s rather special to me. I work in her name, I spread her good word. Here,” he pulled the amulet with the swirls off his neck, taking Astra’s hand to pass it over, pressing it down into his palm.

“Are you sure?” Astra worried.

“Please, please. I have more than enough, I don’t need it where I’m going. I’ll be fine.”

“Thank you!”

“You take it. Maybe it’ll do you some good.” He leaned back against the tree. “Tell me about yourself.”

Astra smiled. “I’m a traveller. Lived in the wilds all my life.”

“You’re an interesting one, for sure.”

The tiefling chuckled. “I feel more peace and at home in the wilderness than in a town, tell you that much.”

“That’s something I can relate to. Spent a lot of time travelling these lands, and, there’s nice sights everywhere. Many things to see, many things still to do. I’m going home soon.”

“Home?”

“A place called Arboria.”

“Arboria? Where’s that?”

“Far away.” They stared off, into the sunset. Shafts of gold light came low, with darkness creeping through the patch of trees behind. “I’ve got a long journey ahead of me. You don’t mind if I snooze, do you?”

“Of course not.”

“I’m sure you’ll watch my back.” He settled against the tree, resting his head as his eyes closed. He breathed deeply, and after a few minutes, Astra heard light snoring.

Astra played on his lute as the sun fully set beyond the trees. A wind rippled across, shaking a few leaves down. Astra looked out to where the sun was setting, and he realized the snoring had stopped. Looking back to the side, he saw nothing but leaves drifting away, and the distant bleat of a goat. A group of leaves winded around the tree before dispersing off into the wind.

There was no sign of the Green Knight.

Pressed in Astra’s hand, and very warm, was the sigil.

“Hello?”

Nothing answered but the quiet of nature. Even the birds were silent.

“...Huh.”

He stood, walking around the area. There was plenty of wildlife beginning to nest for the night, birds coming home to roost and small pockets of animals gathering. Astra looked at the necklace. It was about two inches, brass, a circle with three swirls inside. It felt nice, and comforting. Though it was unlike anything he had seen before, somehow, it reminded him of home.

Astra started to head back out of the trees, putting a few materials into the Bag of Holding as he went. After a short while, he saw the figure of Vanden riding over the hills. The prince rode at full speed towards Astra, slowing only at the last minute. He was sweaty and exhausted, having galloped the poor horse for the last hour.

He looked down at Astra, panting. “Are you okay?”

“...Are you okay?”

“Yeah. You get what you needed?”

“I think so.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm.”

“Okay. You wanna…?” Vanden nodded to the horse.

“I think your horse needs a rest,” Astra grinned. “We’ll walk.”

“Probably right.” He climbed down.

It took about an hour for them to walk back to the gates. The guards let them in, and they walked up through the city. A poster on the side of a building caught their eye. It seemed to be an alchemist on the third tier, offering payment for exotic items. A man named Rassin Longclaw, asking for dragon bones, dragon throat glands, giant wolf spider silk, troll blood, harpy feathers, the thoraxes of giant fire beetles, basilisk eyes, and bottled black pudding.

Astra grinned at the sign. “I think he’d get on well with our friend Monsieur Manuel.”

Vanden chuckled. “Probably.”

There were little slips they could take with information. He took one.

They made their way back to the barracks. It was nighttime, with the first couple of stars twinkling in the sky over the mountains. Astra turned to Vanden in the courtyard. “I’ve got some things to do out here.”

“Sure, I’m gonna go wash up and rest.”

“Sure. Hey Vanden?”

“Mm?”

“...My grandad lost a lot of people. A long time ago. But he’s always told me the best thing you can do is to keep on living in their memory. And do right by them.”

Vanden stared at him. “Trust me, I plan on it.”

“We’re here for you. Get some rest.”

Vanden headed inside.

Astra emptied the dirt from the Bag of Holding into a little corner. He began planting the cuttings, using spare bits of wood to pack things in place, making planting pots. There were two or three inches of solid dirt and turf packed down. He finished the garden, and with a wave of his hand, the plants began to grow. The seeds germinated and sprouted, opening to bud. He smiled to himself. “I think Boblem will like this.”

  
  


Cassian, still working through his jewelry, heard the two return. He gave Vanden a few minutes to settle in before walking over to knock on his door.

Vanden glanced up at the sound. “Yes?”

“Evening.”

“...Evening.”

“May I come in?”

“Sure.”

Cassian creaked open the door. Vanden had put all of his weapons on the walls. He had the only room in the barracks that didn’t have any windows. He had taken it so that no one else would have had to. It was rather dark in the room, though he had a lot of candles lit, trying his best to put things in the room to liven it up. Books from the library were everywhere, and the bed did not look slept in at all. He sat at the little writing desk, surrounded by papers as usual.

Cassian looked around. “I see you’ve been decorating.”

“Mm.”

“Nice. Um, I don’t know, I just wanted to… I wanted to ask you a few things.”

“Sure.”

The wizard took in Vanden’s demeanor. “Is now not a good time, or?”

“Um, no, go for it.” Vanden pushed a bit of hair from his face, turning in his seat to face the other man. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright. I was just curious, um… I was wondering, if you would tell me what life as a Commodore is like.”

Vanden was a bit surprised, and a bit confused. “Why?”

“I have been regaled with many stories of sailing and life on the seas from both my parents,” he shrugged. “And I just have an interest in it.”

“Right.”

“My mother was a little bit tight on the details, and my father really only sailed once or twice, so. Daily routine? Ships? The build of them?”

Vanden looked back at the scattered papers across his desk. “Is this pressing for me to talk about now, Cassian?”

“No. I just thought it might help get your mind off things.”

“...Okay. I mean, it’s only one of the things that used to keep me busy. Um,” he rubbed his face. “I’m sure you know what the ECC do.”

“Yes.”

“Privateering, trade. In charge of… chartering routes, and, basically making sure everybody else does their jobs. Making trade connections, um…”

Vanden began to talk about it all. Cassian sat himself in the corner and listened. The prince spoke for a while about what he did as a Commodore, continuing at length about Mirrortail before growing quiet.

After a bit of silence, he took a deep breath. “Did you read it? The, the contract, that… I left downstairs, um…”

“Yes.”

Vanden looked at the wall. “What would you do in this situation?”

“Hard to say. I don’t really have any siblings to worry about, but…” he trailed off, making a variety of facial expressions as he thought. “I don’t know. How…  _ If _ what that piece of paper said is true, how do you classify someone as family if they’re willing to kill the rest of you? Surely at that point, they stop being part of you.”

Vanden shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“I don’t know either. It’s okay to come up with lots of different scenarios. I’m sure it’s a lot to think about.”

“I don’t even know where to begin.” He laughed a bit at the absurdity of the desperate situation. “I have no idea what to do next. But I’m going to start with these,” he motioned to the other contracts from the Weeping Eye, pages sprinkled all over the table and floor as he picked through them.

The first one that stood out was a contract to clear the Underdark town of Ketz of its inhabitants, sewing a campaign of fear and terror so that the people there would all leave. According to the paper, the twilight quartz was to be left untouched. It was signed with an L, and a smear of blood. The Underdark was an entire region, a continent of its own below the surface of the entire planet of Varhya. Ketz was a town underneath Shadebourne, a small border village before you could get to the rest of the Underdark. Twilight quartz were enormous crystals, ranging from only a few feet to twenty meters long. An array of crystal and quartz studded into the ceiling, naturally forming, they softly glowed to give light to the entirety of the Underdark. There was no direct sunlight down there, and the only illumination from the slightly lilac quartz embedded throughout the entire ceiling. It was revered as the Underdark’s only source of light.

He pointed to the contract. “We shouldn’t leave this alone.”

“No, that’s troubling, I suppose,” Cassian agreed. “Do you think someone wants the quartz?”

“I don’t know. I just… I suppose I’m looking through these in the effort that I can't do anything back home right now, so perhaps I can do something here.”

“Here,” Cassian overlapped his last word. “Well, we can definitely start by looking into those murders.”

Vanden flicked through some more contracts. There was one about a mage who had taken up residence in the tower of Frostguard, promising to defend the man from adventuring parties chasing the bounty on the mage’s head. The contract ran for a month, or until the construction of his gollum was complete, whichever was longer. They were paid 5,000 pieces of gold, and the scroll was signed by Mezen Daleth. “They were already on their way back,” Vanden concluded. “They’ve done that.”

“Yes.”

“Good to know.”

There was another, clearing an infestation of carrion crawlers from the bowels of a mountain stronghold, paid 900 gold pieces by a dwarf named Zara Ferell. Another, recovering an artifact from the ruined city of Karesh, with a map of the labyrinth, tombs, and mountain ranges. 1,500 gold pieces for safe delivery to a grave robber/explorer named Bella Monslie, on the third tier. Finally, assasination of the Lake Lord Elsta Von Serris, 3,500 gold paid for by Lady Eckman, another of the Lords. The deed had been done, carried out about two months ago.

Vanden fixated on the last one, pinning it onto the wall of his room. There were various other papers secured up there with scribblings from even before the raid on the Weeping Eye barracks. He put the Frostguard one up as well, sighing. “There’s always something, isn’t there?”

Cassian watched him from the corner. “It’s a big, wide world, Vanden. Of course there’s always something. Always people who want to kill each other.”

“But this stuff shouldn’t be allowed to happen.”

“Well, no. I suppose not. But there’s a third of them left now, so. I’m sure we can finish them off.”

“It’s not them I’m worried about, it’s the rest of these things.”

“Oh, it’s the people asking for the contracts, and all the stuff that’s happening, I understand. But,” Cassian shrugged, “Take away the means… maybe.”

“Frostguard, that’s one I’m going to need to know more.”

“Right.”

Vanden let out a slow breath. “Just gotta keep busy.”

“Sure.”

“Smells like Boblem’s cooking. We should probably go and eat at some point.” It did smell good. Vanden’s stomach growled like he hadn’t eaten all day.

He left the room, walking down to the cooking.

  
  


Boblem saw a figure appear in the doorway. He jumped. “How did you move so silently?”

“Sorry,” Vanden apologized. “It smells good.”

“I’m glad. This time it’s my grandpa’s recipe.”

He nodded. “I’m sorry if I did you any offense the other day. Your cooking is amazing.”

Boblem smiled. “Thank you. Have you never had vegetables ever, in your life?”

“I… this is not a conversation I want to have,” he suppressed a bit of a grin. “I’m just not a fan, Boblem.”

“Of all of them? In every form?”

Vanden stood for a moment before escaping to set the table.

The rest of the group heard the sounds of cutlery and crockery as food was served. Smelling through the open window, Elyse commanded Rana to return. She sat up there a bit longer, petting the bird and talking to it in Fulgan before climbing into the kitchen. She appeared through the window, the falcon flying in after her.

Sariel did not come down for dinner. She went straight to bed. Cassian did not come down either, continuing to work on his jewelry.

Astra made his way to the kitchen, looking for Boblem.

“Hi!” the chef smiled.

“Hi, you’ve been cooking again,” Astra greeted.

“Yeah! I made you some with vegetables in it.”

“Thank you! I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“For me?”

“Mhm. Cuz you’ve been doing all this, and cooking for everyone, so I wanted to do something for you.”

“Oh, you don’t need to repay me for this! We all need to eat.”

“I know,” Astra smiled. “Come on.”

Boblem looked touched, and a little confused.

“Come, come, come!”

“Okay…” Boblem followed the bard outside to the small garden.

“I thought you might like it,” Astra explained. “Because I don’t like being trapped in all of this stone, and you’re from a farm, so. I thought that you might enjoy this.”

“Awe!” Boblem sat with his hands on his cheeks, staring at the sprouts for a while. “Astra! This is wonderful!” He stood, hugging the bard tightly. “Thank you!”

Astra grinned. “I’m still learning how to grow things, so I thought that you and maybe someone else could help with it?”

“This is… thank you! You’re doing really well! You have a green thumb.”

Astra looked down at his teal skin. “Yeah, everything else too.”

“I meant… you know what, nevermind,” Boblem laughed, turning back to the garden. “So pretty!”

“It’s just to say thank you.”

“Awe, you didn’t have to…”

“But you’re always working so hard to keep everyone’s spirits up, so I wanted to keep yours up.”

“So are you! With your lovely music. Thank you, I really appreciate this. We'll both take care of this garden.” He looked back to the plants. “Awe!”

  
  


Inside, Vanden was staring at the bird.

“Thanks for the scroll,” Elyse grinned. She didn’t explain any further.

“O...kay?”

Elyse fed a bit of her food to it.

Vanden watched it. “Is it like… the hummingbird?”

“Yeah!”

“Right, right.”

“It’s a spell. It’s the same spell, but it works a little bit differently for me, so, she can stick around for longer.”

“Okay.”

“Her name’s Rana.”

Vanden eyed the bird. “...Hello Rana.”

It twittered a bit.

“She’s nice,” he nodded.

“I know she is.”

“You’re gonna… keep her like a pet?”

“Well, she has multiple functions. She’s company, but she's good for spying and keeping watch, lookout, things like that.”

“She’s not going to disappear after a couple of hours?”

“No, like I said, the way I do it, she can stay around for as long as I want. Or until, you know, some bastard tries to kill her.” Rana gave an indignant whistle. “Which I won’t allow,” she consoled, stroking her. “I’ve wanted one of these for so long. And I appreciate that you went to get the scroll for me, and helped me out with it.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I’ll make sure I get the money back to you as soon as I can.”

“You might have noticed, but I don’t care that much about money.”

“I had noticed, but, it’s only fair, so.”

Vanden shrugged. “You’re my friend and you wanted it.”

Elyse stared at him a moment, genuinely surprised, and a bit confused. “Well, thanks.”

“...You okay?”

“Hm?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Vanden studied her. “You haven’t been yourself for awhile. You were… you were one way, and then the whole Sanskra thing happened, and then you weren’t yourself for a while. And then… you seemed to get back to that, after you healed in Lakeside. And then on the way to Shadebourne… don’t think I don’t notice. I try not to pry, I don’t like people prying about me, but. I just thought that maybe, you do need someone to pry, and… this isn’t exactly my forte, but, I vaguely understand.”

“Yeah, I guess.” She shook her head. “I said I’d be fine, so I’m fine. When I’m with you guys. As much as I can be.”

“Well, same. But it doesn’t mean you have to be fine.”

Elyse was silent for a long moment before abruptly clearing her throat. “I was wondering, um, at some point, if I could borrow that map of yours? The one of Caldera?”

“Sure. You were staring at the one in the Zauviir’s house.”

“Yeah, I mean, I should have figured that you would probably realize this of everyone, but I’m from very far away from here. And I hate being somewhere I don’t know anything of where I am. So I just thought I’d try and familiarize myself, if I’m gonna be stuck here.”

“Sure.”

“Thanks.”

“It’s hard being away from home. Even harder still in a strange place. I think all of us understand that. I know this is further away from your home than any of us, but…”

“It’s not just that. I, um…” she looked away, fiddling nervously with her fingers. “When I said before that the airship was the only home I’ve ever had, I wasn’t exaggerating. I was literally born on that airship. I lived on it my whole life. And now it’s gone, because of me, something I did, that I don’t even remember doing, but I know she was telling the truth. I know Kenrah was telling the truth, because you all saw the way that airship reacted to my magic. I think I knew even then, but I just couldn’t…. I couldn’t let myself know it. Believe it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“And… so my home is gone, and it’s never gonna come back,” she laughed, close to tears. “And on top of that, I’m stuck on a continent that I’ve never been to before. Away from everyone I know and trust.” She shook her head, turning away. “Sorry.”

“No, don’t be. I know our circumstances aren’t the same, but, I understand.”

“Yeah.”

“Look at where we are now. This is… Shadebourne is one of the worst places I’ve ever been in my life.”

“Same, hate it here.”

“I think a lot of us do. But… we are making ourselves.... a temporary one, but, a home here. And that’s not… that’s not these barracks. It’s each other.” Vanden met her eyes. “You five are all I have left now. And…” he trailed off, letting out a low breath. “I’ve never had a group of friends before, in my life. And… you know I hate talking about emotions, I hate this,” he turned away, grinning a bit.

“Well so do I, so I don’t know why we keep trying to do it. It doesn’t work very well,” Elyse teased.

“Because I want to tell you that you mean a lot to me, and- ”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

Elyse chuckled a bit, looking away.

“And I want to see you happy again,” Vanden finished. “Um, here,” he stood up, offering Elyse a hand.

She looked at it, a bit confused. “What are you doing?”

He shrugged. “Give me your hand.”

“Why…?”

“Just take my hand,” he sighed, smiling.

Elyse gave a nod to Rana. The bird hopped off her shoulder and onto the table. She looked at him again. “What are you doing?”

Vanden took her hand. She went a little stiff for a moment, but she relaxed into it. He pulled her to her feet, and maneuvered her so they were positioned just as they were when they had danced in the tavern in Sanskra. “There’s no music now, but just pretend.”

“Okay…”

Vanden started to dance with her. “The last time I saw you genuinely smile was that night. In that tavern in Sanskra. And I realize that night went horribly wrong, in many ways…”

“Just a bit.”

“But, the connection I felt with all of you there, I knew…” he trailed off again, forming the words. “I knew you were all going to mean a lot to me, and… I don’t know. I just want to see you happy like that again.”

She slowly danced along. “Yeah, I guess that was the first time I really felt like… I could… I dunno. Be with this group. Without doubting that it was going to… end somehow.”

“It’s not.”

“And then Kenrah showed up.”

“And we handled that together. Okay?”

“Barely.”

“But we did,” Vanden countered. “And we’ve gotten better since then. Look at everything we’ve taken on since. We are strong together.”

“Okay.”

“And you are strong. Okay? I know after the pyramid, you were worried that you weren't strong enough, but you are. Especially at our side. I want to talk to the group about… we mentioned it briefly before, but… sticking together as a group. There are so many things that I know we all want to do here. And we have to work as a team now.”

“Yeah. I just… I’m torn between knowing that… It’s not safe for me to be out in the world alone. I’ve always been told that. And, especially out here, where I don’t know where I am. I feel like,” she shook her head. “I don’t know how I can justify, just, running around with a group of people I don’t know that well when…” she was growing a bit overwhelmed, speaking quickly, “The people who I owe everything to are in danger. And suffering. Or lost, because of me. Maybe dead, I don’t know. Some of them could be, some of them- ”

He interjected, his voice strong and sure. “You know that they’re not. You know that in your heart. Look at me.”

She met his gaze.

“We are going to help them.”

Elyse looked away again. “You’d do that?”

“Of course.”

“Help a bunch of people accused of thievery?”

He sighed, suppressing a grin. “Look, it’s a difficult one. Don’t make me think about that,” he teased.

She laughed.

“They’re your people, and therefore we’re going to help them,” he repeated. “Because you’re one of us. Okay?”

“Thank you.”

“You don’t have to hold it together all the time.”

She glanced at him. “Kinda do though.”

He shrugged. They were silent for another long moment. “You need anything at any point you come and talk to me, okay?”

She nodded. “Same.”

“I know that. I trust you.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m gonna get some rest, but, tomorrow I’ll get you that map. And anything you want to know about Caldera, I’m,” he rolled his eyes, resigning himself to it. “The map guy.”

“Map guy,” she grinned. With an attempt at stealth, she wiped her face.

“You don’t have to pretend,” Vanden smiled. He gave her a kiss on the forehead, and headed upstairs.

Elyse was confused, but happy. She went to sit with her bird.

  
  


In the night, sleep came to most of them, save for Cassian, staying up all night to work on the jewelry.

Like being in the depths of a fever, dreams going around and around in an unbreakable circle, feelings of dread crept in at the edge of Sariel’s consciousness. She saw a series of images on repeat. Hands clawing up a black wall, hundreds and hundreds of them being pushed down ever so gently by gloved white hands from above. She saw a splatter of bright red blood up an ornate wall, accompanied by screaming in the dark. There was a face, unfamiliar to her, a beautiful female with tumbling red hair, well dressed in finery. She woke up drenched in sweat.

Tears were streaming down her face. She was shaking. Without thinking about it, she sat up, throwing a robe around her shoulders before fleeing to Cassian’s room.

She knocked on the door.

Cassian glanced over to the sound. “Come in?”

She hesitated, and then opened the door.

He looked over to her. “Sariel?”

Her voice was shaking. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come in here- ”

“Is everything alright?” he rushed over to her.

“No,” she was breathing heavily in the doorway. “No, it’s not.”

“Come here, sit down, sit down, come in,” he brought her inside.

She couldn’t get any words out, shaking. She was drenched in sweat. Cassian held her, a bit stiff and unsure at first, letting her cry.

“Do you want to talk about it, or…?”

“Seeing things,” she sobbed, “I don’t know if it was a dream or, things that have happened, or things that are going to happen, I don’t know… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come in here- ”

“No no no, it’s fine, it’s fine. It’s better to be in company, surely.”

“It’s this place Cassian, it’s this place… It’s just bringing up so many, so many memories I thought I’d managed to crush down inside me.”

“I, I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say, but if there’s anything I can do for you, please.”

“I don’t know,” she put her face in her hands. “I don’t know.”

“Do you need to get out of the city? Do you…?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Cassian, I should never have left them there…”

Cassian pushed away, looking at her with confusion. “Them?”

“My, my clan, I never should have left them there,” she sobbed.

“Sariel, what happened?”

She continued to cry. Cassian put his arm back around her. “Come here.”

She leaned into his shoulder and sobbed. “I don’t know if I can go to this ball.”

“Okay.”

“It’s just, it’s just too close to home. These people, making mockeries of those less fortunate than them, flaunting their money and their power…”

Casian searched for words, but found none. “I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be sorry, I should be sorry.”

“I know I’m not the best person to talk to about this kind of thing,” he admitted.

“I know, I… thinking about it now I shouldn’t have come in here, I shouldn’t have bothered you with it- ”

“It’s fine, you’re not a bother. You’re not a bother. This… is a chance to take those kinds of people down from the inside. Think of it like that. You are… a spy, amongst these… shitty, shitty people. And the more you learn about them, the easier it is to start knocking them down.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“Yes. Could be fun, if you let it,” he grinned a bit. “I don’t think things like vengeance are necessarily… healthy, as some may say, but…” he shook his head. “It’s enjoyable to fuck with people. And some of them just deserve it.”

“These people deserve it more than anyone.”

“Well there you go.” He rubbed her shoulder with one arm, taking her hand with the other. “I’m sorry someone hurt you like that.”

“You’re a good friend, Cassian.”

Cassian tensed a bit, looking away. “...Thank you. You’re a good friend, Sariel.”

She stayed with him for a bit before returning to her room. Inside, she heard steady dripping coming from somewhere, but she couldn't place it. She looked around, but she didn’t see any liquid falling anywhere. Just the sound.

_ Drip, drip, drip. _

She managed to sleep, but it wasn’t easy. She didn’t dream again.

  
  


Morning came, the first rays of dim, shadowed light breaking in. Elyse woke up on the roof, wrapped in her bedding. Vanden had slept in the war room again. They convened for breakfast, with some good leftovers available that were somehow better the next day. Elyse climbed in through the window once more, followed by the bird.

As they finished eating, Boblem cleared his throat. “Um, guys… I was thinking, I mentioned this to Sariel the other day, but…. Well, I’d kind of like to take food down to the people in the lower tiers? It just… I know that’s maybe not gonna solve all the problems here- ”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Vanden agreed.

“It’s the best I can do right now. And if any of y’all wanted to come along and help me?”

Astra, Elyse, and Vanden overlapped with a chorus of “Definitely,” as Sariel nodded.

“Those people need all the help they can get,” Elyse continued. “If some food’s gonna do that, then.”

“Yeah,” Boblem replied. “It just doesn’t seem right that people go hungry when there is food. Or that people sleep on the street when there are empty homes.”

“You’re right, it’s not right,” Vanden frowned. “And actually, I wanted to go down there and get a gauge on how the people are feeling. I was at the library on the fifth tier yesterday, for quite some time, and I learned quite a few things about the city. And I did learn there is an election coming up in a couple of weeks.”

“Surprised they even have one,” Elyse grumbled.

“Election of what?” Sariel asked.

“Governor,” Vanden explained. “They don’t do one often, but it’s worth… finding out how people are feeling. And I don’t know, we’re going to this ball in a couple of days anyway…”

Boblem seemed confused. “Is a governor… the same as a prince?”

“Not… I mean, no. Shadebourne has their own monarchy, as such, but they don’t have any power here. Um, the governor is in charge of the city. And there is a council as well, representing each of the areas of the city. But the governor gets the largest portion of the say. And if we’re going to do any significant change here, having the right person in power would be the first place to start.”

“Yeah,” Elyse nodded. “Did you find out who’s nominated?”

“All of the councilors, the current councilors, can run.”

“Maybe some of them will be at this fancy ball.”

“Exactly. I just thought I should let you all know, because I’m sure we want to do more at the ball than just dance.”

“How does one become a councilor?” Sariel asked.

From the research Vanden had done, 49 councilors served the city and, supposedly, executed their wishes. Each was drawn from a different district of the city, elected on a yearly basis on the New Moon date of Narin. Elections were held in the respective districts with locals voting for their representative by means of placing dyed glass beads on a set of scales. Of these councilors, 12 were appointed to placements managing aspects of the city rule like trade, welfare, defense, finance, health, and others. The councilors met on most days to discuss and vote on matters of city, and beseech the governor on courses of action. Every five years, on the first day of Tullim, the election was held for governor. Candidates must have previously served as councilor, and in writing, announce their intention to run for election to the governor, the other councilors, and their constituents.

Verbally, they must walk the streets at dawn every day for a week, bearing a dagger and a feather, bellowing their intentions to the people and waking them. This was a tradition done to ensure that the people knew they were voting for someone who wasn’t afraid to deliver bad news. Traditionally, the people came out six days in a row to tell them to shut up and leave them to be. The candidate has to stand and remain through everything yelled at them. Showing up for the seventh day proved that they were dedicated to the position. This event was held a month before the election, and had already occured.

Vanden related all the information he could remember to the group. The current governor was Berit Zha, an elderly gnome, at least a hundred years old, who had held three consecutives terms of power. Politically, he was known for getting results, but the results were usually what the higher tiers wanted. In return, the tier residents supported him. He kept the wealthy in power, and they kept him in power. It was a vicious cycle. There was also a regal family, and though they didn’t do much politically, they were waited on hand and foot. Vanden tried to explain all this in a way that would make sense for those at the table who didn’t understand governmental systems. As he explained it, he became quite angry and frustrated, before stopping to take a deep breath.

“Wow,” Elyse sighed. “Things really aren’t that different when you go to another continent, are they.”

“No. Nowhere. However, this is an opportunity for change in a city that desperately needs it. If this same person has been governor for fifteen years, that’s the reason it’s in the state that it’s in.”

“Think we could convince him to change his mind?” Boblem asked.

“Not him. I think, perhaps, we can…”

“Try and get someone else in,” Elyse finished.

“Try and get somebody else in charge, exactly. But anyway, that’s just things that I intend on doing at the ball. I’d like to know how the lower tiers feel about the way their city is run, is the point that I was trying to make, sorry.”

“Yeah, well, if we’re going out there to give them some food, I’m sure there will be people willing to talk to us a bit. We can also look into these murders.”

“Yes,” Cassian nodded. “I don’t think I’m a particularly good face for giving food to the poor? So I would rather investigate the murders.”

“I don’t see why not,” Vanden stared at him across the table. “All you have to do is, give food to the poor.”

“I would rather investigate the murders. I think it’s a better use of my skill set.”

“Hm. Okay.”

“I mean, I would be happy to help with that,” Elyse shrugged, “With either.”

“There was that person who survived,” Vanden recalled. “We should try and locate them. I’m sure everybody’s heard of it, it wouldn’t be that hard to track them down.”

“Yeah, before we hand out the food to people, we can ask them if anyone knows where they live, or where they’ve been sent if they’re injured.”

“If you’re gonna question people, be nice,” Boblem gave a wary glance to the wizard. “Okay Cassian?”

“Yes, I’m perfectly capable of talking to people, Boblem,” Cassian replied.

Boblem leaned forward, staring at him for a minute. “Okay…”

“You do know that I can be perfectly polite when I want to, yes?”

“That’s why he didn’t speak at Old Maggie’s house,” Astra realized.

“Exactly.”

“Ah, yeah that’s true,” Boblem nodded. “But if he’s gonna be questioning people, he’s gonna have to speak, so there's the…” he raised and lowered his hands, demonstrating the problem.

Cassian sighed, rolling his eyes and looking away.

“I’m sure he’ll be able to handle it,” Astra grinned.

“Hey, hey,” Elyse smiled. “Cassian knows how to get information out of people.”

“Exactly, he’s perfectly capable of being nice when he wants to,” Vanden teased. “He just doesn’t want to that often.”

“Now you’re getting on,” the wizard grinned back.

“Shall we then?” Vanden appraised the others. “Shall we head down there? We can purchase more food on the way.”

“Yeah, let’s buy some food,” Boblem smiled.

“Just a thought,” Sariel offered, “I’m losing track of what day it is, but was it today that Kahnym was meant to be coming back?”

“Yesterday,” Vanden assured her. “We’ll stay out of that side of the city. I don’t think we need to be there anyway.”

“I thought so as well, but, just something to think about.”

“Is there anything you can do to disguise yourself a bit?” Elyse looked over the prince. “Just in case he sees us wandering around. I mean, you’d stand out to him immediately.”

“Cover your hair?” Astra suggested.

“Yeah, do you want my headscarf?” Elyse offered, teasing a bit.

“Wanna borrow my hat?” Boblem followed.

Vanden shook his head. “No. I’ll be fine. We just keep our eyes open. I don’t think he’s gonna do anything to me in the middle of the street. And if he does, I have my sword.”

“And his sword,” Cassian reminded them.

“And his sword,” Elyse agreed. “Do you want me to look at that, by the way?”

“Could you?” Vanden prompted.

“Yeah, whenever.”

“Might be suspicious,” Sariel warned.

Before they went out, Vanden fetched the sword, bringing it to Elyse. It was a mighty, two handed sword, made of black steel. The edges were rusted and clipped, with engravings running along the blade. Elyse took the time to examine it. “It’ll give you a good boost. No extra effects like Cassian’s thing, but it’s very powerful. As far as I can tell, anyway.”

Vanden stared at the sword. “I’m going to kill him with it.”

“Good.”

“Good,” Sariel followed.

Cassian gave a small nod. “Poetic.”

“Maybe don’t carry it today? On the first tier?” Boblem warned.

“No, I don’t plan on it,” Vanden assured him. It was huge.

“Well, we can leave it locked up here,” Elyse shrugged. “Somewhere. Until...”

“That’s fine.” He mounted the sword back on his wall before returning to the group. “We should head down then, we’re supposed to be meeting the Zauviirs to…  _ shop, _ this afternoon. So let’s get this done.”

They went down, spending 22 gold on enough food to feed 50-70 people. As they walked down, Cassian lingered at the back of the group with Sariel. She didn’t look great, but Cassian was there.

  
  


On the first tier, they passed a large number of people who seemed to have simply given up. They were sitting outside closed buildings and businesses, waiting around on the streets. People didn’t even raise their hands up to beg anymore. There were a lot of children, seemingly by themselves, in ragged and dirty clothing. Most people looked at them as they passed, a few staring them down.

Boblem drove the cart full of food as the others walked. “If anybody would like some food?” he called.

At first, he was met with silence. One person stood, a young woman in ragged clothes, who had clearly hit hard times. She looked at the people she was with before examining the adventurers. Realizing there was actually food in the cart, her face changed. It seemed she had thought it was some sick joke at first. She tentatively walked up to them.

Elyse picked up a bundle and handed it out to her.

“It don’t cost anything,” Boblem explained. “It’s on us.”

“Yeah,” Elyse nodded. “Spread the word. We’re going to try and feed as many as we can.”

The woman took the package, opening it. She seemed rather befuddled, leaving to sit with her group, muttering to those around her. A couple more stood, approaching. “What’s all this, then?”

“Food,” Astra smiled. “For you.”

“In case you were hungry,” Vanden nodded.

“I was hungry,” one replied.

Astra gestured to the cart. “Help yourself.”

“You shouldn’t have to go hungry if there’s food around,” Boblem explained.

They looked carefully over the cart. “That’s kind of you, that’s…” they coughed a bit, “That’s kind of you.”

“Of course,” Astra nodded as they took one.

“Would you make sure this gets to the children as well?” Boblem asked.

They gave a small nod. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Elyse took a few bundles over to a group of children, handing the packages directly to them.

Vanden stood up on the edge of the cart, cupping his hands around his mouth. “Come on, who’s hungry?”

“Me!” Someone answered.

“Come over!”

Ten or twelve children and three or four adults poked out around alleys and through hidey holes. A few people shrugged some things off as they approached. “Yeah, I’m hungry…”

“Here, take what you need, spread the word,” Vanden began handing out the bundles.

They took them, and it went down well. What was initially confusion became a kind of happiness. It wasn’t unbridled joy, but people were smiling. “Yeah, yeah alright!”

Someone took a package, looking back to the cart. “Have you got anything to drink?”

“I’ve got water,” Boblem pulled out the alchemy jug.

The person took a sip, passing it along.

“Drink as much as you want,” Astra assured them. “We’ve got a lot in there.”

“Doesn’t look like a very big jug…”

“I promise, it’s more than meets the eye. Like you.”

They took another sip, a bit suspicious, but the water kept coming. In the space of ten minutes, they had a small crowd forming. They dished out all the food they had, people breaking bread and sharing it along, passing fruits, “I don’t like that…”, “Here, I’ll swap you for this.”

After five minutes, a few people pushed through, dressed a bit differently. The armour and arms of the Shadebourne city guard moved in, not aggressive, but curious about the crowd forming. Two dwarves approached. “What’s all this?”

“Just handing out food,” Elyse responded.

“People seemed hungry,” Boblem shrugged.

The guard nodded. “Huh. Glad someone's doing something. What’s your names?”

“I’m Boblem.”

“I’m Verdant Astra,” the bard smiled.

The dwarf looked over them. “It’s good to know.”

“We’re staying up on the fourth tier.”

“Yeah… I’ve seen you around.”

“Got here recently,” Elyse explained.

“Hm. You’re doing a good job, but, be mindful, don’t give out too much too quickly if you’re gonna do that. Not saying it’ll lead to trouble, but… pace it out. Alright? This is good, this is.”

The two guards seemed a bit confused, but appreciative, stepping back to mind their business. One of the younger children stepped up to offer them some food. “That’s for you,” they smiled, declining. They sat on an upturned cart, watching over the scene. When the food ran out, the guards got up and began to disperse the crowd.

Throughout the entire event, Cassian was off to the side. He was generally near the others, but not participating, watching and lost in thought.

Vanden made idle conversation with the people as he passed out bundles, gathering information. The people were pretty despondent, For most of them, it had been like this for as long as they could remember, even before Berit was in power. Bellies full and mouth watered, a few people were hopeful that things would get better after the election, but a lot of people weren't optimistic. It seemed people weren’t as connected with politics here, or rather, politics wasn’t very connected with them. Some of the names they heard of people running included Yewell Lothmuir, Haitius Valentinian, and Hamir Benkle. But nobody seemed to have an opinion either way, resigned to the fact that nothing would change.

Vanden nodded to the others as the food ran out. “It’s been a good start.”

“Yeah…” Elyse looked over to the pair of dwarves. “I was wondering if those guards might know where that person is being kept. Where they were attacked.”

“Might be worth asking. I was also thinking… people ask who we are, and such. Perhaps some way, should anyone need to locate us… Boblem, you were going to paint something on the ship? The pennant?”

“Yeah! A sunflower,” Boblem grinned.

“You could do it on the barracks.”

Elyse smiled. “Oh yeah, so they could know where to find us. We could just say, look for the barracks with the sunflower.”

“I could paint a sun on it,” Boblem thought. “There’s not much sun in this city.”

“That’s true,” Astra nodded.

Vanden smiled at the boy. “I like that. Barracks with the sun.”

“I guarantee there isn’t one of those around already,” Sariel agreed.

“Yeah,” Boblem smiled. “I can do that.”

Vanden looked at the empty cart. “We should do this again.”

“Definitely,” Elyse replied.

“I’m sure we can rustle up more, so.”

People’s ears pricked up, hearing that. As the crowd dispersed, Cassian wandered back over to the cart.

“I’m gonna go ask them,” Elyse gestured to the guards, beginning to walk.

Vanden followed. “Yeah, let's do it.”

Elyse greeted them in Dwarven before continuing to speak in Common. They perked up at the greeting, both of them about five feet tall, armed with a spear and shield on their back. The two were very pale and bearded, wearing scale mail. “We’d like to come back and do this again,” Elyse began, “But we also heard that there was a person who was attacked recently, who is recovering, and we figured maybe we should go and give something to them as well. If they can’t come out and get food for themselves.”

The female dwarf introduced themselves as Elra. “Most recent attack. It’s plaguing the area around here, I don’t know how much longer the citizens can…”

“We’ve heard of fifty deaths in two months,” Cassian pried.

“Yeah, that’s about right.”

“Sounds it was a… bestial creature?”

“Something, I don’t know, I’ve not seen it. But, the person, I don't know where they’re staying. The attack, it was at the Clipped Wing Tavern. It’s not far from here, straight down the main road. Cut towards the gate, and go left. Maybe you’ll find them there, but if it was me, I wouldn’t go back to that place.”

“Were they someone who worked there?” Elyse pressed. “Or a patron?”

“I honestly don’t know. They’ll have the answers there, I’m sure.”

“Do these attacks happen always in the same area?” Boblem wondered. “Or all around the tier?”

“We’ve seen them in the first and second tiers, mostly.”

“Specific areas within the tiers?”

“No. Spread out.”

“No pattern to it?” Vanden clarified. “The same kind of people getting attacked?”

“Same kind of people who live on those tiers, I guess.”

“So no kind of pattern in ages, races, status?”

“Far above my pay grade, I’m afraid. I don’t know, I’m not tied to the investigations.”

“Daytime, nighttime?” the wizard continued.

“...Nighttime,” they answered, realizing. “Always nighttime.”

“Hm.”

“That’s why you see these places boarded up at night.”

“Who is investigating?” Vanden wondered.

“If you go to the guards offices on the third tier, at some point, ask around there. It’ll be one of the superior officers.”

“Thank you. We should get on to the Clipped Wing, then. We can locate them, and take them some food. Thank you very much.”

“Thank you,” Elyse followed.

“It’s alright,” the guard nodded. “Thanks for what you’ve done today. Makes our jobs easier.”

“Makes their lives easier too.”

“Least we could do,” Boblem shrugged.

Vanden looked to the streets. “We’ll be back.”

They headed on to the Clipped Wing. It took a bit of time to trundle down the road, passing more squalor and dejection. Eventually, they made it to the outside of the tavern. It looked plain, and pretty bare, with no music or noise from coming from inside. Though most of the exterior was faded and damaged, the door looked brand new.

They saw one person inside, a sixty year old human man, who looked up with surprise as they came in. The floor looked to be scrubbed raw, a layer or two of the wood surface almost sanded off. Beyond that, it was deeply stained.

“Good morning,” Vanden greeted.

“Morning. Can I get you something?”

“Sure, I’ll get a drink,” Elyse replied.

“Me too,” Astra gave a friendly smile.

The man gave a tired nod. “Thanks, thanks.”

Looking around, they saw two other people in a corner, tucked rather far away, but the place was otherwise empty.

Vanden leaned over the bar, lowering his voice. “I might as well get straight to it, we’ve come here with questions about the recent attack.”

The man sighed. “I figured as much. You look like adventurers, sticking your noses in.”

“We’d like to get to the bottom of this whole thing,” Cassian offered.

“We just want to help,” Astra followed.

Elyse nodded. “We want to help.”

“Stop people from getting hurt,” Boblem added.

“So if there’s anything you can tell us…”

The man looked them over. “I don’t recognize you, you weren’t here that night.”

“We haven’t been here long,” Vanden admitted.

“The guards pointed us in this direction,” Elyse explained. “We were just asking how we could help.”

“Well, um… take a seat,” he shrugged. “I’ll join you in a minute. It’s not like we’re busy.”

He came over with a few jugs of drink, setting them down. He looked weary, with visible bags under his eyes as he sat. “My name’s Jan. I’m the owner,” the gestured to the place with an unenthusiastic hand. “I’m the proprietor. Night before last… he was in here already. He, um… I didn’t get a good look at him before…”

“The attacker or the victim?” Vanden clarified.

“The attacker.”

“Okay…”

“You saw the attacker?” Boblem asked.

“I suppose. I mean, we were busy before that. I’ve already told the guards all this.”

“Well, we’re not the guards,” Elyse shrugged.

“And we’re more likely to get something done,” Vanden finished.

The sorcerer grinned. “No paperwork.”

Jan gave a nod to their banter, but he seemed concerned. “You’re not expecting gold for this, are you?”

“Not at all,” Vanden assured him.

“We just want people to stop dying,” Boblem agreed.

“Hm,” the man nodded. “Common sentiment. We were busy, thirty people maybe? He was just one other person, came in, cloak, hood…”

“A person?” Cassian pressed.

Vanden looked across the table with confusion. “We’d heard it was some sort of creature.”

Jan sighed again. “He was at first. He sat down in the corner, I gave him wine. He did something weird with it… he drank it funny…”

“How so?” Elyse probed.

“I can’t remember, my memory leading up to it is foggy. I wasn’t paying attention. He sat in the corner, stood up, went to leave. I didn’t think anything of it, but, he locked the door. And that’s… that’s when he turned.”

“Turned?”

“He um… he grew. His back ripped, and… his face… It was long, hairy, and these ears, and claws.”

Cassian turned to the prince. “We’ve seen something like that before.”

“We have,” Vanden recalled. “What kind of animal did it look like?”

“Like a wolf, a dog. Something like that,” Jan replied. “And… he went to work.” He looked past them at the area near the door where the floor was scrubbed raw.

“You saw this whole thing?” Elyse clarified.

“I couldn’t have not, I was behind the bar. Yeah. The first two… the two closest to the door, near him, they didn’t stand a chance. He tore their throats out in a second. There was nothing that could be done for them, but… he went for a few others. And that’s when the woman stepped in. She um, she pulled out a weapon, like a spear, or a javelin, or something. She went toe to toe with that thing. It stood a good foot above her.”

“Impressive.”

“But, she put that spear right through its leg. Kicked it bodily through the door. I think it tried to come back, but I couldn’t see well. Other people were screaming.”

“Who was the woman?” Astra pressed.

“I didn’t get her name. Um, orcish and elvish features. From up north, I think. She was drinking with some of her friends down here, I didn’t get her name.”

“What does she look like?” Boblem asked.

“Tall, strong. Sort of blue-grey skin, white hair. Fighter, of some sort. I couldn’t be sure. But she wasn’t wearing armour.”

“Is she like, one of the mercenaries around here or something?” Elyse wondered.

“I’d assume so, but…”

“Do you know where we might find her?”

“No one has seen of her. Someone came asking after her earlier today as well.”

“Who were they?”

“Some young lad. Young man, twelve, thirteen. Courier, message boy of some sort. She took a heavy blow, but she was still standing. It tried to come back through the door, but she stood her ground. Kicked it right in the leg where the spear had gone through.”

“Hm. Nice.”

“It howled, and backed off, and began running out the night. She turned, she helped a few people… it was chaos, it was madness.”

“We heard of someone who survived the attack… would they have been referring to her, or someone else who was…?”

“I’d imagine that’s her. A lot of people have been talking about it today.”

“You said the night before last?” Cassian pressed.

“Yes.”

The wizard looked to the others. “We were here that night…”

“You didn’t see anything, did you?”

“No, we were preoccupied.”

“No, we didn’t,” Elyse frowned.

Astra was staring at Vanden with wide eyes.

“...Astra?” he met the tiefling’s gaze. “Did you see something?”

“I think maybe on the roof.”

Elyse turned to him. “What did it look like?”

The bard nodded to Jan. “What you described. The hood.”

“So it was escaping off the roofs?” Vanden guessed. “Where was it going?”

“Into the city, as far as I can tell.” He explained that he had seen it jumping and clearing the rooftops, with no injury.

“So this thing can shift at will,” Vanden concluded. “It wasn’t a full moon two nights ago.”

“No,” Cassian agreed. “And if it can do it that often, it’s not like… the artifact we know of.”

Sariel turned back to Jan. “Did you get a good look at the attacker before it changed?”

“There were so many people in the area,” he apologized. “I had no reason to look at anyone. Plenty of people come in with hoods up. The only thing that stands out was… the drink.”

“Wine,” Cassian nodded. “Drinking in an unnerving way is an interesting tell.”

“It was something he did to the wine.”

“Did he add something to it?” Elyse pressed.

“Yeah, or drink it, a funny way? It’ll come back to me.”

“Sure, take your time,” Astra nodded.

Elyse backed off. “You must be shaken.”

“But what I know is, he was here for a long time,” Jan continued. “He was here when it was quiet.”

“He waited for it to fill up,” Sariel concluded.

“He waited for it to get… busy.”

Cassian leaned back in his seat. “Someone likes blood.”

“So it just seemed like indiscriminate killing?” Elyse clarified. “Not a particular target, or group of targets?”

Jan shook his head. “I couldn’t say, I assume so. He locked the door. And she kicked him right through it.”

“Good for her.”

“Nice new door you have,” Cassian nodded.

Vanden looked at the group. “The killer didn’t intend on leaving anyone alive.”

“If the attacks before are anything to go by,” Jan sighed, “Dozens of people each time. I have Selûne to thank that, by her grace, our lives were spared.”

“Have the attacks always been in taverns?” Boblem wondered.

“There was one in a square. Couple in a tavern. Often where there are a lot of people.”

Vanden nodded. “Thank you for your time, I’m sure this isn’t easy to speak about.”

“No, can’t say it is.”

“Perhaps we should go talk to the guards,” Cassian suggested. “Maybe they know where this mystery hero is.”

“She was here for a little bit, but clearing up everything was manic. The guards arrived as quickly as they could, but it was over in a few seconds. Her friends dragged her out, she wasn’t in a good way. But she was up and kicking.”

“Sounds strong,” Elyse approved.

“Thank you for all your help,” Astra smiled.

The man shrugged. “I didn’t do nothing.”

“You gave us information that might help a lot more.”

“Drag him down here if you find him.”

Suddenly, Cassian looked up at Jan. “How much would it be to replace your floorboards?”

He thought for a moment. “Twenty gold, maybe.”

“Have it.”

The man blinked as Cassian pushed a pile of coins onto the counter. Jan put his head in his hands, and they could see his shoulders shaking. “Thank you.”

“How much is your nicest bottle of wine?” Elyse continued.

“Five gold.”

“I’ll take one.”

The man looked down again, smiling. “I… I worry now that it’s not really that nice.” He stood, wiping his eyes and taking a deep breath. The other two people looked over from the corner, noticing the commotion. Jan went into a back room, coming out with a dusty bottle. “Here you go.”

“Thank you,” Elyse smiled.

“Clean the establishment up,” Cassian advised. “Maybe sell it as some sort of… heroic event tavern.”

“That depends how things go,” he replied. “We can wash away the blood, but… the memory will still remain, I think. Thank you,” he nodded to the wizard, grateful. “You’ve done a kindness.”

“It’s alright. It will reach a point where people are excited by the story. Grim tales, you know?”

“I suppose so. I suppose that depends on how it ends.”

“If you need anything from us,” Vanden continued, “Or you have any more information, or remember anything… you can send word up to the fourth tier. We have a barracks there.”

“The door with the sun,” Boblem smiled.

“We’ll be the only one.”

Jan smiled. “I’ll remember that. Shadebourne could do with some sun right now. Thank you, truly. I… I should attend to my customers.”

Sariel inclined her head. “May your grace light your darkest days.”

“And all of your paths,” he finished. He turned around, shuffling behind the bar and cleaning glasses that were already clean, hiding as he wiped his eyes again.

At the table, Vanden leaned forward. “I’ve actually just had an idea. I have a feeling, for all of our best intentions of handing out food frequently here, we will often find ourselves pulled elsewhere. We seem to be particularly busy a lot, but… perhaps, you know, we could help this business out. Bring the food here as something for him to hand out. He’ll get customers in, it’ll feed people in the city.”

“Could we have couriers send it down here?” Elyse thought. “If we’re dealing with other things?”

“I’m sure we could,” Astra smiled.

“Yeah,” Boblem nodded. “That would be good.”

“Good to keep the business flowing,” Cassian agreed.

“A very good idea.”

Elyse rubbed her chin. “Also, this makes a lot of sense because… back when we were down in the Weeping Eye base, remember, I transformed using the amulet. And they screamed something like,  _ it’s here, it's here!" _

“Even the soldiers of the Weeping Eye,” Vanden nodded.

“They recognize that…” she dropped her voice, “They clearly thought I was this killer when I transformed.”

“Right. Well,” Cassian tilted his head. “To the guards?”

“To the guards,” Vanden agreed. Before following the others out, he went up to the barkeep to make his suggestion. Jan seemed very receptive to the idea, stunned a bit in disbelief from all the generosity. The first tier wasn’t a selfish place, but people needed to look out for themselves first. They didn't have the means or resources to just dish things out.

Jan questioned the logistics for a while, but he began to come around to the idea. “Aye… okay. This can save you from being dragged around, pillar to post. I’m happy to dish it out, we won’t charge anyone, just somewhere they can have a roof and some food.”

“I’m sure they’ll want to drink too,” Vanden reminded him.

“Aye. Hopefully, good new memories will wash away some of the old ones.”

“Exactly. Bring you some light, in the dark times.” With that, Vanden tapped one of the unlit lanterns. It began to glow, and Jan’s face went wide. As Vanden left to meet the others outside, Jan’s eyes followed his retreating form in disbelief.

Smiling slightly, Vanden joined the group outside.

“You okay with that, then?” Elyse glanced to him.

“Sounds good,” he agreed. “Let’s go speak to the guards.”

  
  


They climbed up to the third tier, and they were allowed into the headquarters of the guard. With all the bureaucracy, they had to wait about an hour and a half before they were shown to any officials. A drow woman in her late thirties appeared. “I’m Natil Brolier. I’m told you’re here asking about the investigation?”

“That’s right,” Elyse stood.

“Do you want to come in? If you have information, please, please.”

“Yes,” Cassian nodded.

They were brought into a small, rather cramped office, with one desk and one spare chair. There were stacks and stacks of papers and racks of equipment, almost as if the room had been a supply closet. The woman seemed pretty stressed, her grey hair tied in a tight bun, wearing a few pieces of armour with a tunic on top. “If you have anything, I will happily take what you have.”

“We went to speak with the owner of the Clipped Wing,” Elyse began. “The tavern that was attacked the other night.”

“The most recent attack, yes.”

“I believe we have much of the same information as you do,” Cassian explained, “However, our friend did… potentially see the killer,” he looked to Astra.

“Travelling on the rooftops,” the bard offered.

“Leaping one to the other,” Vanden expanded. “No struggle.”

The woman took down the details of the full story. Astra didn’t tell them exactly where he saw the creature from, moving the location slightly away from the Charnel House, but the woman seemed to buy it. She noted down all the information they had.

“Okay, I mean, that lines up,” she nodded. “At least we can pinpoint the direction they came from…”

“I feel like you are stretched thin here,” Vanden observed.

She rubbed her forehead. “Yes.”

“Well, we would like to help with this,” Elyse decided.

“This has helped, massively.”

“We can help further.”

“We would like to track this creature down,” Vanden proclaimed. “And bring it to justice.”

“I’d appreciate the help,” she agreed. “One thing that is raised… clearly as you mentioned, it can shift at will. Leaping across the rooftops, then…”

“Human in the tavern the next minute,” Cassian frowned.

“And then, the creature again. I confess, it’s not my area of expertise.”

“Well it’s not any type of lycanthropy, because it’s not a full moon all the time.”

“Some sort of shifting creature though,” Vanden thought.

Cassian leaned forward. “The innkeeper mentioned, maybe said to you, that they remember he drank the wine funny?”

“Or did something to it,” Astra nodded.

“Or did something to it. So it could have been some sort of concoction?”

The woman shook her head. “The thing about lycanthropy, I think it’s an old belief, a story spread, that they can only turn at the moon. I fear they are forced to turn at the moon, but they have the opportunity to change outside of that. Which is what’s so scary, it adds up. The full moon of Permor, twelve people killed on the first tier. The full moon, Ceala, twenty three. But then, Ceala the twentieth, another tavern. Thirteen people, wasn’t a full moon then. The other night, wasn’t a full moon.”

“Do you have a map?” Boblem asked. “Where the attacks have taken place?”

“No, but that’s something I can put together. That’s a good idea, I can get that information.”

“The tavern keeper also mentioned this woman,” Elyse pressed, “Who helped fight it off. I don’t suppose where you might find her? We could ask her some questions too?”

“An orcish, elvish warrior?” Cassian offered.

“I’ve got some ideas, I’ve got some ideas,” the woman nodded. “Apparently there’s been people sniffing around the tavern as well, so I’ve heard, which concerns me. If this thing was left alive, and it now has a vendetta… I’m not sure I’d want to give out… well, regardless, I don’t know who she is. But, there are a number of half-elf and half-orcish mercenaries up, maybe on the fourth tier? I think they go by the name Ursa Volantis.”

“Perfect,” Vanden scribbled that down.

“Yes, the innkeeper did say she was with friends,” Cassian recalled.

“I would like to get her account,” the drow continued.

“But in any case, we’re extending our own help,” Vanden repeated. “We will see this case closed.”

“That’s appreciated.”

“We’re staying up on the fourth tier as well,” Astra brightened.

Vanden grinned. “The barracks with the sun on the door.”

“It’s not there yet,” Cassian chided.

“It will be,” Elyse countered. “Later today.”

“It’ll be,” Boblem smiled.

“That’s very nice,” the drow nodded. “I’ll gather what you have given me, and I can produce a map. I'll have a copy delivered to your barracks.”

“Thank you,” Elyse replied.

“Anything more you find, don’t hesitate to bring here.”

“We’ll let you know,” Vanden agreed.

“Thank you. If I’m not here, just leave it with one of the second Leftenants. They’ll deal with it there.”

“Thank you.”

“Thanks for your help,” Astra followed.

The woman stood with a nod. “Thanks for your time.”

Vanden led the group out. “We should get back.”

“We’ll have to look into this Ursa Volantis woman later,” Elyse agreed. “Is it nearly time to go meet the Zauviirs?”

“We’ve got awhile, but…”

“We should probably get that sun going,” Astra smiled.

“We keep telling people about it,” Elyse grinned. “They’ll be confused if it’s not there.”

They headed back up, grabbing some paint on the way. As they did, Cassian peeled off once more, heading to the couriers. He wrote another letter.  _ Governor in Shadebourne? Thoughts? _

Sealing it again, he handed it to another courier. The boy noticed the sigil, and spent a good thirty seconds looking between the letter and the wizard. “Very well.”

“Good day,” Cassian nodded, returning to the group.

  
  


At the barracks, Bobem rolled up his sleeves to begin painting. The doors were large, they could make it pretty big.

“Is there anything we can do Boblem?” Vanden offered.

“I paint too,” Elyse volunteered. “So does Astra.”

“If any of y’all would like to help me,” he smiled. “It can be a group project!”

“I’ve never painted anything in my life,” Vanden shook his head.

Elyse looked over with interest. “Really?”

“No.”

“Did Jocelyn never paint with you?”

“No. I know that we spent a fair amount of time together, but not as much as you’re thinking.”

“Well now’s the time to learn,” Astra grinned. “Get a paintbrush, we can all do it.”

“Yeah!” Boblem beamed.

Vanden examined the paints. “I’m going to make a huge mess of this.”

“Good,” Astra shrugged. “Why not?”

Vanden smiled, rolling up his sleeves. “Fine.”

It came out beautifully. There were gold rays around it, with intricate diamond patterns added around the edge by Elyse.

Vanden grinned at her. “See? We really are a group. We have our own sigil and everything.”

She laughed. “I guess.”

“We’re all really good at this,” Boblem agreed.

Cassian was adding little henna designs around the doorknobs. Sariel helped as well, quietly. As they finished, Elyse stood back to look at it, rubbing her palm.

Vanden turned to the group. “We’ve got this ball coming up, hm?”

“We sure do,” Cassian grinned.

Boblem let out a nervous breath. “Oh boy...”

“I can feel some very different responses to the fact we’re going,” the prince continued.

“Half of me is like, oh my gosh, getting to have fun off the backs of rich people’s money,” Elyse smirked. “And the other half is like, this place is disgusting, and I don’t want anything to do with them.”

“It’s a good place to start making changes,” Vanden replied.

“It is, yeah.”

“I’m not saying we go there completely with ulterior motives, we should be allowed to have some fun sometimes.”

“Yeah, I think we deserve it.”

“But I also know that last time we visited the Zauviirs, some of you were not too happy with it. Let’s not treat this as a wretched thing, but an opportunity to learn more about this city, which so desperately needs our help.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Boblem frowned. “I just don’t understand why they wouldn’t do anything to help people, if they can.”

“Not everyone is like you, Boblem,” Elyse sighed.

“But you guys help! What you did in the tavern was a lovely thing, Cassian.”

The wizard shrugged. “It’s a business, he needs new floors.”

“Mhm,” Vanden smiled.

Boblem eyed the man. “Sure.”

Vanden turned back to the sorcerer. “I couldn’t help but notice, Elyse, when we were dancing last night…” A few heads turned, and Elyse tensed a bit, but Vanden continued on. “That… you know, you’ve got the spirit, but you haven’t necessarily got all the steps.”

She looked at him a bit odd. “Well, I don’t know how to formal dance, why would I?”

“No, I’m not accusing, I’m just saying that we are going to a formal ball.”

“So we should be able to formal dance,” Cassian agreed.

“And I don’t imagine a lot of you can.”

“What’s formal dance?” Boblem asked. “Like, what’s the difference between that and what we did in the tavern the other day?”

“It’s very different.”

“Their money,” Sariel whispered.

Elyse chuckled. “I think it’s a lot different.”

“It’s the structure,” Cassian explained. “And the elegance of the step.”

Vanden went to fetch their invitation, where the specific dances to happen through the night were listed. He read them out to the others in the courtyard.

“So much effort to go through,” Elyse teased. “Why not just get drunk and thrash around? It’s a lot more fun.”

“Because there’s no decorum in that,” Sariel held up a hand, feigning scandal.

She laughed. “You're right, Sariel.”

“You can’t listen to all the whispers if you’re drunk and thrashing around,” Cassian warned.

“I’d be able to,” Elyse grinned. “If you’re very good at it...”

“Well,” Vanden continued, “I did say when we were first invited, I don’t really enjoy these things, but I thought I might as well put my…” he rolled his eyes, “Years of education in this stuff to good use, and perhaps try and teach some of you a few of the steps.”

“I’d like to learn,” Astra smiled.

“Good.”

“What do you mean, the steps?” Boblem pressed. “Is it not just like…” he waved his arms around, “You know?”

Vanden grinned. “It’s not all about the arms.”

“But isn’t everything?” Elyse teased.

Cassian sighed, but he was smiling.

“But why wouldn’t you move your arms?” Boblem protested. “They’re free!”

Cassian shook his head. “Your arms stay with your partner.”

“What are they gonna do with them?”

“Maybe you should show him,” Sariel suggested.

“Yes, okay,” Vanden agreed. “This is going to be a little awkward without music. Do you think you could play something, Astra?”

“Sure,” he grinned. He began to play a jig.

“Uhh… slower.”

“Oh.” He began to play a slower jig.

“Right,” Vanden approved. “Um… Well, I can’t demonstrate on my own.” He rubbed his face for a second, meeting eyes with Cassian. Silently, the wizard raised a hand.

Vanden looked away. “Fine, Cassian. I’m sure you understand some of these.”

“Yes. I have had some experience.”

Vanden gave an approving nod. “Right, come on then.”

Cassian stepped forward, fixing his hair. “Right, I’ll lead.”

“Excuse me?”

The wizard blinked at him. “I’ll lead?”

Vanden frowned. “No?”

“...Okay.” He smiled knowingly at the prince, slowly reaching a hand forward anyway.

Vanden smacked it away.

Hand still in the air, Cassian continued to smile at him. “I’ll lead.”

Vanden sighed, and gave in. “Fine.”

Cassian took him by the waist.

Vanden went quite pink, clearing his throat. “Right, anyway….” he began instructing the others, slowly dancing through with his partner.

It was pretty good. They got the beat, they hit the steps, keeping time with the music. The others were able to watch, following along, noticing where they stepped in rhythm. After a while, Vanden swapped partners, taking Elyse’s hands to lead her through the steps before doing the same with the others.

“Astra, we are going to need to teach you,” Vanden worried. “And I’m not sure how…”

“I’m watching,” the bard grinned.

“Are you … getting it?”

“Mhm!”

“Okay…”

“I’m pretty good at just observing, and going from that,” he explained.

“Well, good. I think you’re all getting it.”

They heard a knocking at the doors to the gate.

Astra froze. “Do you think he’s mad that we painted them?”

Elyse laughed. “Well, he can deal with it.”

Cassian went to answer the gate. As it opened, he saw the figures of Iyreia and Ezio. Iyreia was in a travelling dress, a wide brimmed and low slung hat covering her face, hair tied up behind. Ezio was beside her, in his usual gear. He gave Astra a wink as the others came into view.

“Ah, good day,” Cassian greeted.

“Hey Ezio,” Astra smiled.

Most of the group had their sleeves rolled up, covered in paint and dust from dancing in the courtyard. Iyreia gave a little wave. “I see you’re settling in quite well. Mind if we come in?”

“Of course,” Cassian waved them inside.

They entered, the carriage pulling in behind at the side. “Please don’t let me interrupt,” Iyreia smiled. “I heard some lovely music.”

“Oh, thank you,” Astra beamed.

Vanden nodded at him. “Go ahead.”

“Okay!” He carried on playing, and Iyreia stood back, watching.

Cassian bowed to Boblem, offering him a dance.

“Oh!” the boy looked down in surprise. “What do…? I…?” he offered his hands, unsure.

“The one with the three step Boblem, come on.”

They danced, the wizard doing his best to ensure Boblem got it right. When the boy’s feet grew gangly, Cassian scooted them back into place with his own foot.

Elyse offered her hand to Sariel. She reluctantly took it. They danced, and it was as if it was not unfamiliar to the elf.

Iyreia passed off her hat to Ezio, stepping forward. “Mind if I join?”

“Of course,” Vanden nodded.

The two of them began to dance. Astra played a slow waltz, keeping time with the beat. The three couples made a slow circle around each other as the waltz took them through the courtyard. As the song finished, they heard a single person clapping.

“Thank you, Ezio,” Cassian grinned.

Vanden nodded to his partner. “Thank you, Iyreia.”

She stepped back, a genuine smile spread across her face. “You’re all doing very well. I am… I’m here to take you. We’re to purchase some finery for you.”

“Yes.”

“Have been looking forward to it,” Cassian agreed.

“We have some tailors and merchants,” Iyreia continued. “We’ve requested their schedules be cleared.”

“How extravagant,” Sariel mumbled.

“All of that for us?” Boblem asked.

She shook her head. “It’s nothing, please.”

“Oh, thank you…”

“It’s very appreciated,” Vanden nodded.

“Saving the life of our idiot is most appreciated,” she smiled. “Do you have anything you wish to do before we set out?”

“I’m just going to clean myself up slightly. I’m not going up there looking like this.”

“Yes, I think that’s wise for all of us,” Cassian agreed.

“Of course, of course,” Iyreia waved a hand. “Take your time.”

Elyse pointed to Rana, a bit unsure. “Will my bird be allowed? In the shops?”

Iyreia looked at it, putting up a finger to stroke its breast. Under her breath in Fulgan, Elyse warned Rana to be nice.

Iyreia pet the bird, satisfied. “As long as it’s not noisy, and doesn’t shit anywhere.”

“I don’t think she even needs to shit,” Elyse shrugged.

The drow was a bit confused, but pressed on. “Then I don’t see why not… I don’t know if you’ll be able to bring her into the ball, but…”

“That’s a shame. Are there any regulations on things that can and can’t be brought in?”

She looked over them all, noticing the two staffs on the druids. “Hm, while some people have canes and walking sticks, I’m not sure… people are aware of magic, and will know the purpose of those. I believe they may not be too… comfortable. Seeing them around.”

Sariel and Elyse bristled.

“We’re not looking to fight,” Boblem tried.

“I know, I know, but it…”

“Some things we would rather keep with us,” Elyse reasoned. “To be safe.”

Iyreia shook her head. “Sends a message. Um, a sword or a dagger at the hip is allowed… but it’s expected to remain sheathed. Unless a duel is brought forth,” she grinned.

“Does that happen often?”

“You’d be surprised. I’d be surprised if we got to 11:00pm without someone throwing a punch.”

Elyse nodded. “Maybe I will fit in at this party after all.”

“But, the bird… I am not sure. Your staffs, potentially not. You can risk it, but there’s a chance they may ask you to keep them somewhere.”

“I have a better idea, just bring them inside,” Vanden gave a strong eye to the others. “We’ll  _ store _ them.”

He ushered them into the barracks, urging them all to drop their things into the Bag of Holding.

“I’d rather leave it there than with people at the ball,” Boblem decided.

“If someone wants to carry this at the ball,” Vanden offered, “No one is gonna know. It’s not that big.”

“I can carry it,” Boblem volunteered. “I don’t mind.”

“Mine can’t go in there,” Elyse frowned.

“Well… yours isn’t quite so obvious,” Vanden thought.

She shrugged. “I’ll think of something.”

Astra remained outside, chatting with Ezio. He was good, seemingly happy to see the bard.

Vanden spruced himself up so his hair was not all over the place, and he was no longer covered in paint. He came out looking perfect.

“Will you be staying with us afterwards?” Iyreia surveyed the group. “Or will you be returning here?”

“That might be wise,” Cassian agreed.

“It’s a very generous invitation,” Elyse nodded. “Seem a shame to pass it up.”

“Exactly.”

“We’ll have to post a notice on where we can be contacted,” Vanden decided. “But yes, I think we would be delighted to.”

“Of course,” she smiled. “Our house is yours for a few days. We’ll be there as well, of course, but after the ball we shall be leaving. We will be heading to Bronze Harbour, going home. But you’re welcome to stay until then.”

“Thank you.”

They gathered their things. Cassian added his sword to the bag. Elyse finally went to her room, finding the money that Cassian had left there. She took a few things, and went to gather the alcohol and bedding from the roof as well.

Vanden brought the rolled up map of Caldera for Elyse to look at while at the Zauviir’s, as well as a few of his papers. He looked back at his windowless room as he left. “Good riddance.”

He went back down to the courtyard. “Our horses, can we bring them up?”

“You can,” Iyreia shrugged. “We can put two more horses on.”

A stableboy jumped down. Where there were already two horses pulling the carriage, he added theirs, now four horses drawing it.

Vanden glanced back at the group. “Is everybody ready? Does your garden need anything?” he looked to Astra.

Boblem gasped, “Need to look after the garden!” He immediately ran back. Everything was completely sprouted, now fully grown. They had certainly not been sprouted yesterday. He looked over to Astra with excitement. “What do you want to name them?”

“I don’t know,” Astra smiled. “What do you want to call them?”

“This one could be Timberly,” he pointed.

“Timberly? Okay.”

“If you come up with any more names, let me know!”

“I will,” Astra promised.

Sariel walked over, looking at the sprouts. “When did you do this?”

“I brought some stuff in from the outside,” the bard explained. “To surprise Boblem.”

“It’s lovely.”

“You can look after it too, if you want.”

Sariel sent out a small spell of her own, and a few more flowers popped up around the edges.

“You can also name some, if you want,” Boblem offered.

“I’ll have to think of some good names.”

“Yeah!” the boy grinned. He filled some empty glass bottles with water, leaving them stuck upside down in the dirt.

They stepped into the plush carriage. It easily fit them all, with velvet walls, nice seats, and smoked glass windows that could be seen out of, but not into. The carriage began trundling forward. Ezio decided to sit up top with the carriage boy while Iyreia sat inside, making conversation with them all. The carriage took them to the fifth tier, and they stepped out for finery. They were led to one of the finer merchant tailors, brought in, and shown a wealthy array of clothing. They spent a good four hours moving between three or four different shops. Anything they expressed desire for, Iyreia needed only to wave her hand, and it was done. Pieces were packed up and put on top of the carriage.

  
  


Time went by as the afternoon finished, and they began making their way off to the Zauviir’s. The carriage stopped outside, and they were ushered in. Their things were brought up, and they were shown to three rooms. A few people moved about the halls as they were taken to a sitting room. “I’ll leave you to your business,” Iyreia smiled.

“Thank you,” Vanden replied.

“My father is around, I’m sure he’ll come and express welcomes.”

“Thank you Iyreia, it’s been a wonderful afternoon.”

“It’s been a pleasure.”

“Thank you,” Boblem followed.

“Ring the bell if you need anything.”

“We will,” Vanden nodded.

She walked off.

“That was… different,” Elyse reflected.

Boblem sighed. “That was long.”

“That was fun,” Cassian countered.

“Exciting,” Astra agreed.

Vanden shook his head. “That was my entire life. Everyone satisfied?”

“Yeah,” Elyse shrugged. “I’m surprised they even had what I wanted, but.”

Boblem held up a pair of boots. “I’ll have to learn how to walk in these.”

“So how are we dividing up the rooms?” Vanden asked.

Elyse shrugged again. “Don’t really mind.”

“Sariel, would you share with me?”

She looked at Vanden with a bit of surprise. “Of course.”

“Astra?” Cassian offered.

“Yeah,” he smiled back.

Elyse looked to the farm boy. “Boblem?”

“Mhm!” he smiled. “Yeah, Elyse.”

Vanden nodded at the pairings. “Good.”

The rooms were all well furnished and lived in, with plenty of amenities, and a privy off each room. They were basically given free roam of an entire floor. It was late afternoon by now, and the ball would be tomorrow evening.

Elyse was very interested in the artifacts and antiques on display, Boblem trailing behind as she walked the halls. There were quite a few of them, a pedestal with some ancient remnant of something in every nook and cranny, with all kinds of assorted items on the various mantels. She found three quarters of an old bronze shield with a snarling face on it, runes carved around the outside that flickered with light as she approached. It seemed as if it was once magical, but its power had faded with the damage.

Next, she approached a small clay urn. A servant nearby put a hand out. “Madam, you’re welcome to look, but, please, for your sake, do not touch it.”

“Oh! Oh, tell me about it.”

“Here, come come.” They brought her over to the small velvet rope. Pulling her shoulder, they angled her to see into the top of the urn. It was as if she was looking down through the clouds, over a pyramid, with desert beyond it. A bit of red dust floated by. The sand was bright red, like nothing she had seen before. She was transfixed.

“This is an old relic, from the Kahrida’s Empire. Don’t touch, it would… I implore you.”

“I won’t,” Elyse assured them. “Don’t worry. I study artifacts, I know about these things, don’t worry. That’s why I’m interested in looking around.”

“What happens if you touch it?” Boblem asked.

The servant scratched their head. “You um…”

“Do you get sent there?” Elyse grinned.

“Precisely. You get sent there.”

“It looks nice,” Boblem smiled.

“And where is there?” Elyse pressed.

“Somewhere in Old Aufinne,” they explained. “But I’m not sure, it’s not mine, it’s the family’s, of course.”

“Amazing…”

The servant showed them around a few other relics that stood out. There was an ancient, enchanted hammer, which had belonged to a stone mason. Holy symbols were strung along it. There was a ring of opal, the size of a plate, carved and twisted into the coil of a dragon consuming its own tail. There were many smaller items as well, arrowheads from historic battles and famous jewels, but those four items were the main attractions.

Cassian did a brief circuit of the house, glancing around to see if any of the seashells he had dropped were still there. He noticed that one of them, which had been more out in the open, had been moved. Interestingly, it was still there, just placed somewhere else. The others had not been disturbed.

Ardusine appeared, greeting them all, and inviting them to a hearty dinner that night. He informed them that he would be available to help them with anything they wished to do during their stay. He mentioned that Iymril was around, somewhere, but that they were doing their own thing. Apparently, there was some kind of project they had been working on.

As they sat down for dinner, Vanden asked him about his opinions on the state of Shadebourne politics. It seemed that Ardusine was very in favour of Yewell Lothmuir, and though he was friends with Valentinian, he wasn’t sure he wanted him in power.

Vanden continued to speak with him, asking about the different policies of the candidates. They spoke at length for almost two hours over dinner as the rest of the group sat through it. It seemed that Valentinian might align with their own values more, an old dwarf from an architectural family. His family had been responsible for initially building the walls, but he was a bit more on the liberal side. He had been working as a councilor for a long time, trying to help people, but Ardusine wasn’t so sure. “In the grand picture, what has he been achieving? He’s got the right ideas, but, maybe it’s not the right time for it. You know?”

“When would be the right time?” Elyse pressed.

“Who knows. I’m not a man of politics myself, I just have a slight interest. Lothmuir, he’s got drive. He’s got the ear of the governor for sure.”

“Good to know, good to know,” Vanden rubbed his chin. “I’d assume we’ll get an introduction with Valentinian? I’d be interested in speaking with him.”

“I’ll make it my goal,” Ardusine nodded. “Of course.”

“Thank you.”

“You shouldn’t spend the night without speaking to him.”

“Of course not,” Elyse smiled. “He’s the host.”

“It would be rude,” Cassian agreed.

Ardusine cleared his throat. “He’s um… a particular fellow, but…”

“What do you mean?” Elyse wondered.

“...Crotchety. But his husband’s lovely, husband’s lovely.”

“Well, thank you,” Vanden replied.

Dinner was roasted duck and stuffed figs, embellished with walnuts and creamy cheese. Afterwards, Vanden found a small library in the house. The Zauviir’s had a collection of quite a few old books, many in Undercommon. It was a language that Vanden couldn’t read, but he knew it was the speech of the drow and those from the Underdark. There were a few books in Common as well, and some a mixture of translations between both.

Ardusine pointed out a few for him. “This stack, we acquired recently. Friend of mine dug them up, I’ve not had the chance to go through them yet. By all means, look through. If you find anything interesting, you can bring it to my attention.”

“Thank you, I will do.”

“You’re welcome.”

Vanden spent a large portion of his free time pouring through random books, sitting with his legs in a pretzel on various surfaces, and lying on the floor like a cat in any spot of light. After an hour or so of flicking through pages, he picked up a book that felt funny, a lot lighter than it should have been. It was untouched, with nothing written on the cover, wrapped in simple vellum. Undoing the tie, he saw that pages had been carved out of it, with a smaller book rattling inside.

Vanden looked around. There was nobody else in the library. He took out the smaller one, rewrapping the larger before immediately diving into the hidden book. The only words he could make out in Common were, “The Covenant of the Twilight.”

He took it back to his room.

Elyse had after dinner drinks with Iyreia. She asked the drow woman about Bronze Harbour.

Iyreia reclined in her seat. “Of course. What would you like to know?”

“I heard, um, someone I used to know said that airships travel from there?”

“Yes, they make their way there, occasionally.”

“Do you know where from? At all?”

“I assume the first port would be Elenithil, and then onto the Thousand Isles beyond.”

“Any from Ospeia? Or Arakhis?”

She thought. “The Thousand Isles would be a midpoint, a resting place between here and Ospeia. Arakhis as well. You see them occasionally in the north, but. I don’t pay them much mind.”

“Fair enough. I don't suppose you‘d know how often the airships run that route, then?”

“Every couple of weeks. They’re not too common. It’s quite a sight when you see them.”

“I can imagine,” Elyse smiled.

After a while, the sorcerer returned to the room she shared with Boblem. She sat on the bed, taking out her arcane focus. Elyse looked quite stressed, turning it over in her hands as she tried to cast different spells on the item. Nothing was happening.

“Whatcha doin’?” Boblem looked over.

“I’m trying to think of a way of getting this thing into the ball. Because after everything I’ve been through to get it, there is no way I am leaving it somewhere where I am not. And nothing is working, I can’t turn it invisible, I…”

“Well, it seemed like some of the fancy ladies around here were carrying a little bag. Could you pretend it’s a little bag?”

“It’s a clutch purse,” she grinned. “With a glowing ball of lightning inside it.”

“Well, that makes it special?”

“Yeah,” she laughed. “Maybe they’d think that was really exotic and interesting.”

“They seem to be all about being ostentatious.”

“That’s true, but I don’t… I don’t know. It’s also dangerous for people to see me with it, maybe,” she sighed. ”And I can’t put it in the Bag of Holding. It would literally blow up. It would be very cool, but also like… not ideal.”

“Can it go in a thing under your skirt? I dunno…”

Elyse turned away, tying both chains around her wrists as it floated in front of her. She closed her eyes, picturing the image of the airship, and Shah'rivar, a huge, swirling mass of stormclouds with burning gems for eyes. She wasn’t sure what she was trying to do, but she was certain there had to be a way.

Focusing, she found herself falling into a deep, meditative trance. Though her eyes were closed, Boblem saw them glow blue behind the lids. A bit of steam came off the focus, entwining around it before completely enrobing the object. After half an hour, the steam dissipated. Her focus was still there, but it was now only about two inches tall, and an inch wide.

Elyse opened her eyes, and relaxation came to her muscles. She was still holding the focus, but it seemed to have adapted to her need.

“What spell did you cast?” Boblem asked.

Elyse stared at it. “Did I cast an enlargement spell on myself by accident?”

“No, you still seem pretty small to me.”

Elyse blinked, giving the boy a look of indignance before considering his height. “I guess to you, yeah.”

She tried casting a spell through it. It worked exactly the same. “Oh my gosh, my life would have been so much easier if you could do this before!” she scolded the focus.

“So you didn’t do this?”

“I think I did? I don’t know how… But…”

“You can’t do that on people, can you?” Boblem worried.

She considered the idea. “That would be really cool if I could.”

Boblem looked a bit threatened.

“I guess now it’s a fancy necklace?” she shrugged. “For the ball?” She took the chain, tying it around her neck. “Feels weird wearing it like this.”

“Could certainly wear it,” Boblem encouraged. “Looks nice.”

“Yeah…” She had been focusing on the need for subtlety, expressing her wish to it. The focus was a part of her, and it had to adapt to fit the circumstance. She smiled down at it. “You are a weird little thing, and I love you.”

Rana chirped at her.

“Love you too, Rana.”

Looking over, she saw the bird had a mouse in its beak, crunching down on it. Rana didn’t need to eat, but she could choose to.

“Good job,” she grinned.

  
  


After dinner, Astra went back up to the room he shared with Cassian. The wizard was still making jewelry. He had about twenty pieces so far, trying to use up all of his materials. He guessed he could probably make about eight more. The bard sat, playing his music for a bit before he spoke.

“I do have a question for you. Before we go to this ball.”

Cassian looked up from his work. “Yes?”

“Because everybody seems to react to something completely different…”

“Right…?”

“And I don’t know why, and I don’t want to…” he trailed off, unsure.

“Get to the point, Astra?”

“...I don’t know what a prince is. And everybody had different reactions to it. Which means that I’ve got absolutely no regard of what to do about it.”

Cassian sighed, putting a hand over his mouth as he listened.

“Elyse laughed,” the bard continued. “Boblem thought it was a fairytale. Someone else has treated it like the sun shines out his bum. And I just… don’t know what that means.”

The wizard put down his things, sitting with his head in his hands.

“And I know that you probably think I’m an idiot now…”

“Astra, I used to think you were an idiot,” Cassian admitted. “I don’t anymore. It was… a misjudgement, on my part.”

The tiefling looked back at him. “Well, I think you misjudge a lot of people, including yourself, so.”

“Well, whatever,” he brushed off the reply. “You’re very intelligent, and you’re good to have in a fight.” He turned in his chair, redirecting the conversation. “A prince, Verdant Astra… Do you know what a king is?”

“No.”

“Okay. We’ll start at that. This city has a government. Elected officials.”

Astra groaned. “Oh, we heard a lot about that today…”

“Yes, but did you understand it?”

“I got the gist of it, yes.”

“Yes, people chosen by the people. Kings and monarchs are not chosen by the people, but rather by blood. The sorts are… very historical. You conquer an area, you appoint yourself the ruler of it, your family is the monarchy from there on. People just kind of accept that you’re in charge. And it’s a familiar thing, it’s passed down. So the king, or the queen, is the ruler.”

“Right…”

“And the prince or princess is the son or daughter of said ruler.”

“Okay.”

“So, Vanden is a prince of Mirrortail. He is not directly in line for the throne, but, he is part of the royal family. Generally, people in said cities would treat them with respect, because they are technically in charge. Or not necessarily in charge, but have a certain degree of power.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

“Right.”

The bard let out a sigh of relief.

“Feeling better?”

Astra shrugged. “It was just kind of stressing me out, that everyone knew what it was.”

“Well, now you know what it is too.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Cassian turned away to continue with his task. Struck with sudden inspiration, he looked back. “You like… You like sparkly things, don’t you?”

“Mhm.”

Cassian studied his face. “I have some makeup, if tomorrow…”

“Like yours?”

“No no no, this is for me. But…” he folded his hands in front of his face, studying the tiefling. “I see a project. Could give you… a little bit of eyeshadow… bit of liner…”

“I’d like that,” Astra beamed.

“I’m sure I could figure out something that will go with your outfit. It was a very nice choice.”

“Thank you!”

Cassian gave a nod of approval, turning back to his work as Astra resumed playing. It was a gentleman’s agreement.

  
  


The rest of the evening passed by, and most of the next day as well. They all gathered together, preparing for the ball. The servants fussed about, helping people tie things on, and fetching whatever anyone needed. Iyreia was there, looking radiant as she got ready with her mother. Ardusine walked about, asking for things and giving orders to the staff. Iymril was already four drinks in, making ridiculous demands as he wandered from room to room. “No, these peacock feathers shan’t do! I need fresh…. Well, find me a peacock!”

The six of them were reunited in one large room, preparing themselves.

“Sariel?” Vanden called. “You look like you need a moment aside.”

“Yes please.”

“Come on.”

He took Sariel back into their shared room, privately. He had heard her cry out in the night as they slept.

“Are you doing okay?”

She shook her head. “No. Not really. Can’t stand this place.”

“I’m… I’m sorry, that we’re putting you through this.”

“It’s what has to be done, I suppose.”

“Your… dress,” Vanden began.

“Yes.”

“It was beautiful.”

“I think it’s going to hopefully put across the message I want to put across.”

“Good. You deserve to make a statement.”

“Never made a statement like this before,” she replied.

“I didn’t want to say anything in front of the others, I don’t know if anyone else knows, but… it was showing a fair bit of skin.”

“It’s a bit more revealing than what I’ve been wearing up to now.”

“Are you okay with it?”

“I suppose I’ll have to be. Make it a part of the statement.”

Vanden nodded. “Would you rather… not show off your scars?”

“I don’t see how.”

“But I mean, if that was a choice.”

She looked away. “If the option was there, I’d probably take it.”

“And… if it is there?”

“How could it possibly be there?”

Vanden took a deep breath, steeling himself. “Close your eyes.”

“Okay,” she closed them.

“Here.” Vanden took off his signet ring, sliding it over Sariel’s thumb. He gently rolled up her sleeve, turning her to face the mirror. “Open your eyes.”

She did. Her skin was unblemished. Running her fingers over it, she could still feel the ridges of scars and texture, but there was nothing visible.

“What is this thing?”

“It’s just an… illusion,” he explained, visibly nervous. “But you can wear it, if you want to.”

Sariel was quiet for a long time. She couldn’t remember how long it had been since she had seen herself without her scars. “I don’t know what to say…”

Vanden was trembling. So was she.

“You…”

“If it’s important to you,” he cut her off. “Please wear it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you… Vanden, thank you,” she turned to him with grateful eyes and a shaking voice. “Do you, do you not need it?”

“Not in…” he tensed. “Not in what I’m wearing.”

“...Is there anything you want to talk about?”

“No,” he answered, quickly. “And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t actually ask, um, I shouldn’t have- ”

“No, no, that’s, it’s alright. Don’t worry. I… thank you.”

“I’ll give you a minute. Take your time, just… Yeah. Hang onto it, as long as you need to. I’m gonna go, um, find Cassian for something.”

He squeezed her hand, leaving her in the room. She looked at herself for a long time, crying in the mirror.

  
  


Vanden went back to the main room with the others. “Cassian?”

The wizard was just finishing off Astra’s makeup. “Yes?”

Vanden kept his eyes on the ceiling. “I need you to lace up my doublet.”

“...Right,” he nodded. “Well then. Take me to this doublet.”

“Thank you. I request that you lace up the back up my doublet because I  _ cannot reach _ the back by myself,” he tried, demonstrating with annoyance as he struggled to grab the strings at the back.

“Yes, I wouldn’t expect you to, don’t worry.”

“Just, don’t… Just, be… Yeah.”

“Yes.”

Cassian tried to position him without touching him. Taking the laces, he gave a hard yank. Vanden let out an  _ oof _ of surprise as the breath was squeezed from him.

Vanden gritted his teeth. “Okay, thank you…”

“It’s okay,” Cassian went about using his deft tailor’s hands to make sure everything was fitting properly, correcting the outfit in a few places.

“Much appreciated.”

Cassian gave an approving nod. “Very handsome.”

“Ugh,” Vanden looked away. He was looking quite trim now, waist pulled small in the corset.

Astra gave a worried look to Boblem’s untamed hair. “We should probably do something about that…”

“What’s wrong with it?” he asked.

“Nothing’s wrong with it! But, imagine if it was… neat.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just… neat.”

“What?”

“You never know.”

Boblem touched his hair. “Uh, yeah sure? I guess we’re trying to look nice…”

“Great.”

“Okay…”

Astra made his hair neat.

“Your makeup looks nice by the way, really pretty,” the boy smiled.

“Thank you,” Astra grinned. “I really like it.”

“Really suits you. Brings out your eyes.”

Elyse approached the bard next, asking if he could braid her hair to look like the woman from the poster in Sanskra. Astra didn’t speak to her, but he gave a nod and did it. Elyse gave him a weird look, but she didn’t say anything, a bit confused.

Boblem tried to look up at his own hair. “What did you do with this?”

“Look, it’s pushed back,” Astra explained. “There’s a bit that won’t, but the rest of it is kind of pushed back. Just look in a window, or a mirror.”

He looked over at his reflection. “Huh. My head looks smaller.” He twirled a gentle curl coming over his forehead, trying to push it back. It bounced forward again. “Oh well,” he shrugged.

“Yeah, that one doesn’t want to play,” Astra glared at it.

“It looks quite nice. I’ve never seen that much of my face before.”

“It’s lovely. You should show it off more.”

“Good face,” Elyse grinned.

Boblem blushed to the tips of his ears. “Thank you…”

Once Astra had finished with his second client, Sariel shuffled over. “Are you busy?”

He shook his head, smiling at her.

“I’ve seen that you’ve done Boblem’s, and you’ve done Elyse’s. If, if you’re not busy, would you… would you mind helping me with my hair?”

“Please,” Astra nodded. “I’d really like to.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

As they began to file out, Cassian warned them all to be appropriate at the event. They emerged, cloaks and capes covering their outfits with fur trim as heeled boots clicked on the tiles. They stepped out of the house, and the Zauviirs were there.

“My my, you do scrub up well. Please,” Ardusine bowed, gesturing to a second carriage. The doors opened. “After you.”

“Thank you,” Vanden replied.

They were escorted into their own carriage while the Zauviirs stepped into the one behind. They rolled off into the night under a glittering carpet of stars.


	36. Unmasked, Episode Thirty-Three

They rode for about an hour. The carriage rolled to a halt, and they heard the clicking of the attendants boots as they descended from the top of their carriage. Light spilled in as the door was opened, and they saw before them the Manor of Valentinian.

A flagstone path flanked by trimmed bushes of dark blue leaves led up to the house, a beautiful manor of fine dwarven architecture. Two granite pillars flanked the heavy open doors, an archway gorgeously inscribed with runic patterns. Every panel of stonework on the impressive walls were detailed with more of these incredible inscriptions, forming geometric, angular patterns.

Music could be heard softly from within, and a number of attendants dressed uniformly in navy blue waistcoats over silk shirts welcomed guests with soft smiles and trays of drinks. The group was offered a hand, and once they all stepped out, the door to the carriage closed as it was moved off to the side.

The Zauviirs stepped out of their carriage nearby, giving a smile.

Vanden glanced at the others. “Shall we?”

“This place is beautiful,” Astra gasped.

“I’m very uncomfortable in these boots,” Boblem frowned. “Not used to... not feeling the ground underneath me. I feel like I’m not walking at all!”

“It’s one night Boblem,” Cassian assured the boy. “I’m sure you can bear it.”

He pulled at his jacket. “Yeah, I guess.”

Astra smiled at the him. “I think you look really good.”

“You do,” Elyse grinned. “We all do.”

“I think we all look lovely,” Boblem beamed.

“Come on,” Vanden gestured to the door. “We shouldn’t hold them up.”

“Yes,” Astra nodded, following.

They were led into the house. Their coats and furs were taken, and the six of them stepped into a carpeted hall with high ceilings, with portraits of finely dressed dwarves lining the walls. A couple who rode before them led the way, about twenty paces ahead, pointing out the artwork and speaking in excited, hushed tones.

They walked through, coming to an open set of double doors with an attendant waiting for them. “Esteemed guests of the family Zauviir, we are most delighted. And how might we introduce your companions?”

Vanden gave his full name.

“Elyse.”

“Verdant Astra.”

“Boblem.”

“Sariel of Sehanine.”

“Cassian Rivani.”

They were led through the doorway. Standing on a semi-circular balcony, they looked out over the stunning sight. They saw a beautiful ballroom, with probably two hundred people walking about on the marble of a deep blue floor. Where tiles met, they were inlaid with intricate stars of gold, creating the image of the heavens above. Beautiful windows of ornate, smoked glass looked out to the south terrace, and the tiers beyond the south wall. A magnificent set of ebony stairs curved down and around from where they stood, leading down to the ballroom itself. Where the walls ended and began to slope up into high vaulted roofs, a row of shields bearing heraldry lined the high corner. Hanging from the ceiling was a magnificent chandelier, glittering in the candlelight.

People filled the space in extravagant outfits and gowns, all dripping in jewelry and wealth. They wore masks of beasts, monsters, lace designs, religious figures, or the iconography of nature, all either tied on permanently or held in one hand. The palette of the ballwear seemed to be made of deep black tones, smokey greys, regal blues, and shimmering white pearl or silver. Sapphires, diamonds, and bits of gold hung from people’s necks and ears, adorning their hands and wrists. Ornate weaponry rested at some of their hips, a few in beautiful ceremonial armor or regal military uniform. Though completely impractical for combat, it was lavish, surely costing enough to feed a battalion for a month.

The attendant’s voice rang out, catching them in a moment of wonder. The voice announcing them down the line; Vanden du’Argentfort, Elyse, Verdant Astra, Boblem, Sariel of Sehanine, and Cassian Rivani. The guests looked up and politely applauded as they made their way down the stairs.

Vanden was dressed in a white regency style shirt and black breeches, with a sleeveless white doublet over the top. The doublet had no fastenings down the front, instead, it had an ornate gold filigree design embroidered across the chest. The piece fastened down the back with tight corset lacing. He wore a mantle of silver and grey fur over one shoulder, attached with an epaulette cord, and an ornamental diamond starburst on a large brooch. There was a dark blue sash around his waist that faded down into black, shimmering like the night sky as it caught the light. At his feet were heeled knee high black boots, lacing all the way up the back. Jocelyn’s rapier was at his side, in his sword belt. On top of his head, where his hair hung down, the prince wore a crown of gold laurel leaves. Vanden wore a simple blue mask around his eyes, gold spirals decorating the edges.

Elyse was dressed in what some would recognize as traditional Ospeian formal wear. Her dress was a vibrant purple with bright gold and turquoise blue accents. She was wearing a lehenga choli, a cropped sleeveless top with a long and high waisted skirt falling higher in the front than in the back. Under that, she wore trousers and pointed shoes in the same color scheme. Down her right side was a silk sash, turquoise and gold. The trim of her outfit was adorned with diamond and star shaped patterns. She was still wearing her golden armbands, as well as her black leather gloves, but her bright blue hair was now braided down the side of her head, and around her neck sat a thick choker set with purple and blue gemstones. Beneath that was what the group recognized as her arcane focus, shrunk to the size of a pendant with the gold chain tied around the back of her neck. On the exposed skin under her neck, an old and faded scar that cut across her chest to her left shoulder was visible. Her mask was an asymmetrical half mask in the same color scheme, a decorative golden wing going off the left side.

Astra was wearing a one piece sleeveless black outfit, with a low cut V neck to his waist, and straight trouser legs that widened at the bottom. The torso was embroidered with gold motifs of oak leaves and acorns, as were the bottoms of the trousers. His belt appeared like twisted roots around his waist, and a similar fixture held a sheer black cape with more embroidery on the shoulders, draping almost to the floor. His hair was loose for the very first time, coming to his mid thighs in soft waves. Near the spade of his tail was a cuff, and the spade itself bore a new hoop piercing. The bard had a small pouch embroidered with roots attached to the back of his belt. His mask covered the top half of his face, dark midnight blue in color, fading lighter at the top. Covering the mask and the eye holes were twisted twigs and branches pointing up his face. He also wore the black liner Cassian did for him, with a gold smokey eye and a bit of glitter under his cheekbones.

Boblem wore black trousers, a black jacket, and a black cape. The jacket had a high neck and gold ivy leaves embroidered at the chest, moving down the neck and towards the bottom of the fabric. The cape was made of black velvet, a lining of gold silk on the inside. It bore the motifs of golden leaves across the bottom and the neck neck. The boy was also wearing black boots with gold trim around the tops. He had a black mask with gold filigree details around the edge, the golden face of the sun right in the middle, above his eyes.

Sariel drifted over, looping her arm with Vanden’s. She had shied away completely from her regular color palette, wearing a floor length blood red silk gown, with a deep plunging V neck that exposed her skin down to her navel. Over the top of the dress was a layer of intricately embroidered red lace, with sheer lace sleeves. Her shoulders were embellished with two black epaulettes made of dark spikes and feathers, pewter chains draping down each arm. She wore a matching necklace of pewter chains, with droplet rubies that appeared as drops of blood down her skin, and even more red crystals and rubies embellishing the lace of the dress. Her hair was half up, half down, a waterfall of white waves cascading down her back with a crown of black spikes on the top of her head. In place of a mask, she wore a blindfold of black gauze. She could see out of it, but others couldn’t see in. The look was finished with glossy scarlet lips and black polish on her nails, which had been sharpened to points. With Vanden’s signet ring on her thumb, none of her scars were visible. Noticing that, Elyse gave her a strange look, but she didn’t say anything.

Cassian went for something he believed would fit the Shadebourne aesthetic. He wore a simple three piece suit, a white shirt, a deep blue waistcoat, and an even darker off-black blue jacket that went down to his knees, cascading patterns of golden waves flowing along the collar, cuffs, and edges. At his throat was a plain white ascot, a spiraled shell pin holding it in place. At the center of the shell was a single blue gemstone. He wore smart black trousers, with black and gold moccasins at his feet. The wizard wore a full mask that would have covered his entire face, but it was cracked in half, the two sides framing his face. In the middle of the pieces was a thin golden band, exposing his eyes. The new henna was nicely framed, his third eye drawn in gold. It was almost as if he was wearing a mask of many faces. Just before he stepped in the room, he placed a hand over his chest and muttered to himself, “You will be my ears tonight. I expect good feedback later.”

All eyes were on them as they split and went down the two sides of the stairs, converging at the bottom. Nobody else was in red. Sariel had known of the dress code, and the official color palette. It was a statement in itself to ignore the guidelines. There were many eyes on the six of them, and over to the Zauviirs as well, but Sariel had definitely captured their attention.

The dance floor extended before them, though there wasn’t a dance at the moment. It would be about another half hour before the first dance began. For now, people were mingling and talking with each other, attendants moving through with trays of drinks and sparkling flutes of champagne. Servers lined the halls, covering every wall, waiting for someone to request something.

Vanden put a hand on Sariel’s arm. “Anything you need, just let me know, okay?”

“You too.”

Boblem, Astra, and Elyse were staring around at the scene with wide eyes.

They heard the voice from above. “Announcing, Lady Ashani, Overseer General.”

A dwarven woman stepped up to the top of the balcony, elegantly dressed in a marble grey tailored suit. She wore a take on the classic dwarven war mask, ornately embellished in ivory. To her sides were two lizardfolk guards, armed and armoured, each bearing two handed swords behind them. They stood firm and proud behind her, both of them masked as well, with an array of dark green and black feathers springing up in front of their faces. They walked down the side of the stairs, beginning to mingle as well.

A man introduced as Sir Reinsgeht shortly followed Ashani down the balcony.

Every few minutes, they heard a new arrival announced.

The Kranwell siblings appeared next, three people with traces of dwarven and elvish lineage. Two were younger, one slightly older. Of the younger, there was one male, and one female. The man’s thinning black hair was slicked back, and he glowered at the scene through patchy facial hair. Standing next to him was a similar looking woman, with longer hair tumbling down as she held herself up, shoulders back and chest forward. Standing just behind was the third, clearly related as well, and about ten years older. It was a woman with high cheekbones and the same long, dark hair, elegantly puffed and waved for the event. All of them had matching ivory masks, taking their steps down the stairs to move in.

Soon after, Sir Buckmere was announced. He seemed a very chivalric knight with wavy blonde hair, wearing a cobalt mask studded with beautiful gemstones, and a suit of armour that seemed completely impractical for a ball. The armour was tinted with blue, almost like mother of pearl, and he was absolutely covered in medals and awards. He clinked and clanked as he entered the ballroom, swaggering down the stairs as he looked over the crowd.

Cassian observed him with amusement. “Well, we’ll hear it if he hits the dance floor.”

Elyse laughed. “I would like to see that.”

“Everybody looks so beautiful,” Astra sighed, smiling at it all.

“We’re supposed to mingle now,” Vanden prompted. “I don’t know what any of you would like to do.”

“I would quite like to meet our host, if he’s here,” Cassian decided.

“Same here.”

More names were announced. Commander Ossghym appeared at the balcony, a man with dark skin and a long, oiled beard with silver wire wound through it. His long, dark hair was slicked back, and he wore long and graceful robes with pale skirts and flowing sleeves. His chest was exposed to show off a number of scars carved across his chest, intentionally demonstrating his muscular figure, with toned, strong arms at his sides. There were slits in the robes revealing scale mail underneath, causing it to sound like the rushing of water as he moved through.

They heard the High Priest Elvenath announced next, a high priest of Bahamut in a draconic mask, with shoulder plates resembling scales. She wore a long, toga-like robe, shimmering in silver white.

Stormcaller Lamellot, High Priest of Kord, appeared with the dark blue-black skin of a water genasi. She wore flowing robes in a deep ocean blue, her bare arms revealing tattoos of lightning. Her mask was made out of a thin sheet of blue-grey stone, completely featureless and unadorned with two small slits for her eyes.

The group looked around for Haitius Valentinian, using the description they had heard from Ardusine of the host. It took them a while to move and mingle through the groups, with a few people stopping them, looking them up and down or bidding them good evening as they passed. They spotted their host a little while off.

Valentinian was a stout old dwarf with a bald head, a tidy beard, a mustache, and a monocle. He wore a long coat of deep blue with copper embroidery, and a white shirt with ruffles around his neck. He held a walking stick made of obsidian, a creature’s head at the top. The look was finished with a dwarven half mask of copper.

Standing close with him was a human man in his late fifties. With light brown skin and kind eyes behind another ornate matching mask, his short white hair was swept back. He wore a matching tailored coat to his husband’s, although he had a number of medals across his chest as well, with a sheathed sword at his hip. The mask had twisting scales and serpents all across it.

As they approached him, Cassian pricked up his ears to listen in on the conversation.

Sir Laurel spoke. “Darling, you’re frowning again. We spoke about the frowning.”

“I’ve every right to frown. It’s my party,” Haitius replied. “It’s my house.”

“Yes, yes, I know, but the people we’ve invited here want to see you smile. They want to see that you’re happy to have them here. So they’ll get to like you. If they like you, they’ll vote for you, you know that’s how the game is played.”

“Pah! I couldn’t give a baylor’s bottom if they like me. I’ve done this for them, haven’t I? Played their little game. Invited them to my house, shared my wine and meat. I can’t stand it. My time and efforts could be better spent elsewhere. My money could be better spent elsewhere. You know, the people who need it?”

“Think of how many people you could help with that money, with the city’s money, if you win that vote darling. You could make real change. This is just one miserable step. We have to get through this dreadful dance in order to get there. We just have to smile tonight, a few more hours. Talk to the right people. I’ll be right here with you.”

Haitius averted his eyes, looking down. “Please do stay here with me. I don't think I could stomach this charade without you.”

“On my honor!” Sir Laurel announced with a grin. “I swear it!”

“Aye, I’ve set you off now,” Haitius waved a hand at him, teasing. “Fine, let’s have us some more wine, I’ll mingle.”

At that, they turned off to head into the crowd. They moved past the group of six adventurers, giving a nod.

“Lord Councilor,” Cassian stopped them.

Sir Laurel looked up. “Esteemed guests…?”

“Yes, guests of the Zauviirs?”

“Ah! I’m good friends with Ardusine. How might you be known?”

Vanden introduced himself. “Prince Vanden of Mirrortail.”

“Oh! Prince, at our little soiree…” He turned to his husband. “We’ve done rather well for ourselves, haven’t we?”

“Aye, I suppose,” Valentinian nodded.

“We appreciate the invitation,” Vanden offered.

“We’ve heard good things about you,” followed Cassian.

Valentinian raised his eyebrows. “Is that so? What sort of things?”

“Well,” Cassian ceded the floor to Vanden, giving him a look.

“I was particularly hoping to hear more about your policies,” the prince explained. “I know you’re running for governor.”

“I suppose,” he agreed. “And the rest of you?”

“Cassian Rivani, also of Mirrortail,” the wizard offered.

The sorceress introduced herself in Dwarven. “My name is Elyse. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Pleased, he replied back in the same language. “Ah, you speak the good tongue. You’re a curious looking dwarf, if I’ve ever seen one. But, we come in all different shapes and sizes and…” he trailed off, looking at her hair, “...shades.”

“Verdant Astra,” the bard followed.

“Pleasure.”

“Boblem? From my farm?” the boy offered, unsure.

Valentinan nodded, curious. “Farming is… an important pillar of our community.”

“Thank you!”

He looked to Sariel. “My lady?”

“Sariel of Sehanine, Lord Councilor,” she curtsied.

“It’s a pleasure to have you all here. Let’s move away from all this,” he made a path through, and where he led them across the dance floor, people opened up to give them a good few feet of space. There were many eyes on the small group of adventurers as they spoke to the hosts.

Sir Laurel piped up. “So, how long have you been in the city?”

“Only a number of days,” Vanden admitted.

“How are you finding it, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Do you want our honest opinion, or the one that we should give you?”

“...Honest opinion, I suppose.”

Vanden tilted his head. “A lot of change needs to happen.”

“Aye! Aye!” Valentinian agreed. Sir Laurel gave him a look, and he lowered his volume. “I’ve been saying for too long. But, you know, change takes time.”

“Well, it’s encouraging to hear that there’s someone who does want things to change,” Elyse replied.

“Aye, everyone has their reasons, but… I've spent my time in the city. I’ve seen what it’s like.”

“Have you been to the lower tiers?” Boblem asked.

He frowned. “Aye, unfortunately. Not that I disregard going through them, it’s just… It’s a painful sight.”

Sir Laurel put a hand on the dwarf’s arm, giving him a comforting squeeze.

“This is simply the state of things…” Cassian ventured, “If the state does not change.”

“Aye, well, hopefully we can enact change one day.”

Some drinks came around, and the dwarf took one. It was beautiful crystal glass, filled with a dark rum and a slice of orange.

“Fill the right glass,” Cassian stared at the drink, “Lots of change can happen.”

“I suppose so. I’m a bit too old for riddles, but… I get the meaning.”

“It seems like you’re playing some sort of game tonight,” he clarified.

Valentinian shook his head. “Politics is nothing but a game. I’m sure you know,” he glanced at the prince.

“I do understand,” Vanden conceded.

“I’ve not been to Mirrortail in many a decade. How is the city these days?”

Vanden paled for a second, but he put on a smile. “Beautiful as ever.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I would love to spend more time by the sea.”

“It is beautiful by the sea,” Cassian concurred.

“It is.”

“You should visit,” Vanden offered.

“I would love to. But work is an… unfair mistress.”

“I suppose there’s a lot of work to be done here,” Cassian replied.

“Aye, plenty. Turn your back for one evening, who knows what could happen.”

“What changes do you propose to bring about?” Sariel pressed. “Should you be elected?”

“How much time do you have?”

“All evening.”

He grinned. “I will happily talk to you about… Let me start with this. My family built these walls to protect the people of this city. When the walls do nothing to protect the people, to fence them in, keep them apart from each other, keep people from rising up… they have failed in their purpose. I propose that the gates should be kept open. As much as symbolically, I’d love to have my great great grandfather’s walls torn down. Structurally, they’ve very important,” he shrugged. “But, free moving through the city. Redistribution of accumulated wealth which is… in the wrong places. Aid, increase numbers of the guards in the lower tiers. They’ve been taken advantage of for too long, they pay the price in blood. I’m not sure if you’re aware but… it's been a particularly catastrophic time in the lower tiers.”

“We’ve heard,” Elyse frowned. “About the murders.”

“Let’s keep it on politics, for now,” Sir Laurel gently guided, giving Valentinian a look. “They don’t need the gory details. Remember,” the knight used his hand to push his own smile even further.

“Aye, aye aye…” Valentinian cleared his throat. “I’d be happy to discuss with you more in time. I’m sorry, this isn’t the tone you’re looking for when you come to these things… I have an office on the fourth tier where I conduct business of governance. I’d be happy to have you in and talk to you.”

“We’d be more than grateful to meet you there,” Vanden accepted. “I have plenty of ideas about welfare and aid that we could implement here.”

“I’d like that, I’d like that. Maybe now is not the right time, I am working…”

“Understandable.”

“But, you seem interested.”

“Fortunately, we’re staying on the fourth tier,” Elyse recalled.

“Couldn’t have worked out better,” Sariel agreed.

Valentinian chuckled. “Convenient. That’s the district I look over. Where are you staying? What district? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“We’re in the Anvilhold,” Vanden replied.

“House with the sun on the door,” Boblem smiled.

The dwarf grinned. “House with the sun on the door. Can’t say I know it, but, the Anvilhold has a special place in my heart. I miss the smells of the area.”

“Well, we look forward to speaking with you another time,” Vanden nodded. “Perhaps more in depth.”

“I’d like that, I’d like that. Please, if you’ll excuse me, I need to rub shoulders with all the right people.”

“I understand,” Elyse grinned.

“You can find me again throughout the night, I’d love to talk about ideas for my campaign with you.”

“I would love to,” Vanden glanced to the others. “We would, wouldn’t we?”

“Yes,” Elyse agreed.

“Of course,” Cassian followed.

Vanden nodded to the man. “We’ll leave you to it.”

“Pleasure,” they replied. “Was wonderful getting to speak to you.”

“You too,” Elyse smiled.

“I look forward to seeing you more.”

“Nice meeting you,” Boblem waved.

“Likewise.”

Valentinian and Sir Laurel wandered off to mingle. They spoke next to Sir Reinsgeht, a man clad in a few pieces of matte black armour that still allowed him to move.

“Well,” Vanden turned. “That was informative.”

“Yeah, I’m kind of impressed,” Elyse followed. “Surprised, to be honest.”

“I’m very interested in speaking to him, to some extent.”

“Seems like a nice person,” Boblem agreed. “Wanting change in the right places.”

“Got some good ideas,” Elyse nodded.

Vanden watched the man go. “The right ideas.”

“Free movement between the tiers would really help the people,” Boblem continued.

“For sure,” Astra smiled.

Vanden sighed. “Now he just has to convince this rabble.”

“Don’t know if he can,” Elyse frowned.

“Surely we can do something for that,” the bard encouraged.

“I’m sure we can,” Vanden nodded. “The first dance will be starting soon.”

  
  


They heard the announcements of two more politicians. Yewell Lothmuir appeared, a middle aged human man wearing a high collared deep purple jacket, with stars across the breast. He was balding and pale behind the mask, which was a smoked glass color mounted on a single handle. He held it up in front of his face for half a moment before dropping it down, seemingly not bothered with keeping it up.

Shortly after, flanked by bodyguards, an elderly gnome with long white hair and a pinched face arrived. Governor Berit Zha. A drow and a human were armed and armoured, finely dressed behind him. Zha himself wore the flowing black robes of office, an official pendant, and a mask of woven black wicker. He gave a wave before following Lothmuir down the stairs, the two retreating to a corner to speak with each other.

Astra was taking it all in, gazing over every person, picking up every detail in the room. Vanden moved towards Berit, trying to listen in on his conversation. He wasn’t able to get too close, but hanging around and gathering a drink nearby, he was able to feighn distraction as the politicians spoke in hushed tones.

Yewell inclined his head towards Berit. “My Lord Governor. How fair the night?”

“My Lord Councilor. The night fairs well. I’m readily supplied with pleasantries already, and the folk are in good spirits.”

“I trust I can count on your support in the upcoming election.”

Berit raised a brow. “My my. No time for small talk in the realms of Councilor Lothmuir, is there?”

“I meant no presumptions, my Lord. I simply know you’re a busy man, I wish not to keep you from the night’s festivities…”

“Stop, stop, you’re blabbering Lothmuir. Yes, you can count on my support in the coming election. You’ve done well to impress me. I’ve no doubt my legacy will be held safe during your term.”

“My Lord Governor, that means an incredible deal to- ”

“Yes, yes, I know,” the governor sighed. “You need to understand, Lothmuir. It’s not just me you need to impress. You need to make good on the promises you made to the right people. You need to keep things flowing in the right direction. As we spoke of.”

“Yes my Lord, of course, they’re doing very well below- ”

“Lothmuir, shut your damned mouth before something with an ounce of grey matter crawls in there,” Berit growled. The Governor glanced over to Vanden, who did his best to look away. “You think this is the place to talk about that? Get out of my sight before I have your candidacy offered to my  _ dogs." _

Lothmuir moved quickly, shoulder checking Vanden as he fled with his head down. Berit remained, the two bodyguards closing around him as he turned to the side, sipping his drink.

“What an incredibly rude man,” Vanden mumbled, wiping his shoulder.

A woman nearby responded with a grin. “Yes, most unfortunate. But you know how these politicians be,” she laughed.

Vanden gave her a polite nod. “And you would be?”

“Rara. Rara Zor.”

“Rara Zor. Charmed to meet you.”

“Likewise, likewise.” She was a drow, wearing a light purple dress the same shade as her skin. If you first saw her out of the corner of your eye, you would think she was completely nude. But the dress was perfectly tailored to match her skin, form fitting at the top before flowing down at the hips, a long trail of silver bangles on her wrist. She wore a mask of silver chains hanging over her face, white hair held back in an updo.

“What an incredible dress, if I may say so,” Vanden complimented.

She smiled. “Don’t look half bad yourself.”

“Thank you,” he replied. “So what do you think of the politicians?”

“Ugh, which ones, those? Lords below, I wouldn’t waste my time thinking about them. There’s far more exciting things.”

“Of course.”

“I mean, look at where we are,” she giggled. “This is the event of the year.”

“Of course it is.”

“I mean yes, it’s an aid of… some politician or other running for something or another, but…”

“I’m sure for running this…” Vanden began, “Lord Valentinian could use your vote.”

“Oh, no, I shan’t be voting.”

Boblem appeared quite suddenly behind the prince. “Why not?”

The woman looked up, a bit surprised as the rest of the group congregated around her. “I don’t know… I’ve not voted before.”

“Well, you could start now.”

“Yes, I suppose, but…”

“Don’t you... care about who’s in power?” Elyse prompted.

“No, of course not,” the woman shrugged. “What difference does it make?”

There was a beat of silence before Vanden covered for the others. “Of course, understandable.”

“Yeah,” Elyse gave a false smile.

“I mean, I’ve heard Lothmuir’s running,” Rara continued, “And he’s a bit of a bore. I suppose I’ll… throw a vote for Valentinian, if I must. It’s a wonderful party he’s put on. If he puts on parties like these, imagine what he could do…” she leaned in, smiling. “Have you heard that they’re called,  _ political parties?" _

“I  _ had _ ,” Vanden replied, matching her enthusiasm.

“It’s fascinating!”

He switched tactics. “And imagine the parties. Valentinian would throw them all year round, I’m sure.”

“Wouldn’t you want to vote for someone that throws good parties? Like this?” Boblem pressed.

She grinned. “I would…”

“Look at all these drinks and everything,” Elyse encouraged.

“That’s the thing, you have to put a vote in,” Vanden agreed. “Otherwise there’s not going to be any more parties like this.”

“Okay, well I’ll think about it,” she teased.

“Otherwise someone that’s a bore might win,” Boblem concluded. “And there might be no parties.”

“Sariel,” Cassian looked down at the smaller elf, interrupting. “Would you care to follow me this way?” He gestured to a space quite far from the current conversation.

“Please.”

He offered an arm, and Sariel took it as the wizard walked her off.

“That’s the real problem with this city, okay?” Rara continued. “Everyone’s down all the time. And there aren’t enough events or parties to, you know, keep people entertained.”

“Well if you think Lothmuir is a bore, he’s definitely not going to throw any parties like this,” Elyse reasoned.

“You’re right, you’re right, Lords below…. Well, it’s been a pleasure,” she grinned. “I’ll see you at the… voting scales, I assume.”

The others politely laughed along with her as she gracefully floated off.

Elyse watched her go with a long suffering stare. “Oh my god…”

“What she mean, she don’t care!?” Boblem whispered.

“‘Cuz it doesn’t make a difference to her, personally.”

“Just take a deep breath,” Vanden consoled the boy. “Hold it in around these people, and later we’ll go somewhere quiet and scream.”

_ "Scream," _ Elyse agreed.

“Boy am I gonna scream later,” Boblem sighed.

“We have those training dummies. Could take it out on them,” she grinned.

  
  


The first dance was announced.

As Cassian led Sariel towards the dance floor, he looked around the room for people who had already downed a few drinks. Easy targets for schmoozing.

Sir Buckmere looked like they had finished quite many. He looked pretty young, but he could be heard from fairly far away.

“I dunno what you’re talkin’ ‘bout! Of course this ‘s my house! Yes, and I… and I made the armour... mmmyself. Aha!” he laughed and burped, making a strange combination sound.

“Get a load of that guy,” Cassian gestured to the man.

Sariel leaned in, whispering her reply. “Do you have a plan this evening?”

“I have a plan to put many ears in many pockets,” he grinned.

“What can I do to help you?”

“Hm. You know what…” he passed her a handful of bracelets and necklaces. “Give those out to as many people as you can.”

“I can do that.”

“I trust you.”

“But first,” she looked up at the wizard, “Shall we dance?”

“Yes, I would like that.”

The music took up, and people flooded into the dance floor. They took their positions as one of the dances they had practiced the previous day began. Couples formed, and where there were groups, pairings danced between themselves, switching with each other. Guests rotated around, spiraling across the dance floor for about fifteen minutes. The music in full swing, about half the guests dancing, the six adventurers lost themselves a bit, the first few lines of stress leaving their faces.

Vanden danced with Astra, keeping an eye out for the Zauviirs. Iymril and Iyreia were dancing together with Ardusine and Bowyer at the side, enjoying the view. The prince looked for anyone he might recognize, or anyone not from Shadebourne, but there was no one he could see.

“You having a good time, Astra?”

“Mhm,” the bard grinned. “It’s beautiful here. Thank you for teaching us how to dance.”

“I’m surprised you picked it up so well, considering you didn't practice. You seem to be good at that.”

“I just always watch, and learn that way.”

“These functions are not really my thing,” Vanden admitted. “I’m feeling slightly claustrophobic.”

“Really?”

“Yes. But it’s fine, we can get through the evening, it’s one evening.”

“Let me know if you want to get some air.”

  
  


Elyse danced with Boblem. “How’s it going in the boots?” she grinned.

He sighed. “They hurt, you know?”

“I can imagine, if you’re not used to wearing them.”

“Really hurt, how do you guys do this?”

“Do you have blisters?”

“Probably.”

She gave a sympathetic look to his shoes. “Well, I’m sure Astra or Sariel can sort it out for you later.”

“To just walk around like this all day? Not feeling the ground underneath your feet? Don’t feel natural at all.”

She chuckled. “You’re a funny one.”

“Thank you!”

Elyse scanned the room for Stormcaller Lamellot. The woman spent a few minutes dancing before heading off, disappearing into a side room. She reappeared back on the balcony later, moving around the outside and talking to a few other guests.

  
  


Sariel discussed what kind of targets the wizard was looking for as she spun with him, scooping out the scene. She noticed the man with slicked back hair, one of the Kranwell siblings, and tensed for a moment in Cassian’s arms before moving on. The man was decidedly not dancing. His twin and his older sister were dancing with separate people, but he held his cane to the side, glowering at everything as he chewed his nail, picking at patches of facial hair.

Cassian explained that he was looking for people who might have further information, or people who were chatterboxes. All she had to do was slip something in their bag while they weren’t looking, or to offer them a token as a jewel from Mirrortail after talking with them.

“I can do that,” she agreed.

  
  


The dance changed to something slightly slower, people grouping in a large circle with two lines before crossing from side to side, joining together at the middle and separating once more.

“Did we practice this one?” Boblem worried.

He stepped out of the dance, as did most of the others. Astra remained, finding it easy enough to follow. He led some people near him, who were all rather enamoured by the pale green tiefling.

Boblem moved over to the side, taking a drink to grab a breath for a few seconds. He heard a small giggle from behind.

He turned, and saw two young female drow, wearing beautiful black velvet dresses. Bright purple spread across their cheeks and collarbones as Boblem looked back at them, watching them giggle to each other.

The boy was a bit confused. “Hello?”

“...Hello,” one grinned.

Boblem went to reach for his hat, remembering too late that he didn’t have it on. He turned the hand into a wave. The girls waved back, mimicking.

“I’m Sonya.”

“I’m Selina.”

Boblem glanced between them. “Ah, you are sisters?”

“Yes! She’s older though,” Sonya glanced at her sibling. Selina shot her a look as the younger sister giggled.

Vanden walked behind the three, watching the scene. “He’d love to dance with both of you,” he grinned.

Boblem looked back at the prince with wide eyes.

“Oh, that’d be wonderful, wonderful!” Selina agreed.

Sonya waved a hand at her. “No no, it’s okay Selina, I’ll go.”

“Sonya,” the other sister gave a stern look. Very quickly, she said something to her in Undercommon.

Sonya frowned for a moment before turning with a smile to Boblem. “We’ll take turns. If that’s alright, sir?”

“Uh, yeah sure?” Boblem stared at Vanden, red in the face. “This is like the second time I’ve ever danced before, so.”

“That’s okay. You’re so tall,” Sonya grinned. Pulling a pin from her hair, white locks fluttered down around her.

“Ah… very nice,” Boblem nodded, still confused. Sonya took his hand, looking back at Selina and grinning ear to ear.

Selina looked around with a pursued face, searching for a dance partner. Raising her brows, she offered a hand to Vanden.

“Of course,” he accepted.

The music started up again. Sonya led Boblem to the dance floor, pressing herself up rather close.

“This is… close,” Boblem observed.

“Yes,” she grinned.

“That’s not how I practiced it…”

“Here, let me show you,” she giggled. She began to lead him in the dance. Boblem saw his very nervous face and wide eyes reflected in her teardrop diamond earrings.

“What do you do?” she asked.

“Um… I have a farm?”

“Ooh, you own land…”

“My grandparents own the land. I don’t know if we own it, since it moves…”

“Haha… sorry, pardon?” She stopped dancing for a second. “Why does the land move?”

“Oh, not the land, the farm.”

“Oh! Oh, I see, I see, um, I don’t, but it’s okay…”

“What do you do?”

She straightened. “Well, I work in the legal profession, I suppose.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, I work for the temple of Bahamut.”

“Oh, what do you do there?”

“Well, we ascertain the truth in legal situations.”

“Ahh, yes,” Boblem nodded. “I know what that… entails…”

“It’s a very respectable profession, you see.”

“Sounds fancy.”

“Not as fancy as you,” she flirted. “You cut a very clean line, Mr. Boblem. You look sharp.”

“Oh, thank you. I did... bathe... today...?”

“I’m glad,” she giggled. “I don’t think I’d be dancing with you if you hadn’t.”

“Your dress looks lovely,” he offered.

“Thank you. My mother made this.”

“Oh, that’s nice!”

“Well, looks like the dance is over… I hope to… Maybe we can dance again later?”

“Yeah, yeah maybe, that’d…” he swallowed, “Be nice.”

“Come find me, bring me a drink later,” she smiled. “I like strawberry wine.”

“Oh, okay… I’ll remember that…” he gave another wave.

“Goodbye for now.”

“Have a nice evening!”

She moved back to where she had been standing before. A gaggle of other people, men and women, ushered her back into the circle as she squealed with excitement.

Boblem made his way quickly over to the prince. “Vanden?”

He looked up in amusement. “Yes?”

“What’s happening?”

“I think she likes you, Boblem. She likes the cut of your jib.”

Boblem raised his eyebrows in alarm. “My what!?”

“Nevermind, come on.”

“Okay…”

The dance finished, and the ballroom opened again as people wandered through, taking drinks as food was passed around. Boblem held a glass to his face, grateful for the cold on his skin. He noticed she was still looking over at him from the other side of the ballroom, offering another flirtatious wave.

“She’s very pretty,” Vanden prompted.

“Yeah, yeah… She is…”

The prince studied him, trying to gauge the boy’s reaction to the situation and not sure how Boblem wasn’t getting it.

“How was the dance with her sister?” Boblem asked.

“Oh, fine,” Vanden replied.

She had been looking over his shoulder, angling Vanden to get a good view of the farm boy. The prince didn’t mind, allowing her to do so. She was very gracious.

“He’s very handsome, isn’t he?” he had said.

She had nodded.

Vanden grinned at the memory, looking over the boy. “I think they’re both interested in  _ you." _

  
  


As the dance came to a close, Cassian gave Sariel a pat on the shoulder, passing her a wink before heading off to schmooze. Sariel went in the opposite direction to do the same.

The wizard approached many people. “Isn’t this party lovely?”, “Your outfit is incredible,” “Let me tell you this story from my Father’s homeland…” , “Have you heard of Ospeia? What’s your take?”

A tipsy partygoer turned, ensnared. “That sounds so exotic…”

“It is really exotic. You know I come from Mirrortail?”

“You come from Mirrortail?”

“Oh yes, by the ocean. It’s very mysterious…”

“I’ve always longed to visit, but you know, the mountains are my home.”

“I know… Do you ever wish to hear the sound of the ocean?” Cassian probed.

“Always. But I have a conch, I have a seashell. I hold it up to my ear and I hear the sounds of the ocean. It’s enchanted, I bought it from a wizard for 12,000 pieces of gold.”

“I have some smaller shells,” Cassian reached into his bag. “They definitely carry a sort of ocean magic to them.”

“I would love to have a listen.”

“Here,” he handed a piece over. “Wear the earrings.”

The partygoer held the shell to their ear. “...These have the same enchantment…?”

“Sometimes, these will sing,” Cassian advertised. “If you’re lucky.”

“And you’re giving this to me for free…?”

“Oh, it’s a token of my gratitude, to this event, to the city…”

“What was your name, good sir?”

“Cassian Rivani,” he extended a hand.

“Cassian Rivani… Taylor Loti,” they shook the hand, introducing themselves.

“Pleasure to meet you.”

With a lopsided grin, Taylor held the shell up, piercing the metal straight through their long ear. A drop of blood fell on their finger, and they licked it off.

“Suits you very much,” Cassian approved. “I like conviction.”

Taylor grinned, walking off. The cycle repeated with as many people as the wizard could get. Not everyone pierced their ear right then and there, but he offered an array of bracelets and necklaces, and everyone he approached was receptive to the idea. They were intrigued by the concept of free jewelry, gilded seashells from an exotic man of Mirrortail.

Time continued to pass. They heard the announcement of Duchess Ginelon, a classically beautiful half-elf with tumbling red hair and high cheekbones, wearing a backless black dress and long gloves. Sariel felt her heart stop for a second as she recognized the face from her visions. She didn’t recognize the name, or know the woman, but she tried her best to surreptitiously follow her as she made her way into the ball.

Though she missed the first of the conversation, she heard her speaking to a handsome male drow with silver hair, short at the sides and slicked back over his head. He wore a long and high collared jacket with black and gold embroidery, many piercings adorning him.

In a gravelly voice, deep and slow, he spoke. “Why, I’ve barely seen your husband at your side this evening. What would drag someone away from a treasure such as yourself?”

“Barin, my Lord, you flatter me so,” she replied. “Gratefully, this is nothing new. I am accustomed to my husband’s inattentiveness. As of late, he so rarely finds my hand, being preoccupied with his new friends.”

“My Lady, this cannot stand… What a wretch would do such a thing? Forgive my speaking out of turn, it is most uncouth of me. Who is it that would draw the Duke’s attention so? Losing sight of a star such as yourself?

Sariel saw the woman roll her eyes. “Aren’t you one for words. My Lord Vahlerian, I’m not sure if you know him. Not to be confused with our host, dearest Lord Valentinian. Owned some estate off west, a rather private fellow.”

“Well then, in that case, let me be the one to offer you a dance, Duchess Ginelon. In the absence of the Duke.”

He took her hand, and she begrudgingly resigned herself to it before walking off with him. Though the music was only softly playing as interlude, he took her in his arms and began to spiral with her, slowly.

One of the walls led out to a terrace, looking over the city. The wall was mostly glass, a huge floor to ceiling window with a door that led to the terrace. Sariel turned and went through the door, trying to find a corner to have a panic attack. There were a couple of people outside, most of them looking at her as she came through. One lady wore a floor length white dress, a high elf with beautiful blonde hair and golden bracelets up her hand. Taking stock of the druid, she quickly moved out. One or two people came up afterwards, looking over to Sariel.

A young attendant, a dwarven man, approached her. “My… My lady? Would you care for a drink?” He offered a crystal glass of water.

“Please,” she accepted, taking a moment to turn away.

“Should you desire anything, I’m just by the door.”

“Just need some air,” she choked.

“Right…”

She stood on the balcony of the terrace, looking out to the twinkling lights of the city below, a giant wedding cake mirroring the blanket of stars above. She tried to control herself with the knowledge that there were people watching her, though she refused to make eye contact with them. Most of the guests moved away. It was a large balcony, at least sixty feet across. A few people were standing at the other ends of it, but she was at the center. Where the wall was flat, the balcony extended out like an arch over the precipice. She stood at the peak of it.

Elyse kept eyes on Lamellot. She was standing in a corner, engaging in idle chit chat with people as she frequented food and drinks for herself. From what she wore, she was clearly a High Priest, dressed in the same religious garb as other priests Elyse had seen, but elevated. The sorcerer made her way to the drinks tables, eyeing up the lightning tattoos. She spent a bit of time deciding what to drink, listening in on what the woman was saying. It didn’t seem to be anything of importance, purely small talk with random guests about how nice the event was, and a bit about the coming election. Haitius was in good regard with a certain portion, but did he really have the support of the other councilors? Did he have the support of the higher tiers behind him? Sure, he made waves down below, but…

Elyse picked up a glass, melding her way into the conversation. “I personally think Valentinian has a lot of promise.”

“Well, you seem educated then,” Lamellot nodded. “I’m glad we share some opinions.”

“Thank you.”

“I confess, I don’t know too much about it, but.”

“Well, I only just met him today, but I can already tell he’d be very good for this city.”

“Ah, lucky you, I’ve not had the chance to meet him. This blasted thing…” she untied her mask, a featureless sheet of blue-grey stone carved to fit her face. She took it off, revealing an older woman in her late sixties, though still rather toned, with dark blue-black skin and cropped short hair. “Do you attend these events often?”

“This is only the second one I’ve ever attended,” Elyse admitted. “I’m here as a guest of the Zauviirs.”

“Hm, I’m not sure I know who they are. I don’t… I’m not usually present at these things.”

“I heard when they announced you, you’re a High Priestess?”

“Yes, I’m the Stormcaller of the temple here.”

“Forgive my ignorance, I’m… not particularly familiar, with the Gods. What does Stormcaller mean?”

“It’s little more than a fancy name for someone who’s been in the profession, the business, on the seas, a long time.”

“On the seas?”

“Yes, I’ve been a sailor, a Stormcaller, onboard many ships in many seas for sixty years now. I found my service in the God Kord.”

“Yeah… that sounds incredible, so interesting,” Elyse nodded. “I’m a traveller myself.”

“Are you one of the faithful?”

“Um, I’ve never really had much contact with the Gods myself, but… I did… I was in Lakeside a few weeks ago and a priest at the temple of Kord was very kind and helpful to me.”

“Well then,” she smiled.

“And I have some affinity for elemental magic myself.”

“Well, it pleases me to no end to know that my temples are doing the right thing. Leaving a lasting, strong impression. Thank you. You should come by sometime, see how our temple fairs up in comparison.”

“Sure, yeah, I’d like that. Do you mind if I ask… I hope this doesn’t sound rude, um… your tattoos are very beautiful.”

“They are, aren’t they?” She looked at her arms. “It’s a rite of initiation. Once you’ve been in the service long enough, you tattoo your arms.”

“On, that’s interesting. Is that normal in Temples to Kord?”

“Yes yes, it’s quite commonplace. But it's after you've been there for a certain time. Forty years of service, earned my tattoos.”

“Impressive, then.”

“Thank you, thank you. Please, I must away, but do find me at another point.”

“Of course, enjoy your evening.”

She went to tie her mask back on. “This thing is sweaty as anything.”

She walked off through the crowd. Elyse stood in stunned silence for a moment, drinking.

  
  


Vanden gathered the group. “Right, I suppose we should probably talk to our hosts. We haven’t spoken to them all evening. The Zauviirs, I mean. You two doing okay?” he looked between Boblem and Astra. “Overwhelmed?”

“It’s a lot,” Boblem admitted.

“It is. I told you I didn’t like these things.”

“Lot of dancing.”

“I think it’s a lot of fun,” Astra countered.

“A lot of fun,” Cassian agreed. “Enjoying it, Astra?”

“Mhm,” he smiled.

“Taking in all the sights, the sounds?”

“The atmosphere.”

“You like pretty things, don’tcha?” Boblem grinned over to the bard. “You must really love this.”

“I do.”

“I’m sure that everyone here thinks that Astra is quite a pretty thing,” Cassian followed.

“You’re not wrong,” Boblem agreed.

Astra laughed. “Thank you.”

Cassian glanced through the ballroom. “Don’t seem to have any tieflings around, so.”

The bard was a bit surprised, looking around at the crowd to confirm the realization. “No, I suppose you’re right.”

Vanden glanced down. “I like your tail piercing.”

“Thank you.”

“Very much like Aerenthias.”

Astra froze a bit. “Yes. Well, I liked what his looked like, so, I figured…”

“You like his feathers, you like his tail piercing,” Cassian grinned.

“Well, I got my horns done because I liked the minotaur’s horns,” he defended. “I just, just, liked how it… looked. On somebody. So.”

“You’re stuttering Astra.”

“No I’m not, you’re stuttering,” he countered. “Does anybody else want a drink? I kind of want a drink.”

“I could use a drink,” Vanden relented. The five of them congregated around the drinks table, noticing that Sariel wasn’t there. Vanden frowned at the empty space. “Has anyone seen Sariel?”

“No,” Boblem shook his head.

“She went off the opposite way to me,” Cassian offered. “I haven’t seen her since.”

“I promised I wouldn’t leave her,” Vanden replied, looking worried. “I’m going to go take a look.”

It didn’t take him long. She stood out, in blood red, waiting on the terrace.

“She’s outside,” he gestured. “I’m going to go see if she’s okay.”

“She might just need some fresh air,” Elyse shrugged.

They headed out, walking past the elf with the long blonde hair and the white dress. The woman almost crashed into them, coming face to face with Vanden before stepping aside to let them pass. She looked them all up and down in amazement. “Have a pleasant evening.”

“And you,” Astra smiled.

“And you,” Cassian echoed.

Boblem nodded at her. “You too.”

She disappeared into the crowd, and they saw Sariel out on the terrace.

“Sariel?” Vanden called.

She had mostly gotten over herself, but they could see she was still trembling.

Vanden approached her. “Hey.”

“Hi.”

“Deep breaths. Is it too much?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s something else.”

“Do you want to tell us? Or later?”

She took a breath. “I… I don’t fully understand it myself yet, so I don't know what there is to tell.”

Astra offered a hand out to her, and she took it. He gave her a small squeeze. Sariel leaned past, looking into the ballroom. The redheaded woman was dancing over by the stairs, mingling. She had arrived alone.

“I’d like to know more about her,” she pointed. “I don’t know if I can find out for myself at the moment, though.”

“I’m sure we can help,” Elyse nodded.

“Of course,” Vanden agreed.

“Yes,” Cassian followed. “We can have a word.”

“Please,” Sariel thanked them.

The bard looked down at her with caring eyes. “We’ve got you, sapling.”

Sariel linked her arm through Astra’s.

“Well,” Vanden turned to the others. “It seems we have a task.”

“Why don’t you and me go mingle elsewhere?” Astra offered to the druid.

“We could give out some more of Cassian’s bracelets,” Sariel agreed.

“Oh! Okay.”

“Yes, I’ve given out quite a few,” the wizard grinned.

Boblem looked between them, confused. “You made bracelets?”

“Yes.”

Sariel showed the boy a couple of pieces. “Oh!” Boblem smiled. “They’re nice!”

“Let’s,” Sariel cleared her throat, masking the shake, “Let’s go see Sir Buckmere.”

“Yes, let’s do that,” Astra smiled.

The two walked off in that direction while the other four strategized on the balcony.

“How do we want to do this?” Vanden prompted.

“What are we asking?” Boblem wondered.

Elyse frowned. “Yeah, we don't really know what she wants to know, ‘cuz I guess she doesn't know herself.”

“I suppose we just want to know who she is,” Cassian shrugged. “What she might be doing here.”

“General schmoozing,” Elyse agreed.

The four moved to Ginelon, who was standing up against the back of the stairway. The group moved higher up the staircase, loitering above her. Boblem was unable to focus, distracted by the twins staring at him from a distance. He looked at the ground.

Ginelon was standing with another other woman, arms linked. They looked pretty close. Ginelon’s head was turned to her partner’s ear, speaking in low tones. Most of them weren’t able to hear, but Cassian could just pick things up. He couldn’t get the full conversation, but they were discussing how dull Baride was, and how it was such a shame he had dragged the other woman away. The Duchess couldn’t stand him, but she had to keep up appearances. The other woman suggested they find somewhere quieter. There was a soft giggle as the two walked off, making their way to the other side of the room and heading off through the double doors. There was a familiar sense about them, as if they had known each other for a long time. As they walked off, hands around the other’s waists, a few people turned, but there were far more interesting things in the night for the partygoers to see.

“We should wait until they get back,” Cassian decided.

“Okay,” Vanden agreed.

Boblem watched the pair go. “Do you think they’ll get back?”

“Well,” Cassian tilted his head in thought, “I suppose someone’s going to catch them eventually.”

Boblem blushed. “Oh my…”

“Good for them,” Elyse grinned.

“Anyone want to dance?” Cassian offered.

“Sure.”

Vanden excused himself. “I’m going to go speak with the Zauviirs.”

  
  


Cassian took Elyse to the dance floor. As they walked down, they heard a shout from the middle of the ballroom.

“Monsieur!” Sir Buckmere’s voice rang out.

They all turned, as did most of the crowd. They saw Buckmere in his impossibly detailed and filigreed armour, blue-silver metalwork designed with leaves and vines and faces. The rapier that was once at his hip was now unsteadily pointed out. He waggled his finger, the blade wiggling with it.

Another man turned, ten feet away. He was tall, and broad chested, with coppery hair and a beard. A human man in his late fifties, the group recognized him as Sir Reinsgeht from the earlier introductions. “Are… are you… are you speaking to me?”

“No no sir! Sir! I come here humbly… To request of you… a treasure so fine. A flame, so bright- ”

“No, no, do not, do not,” Rhinesagate waved a hand at him, urging the drunken man to stand down.

“A beaut so coveted. I would like to ask for… the hand of your daughter. In mahridge,” he slurred.

Sir Reinsgeht’s face dropped as the crowd gasped with the drama of it all. “You must be in jest, sir.”

“I would never! Joke about somethin’… as serious... as love,” he posed.

“You… you love, Eris? You love my daughter? Tell me truthfully, have you ever met her in person?”

“Bah! Maybe we have not met…,” he admitted. “But our souls! They touched, when I saw… a painting of her. A fair maid, pure of heart. A head of smoldering fire!” His sword waggled about.

“My daughter is a great many things. A knight by her own right. She can most certainly do better than some drunken flop. You can ask her yourself, for her own hand, but I suspect she will kick your ass to the dirt. Fair maiden, hah!”

He turned on his heel to move back into the crowd. Buckmire pulled up his sword again, standing ramrod straight, though still staggering. “Sir! I will not stand for such a slight on my name! I challenge you, to an honorable duel!”

Rhinesgate gave a heavy sigh, turning to stare. “Sir Buckmere, I wish not to make a bigger fool of you than you are doing yourself. You sir, are a carouser, a ne'er do well, and a drunkard... But I will embarrass you if I must,” he pulled out his sword.

A circle formed, and the two began rotating, spiraling around each other. Rhinesgate’s feet were perfectly in time and place, while Buckmire nearly fell over, almost impaling himself on his own sword. In a flash, he lunged at Rhinesgate once, twice, thrice, while his opponent parried with simple ease.

Rhinesgate’s sword flashed out, knocking Sir Buckmere’s from his hand. It skittered across the ground, and in a swift motion, he kicked Buckmere’s legs out from under him. Buckmere landed on his ass as the breath was knocked from him. Rhinesgate stood over the man, sheathing his sword. It was all over in a matter of a few seconds. Rhinesgate offered a hand, but Buckmire didn’t take it, spitting at him instead.

Rhinesgate wiped his face, tured, and walked back into the crowd.

Cassian noticed that Elyse was barely containing her laughter. The rest of the crowd was shocked and elated at the scandal of it all. There was a clattering of armour as Buckmere got to his feet, having gone pale, before running out to the balcony. They heard hurling and retching from outside.

“I said it would be funny when he hit the dance floor,” Cassian grinned. “He certainly hit it.”

“You were right,” Elyse laughed.

Up on the steps, Haitius resignedly pointed to his attendants, asking them to deal with Buckmere. Two attendants went out to him, tapping him on the shoulder. “Alright mate, come on. You’ve had enough.”

The music started up again as some things were cleared, and Cassian began to dance with Elyse.

  
  


“Suppose he’s not up for talking anymore,” Astra grinned to Sariel.

“Apparently not,” she agreed.

“Should we go and meet up with the others? To speak to the Zauviirs?”

Sariel nodded, following him over to the others. Iymril was still dancing, but Iyreia was available. “You just missed them, they’ll be back soon,” she apologized.

Sure enough, three minutes into the dance, Iymril stumbled back over. They weren’t as far gone as Buckmere, but definitely a bit sauced. “Well hello.”

Vanden looked the drow over. “Having a good time, are we?”

“I’m having a wonderful time. You all look fantastic.”

“Thank you,” Astra smiled.

“Look as great as the day we fought those bandits together.”

“What day was that?”

“Four days… three, four… few days ago.”

Astra frowned in thought. “Mm, no, I don’t remember fighting anyone  _ with _ you.”

“Yes, I remember it.”

“No…”

“I do, I do.”

“Not sure.”

“I told all the staff about it…”

“How do you remember it if you were asleep?” Boblem reasoned.

“That’s true,” Astra nodded.

“No, no,” Iymril hiccuped. “I wasn’t asleep.”

“You were unconscious because they beat the hell out of you.”

“No, I rested afterwards… because I expended all my energy.”

“Because you were drunk.”

“...and… because I was drunk.”

Astra eyed the drow. “I hope you enjoy the party.”

“Yes.”

“Great.”

“My parties are always wonderful.”

Astra shook his head. “Oh, you’ve got no clue where you are, do you?”

Iymril tried his best to focus his hazy eyes on the bard. “You’re very… green.”

“Yes. You’re purple.”

They put a hand up next to Astra’s face, comparing. “That’s funny,” Iymril giggled.

Sariel reached for a glass of water from a tray. “Here, have some more wine.”

“Thank you dear,” they took it, taking a sip and examining her red dress. “You’re making quite the statement tonight, you know. All eyes are on you.”

“That’s how I like it.”

Iymril chuckled a bit before they burped, quickly closing their mouth and swalllowing. “Sorry, a little bit came up.”

“Charming,” Vanden nodded.

“The wine’s nice. It’s all in the glass, you know. The shape of the glass, really has something to do with it.”

“A real connoisseur,” Sariel replied. “Aren’t you?”

“I am, I am.”

Cassian and Elyse spun on the dance floor, looking over to Iymril and shaking their heads at each other. Ardusine was in a corner, resigned. Bowyer was nowhere to be seen. Iyreia giggled at her sibling.

Vanden turned to the two drow. “Would either of you two like to dance?”

“I’d love to,” Iyreia accepted.

“No, I think I’ve had enough,” Iymril followed.

Vande raised a brow at them. “I think you’ve had enough too.”

“I need to go embarrass the Kranwells,” Iymril announced. “There's only one dynasty in this city. They’re not as rich as we are.”

“Who are the Kranwells?” Sariel asked.

With a wobbly hand, he pointed off. “Those three.”

“What do they do?”

“Pout.”

“Professionally,” Sariel clarified.

Iymril considered. “Yeah, they’re pretty good at it.”

Sariel turned away from him, posing the question to Iyreia instead.

“They um… liquor? Spirits? Something of the sort,” she shrugged. “I’m not sure, but the three of them are in line to inherit quite the fortune. Their parents were magnates as well. But I’m sure they didn’t work hard.”

Ardusine smiled at her in the corner. “Don’t worry, you’ve worked for what you got. I know. You’ll take the reins when you’re ready.”

“We grew up in the same circles as them,” Iyreia explained. “The three of us, three of them.” The group nodded. They knew there was a third Zauviir sibling somewhere from the paintings in their manor. “There was always some sense of rivalry growing up, but nowadays they’re no fun, they don’t keep with that. They keep themselves to themselves.”

“What changed?” Boblem asked.

She shrugged. “Hells if I know. I don’t care, Iymril’s the one with the grudge.”

“Why, did they best you in a fight as well?” Sariel asked, turning to the other sibling.

“No one’s ever best… No one…” Iymril mumbled a bit before slapping himself, sobering a bit. “No. They didn’t. I wouldn’t stoop so low as to brawl in the streets.”

Astra stifled a laugh.

“Of course not,” Vanden agreed.

“Of course not,” Sariel echoed.

Boblem nodded. “That’s why you didn’t fight at all last time.”

“Yes, exactly!” Iymril agreed, latching on to the defense. “I abstained! Violence is never the answer, you understand.” 

The tiefling smiled. “Exactly!”

“Thank you, Astra. I’m glad  _ somebody _ sees sense.”

Iymril glared over to the Kranwells on the other side of the ballroom. They weren’t looking back, the three of them clustered together and talking with each other.

“Looks like you’re spending more energy on them than they’re spending on you,” Astra observed.

“You don’t know that,” Iymril countered. “They might… they might be thinking about us. Diamonds don't go out of fashion, anyhow. I need something more to drink,” they pushed off, looking for an attendant.

Iyreia rolled her eyes. “Father, must I?”

Ardusine looked over to her. “Your inheritance depends solely on how well you can keep them in line tonight.”

She frowned. “Fine. But I’m going to dance first.”

Vanden took her to the dance floor.

  
  


Cassian spun around with his own partner. “So Elyse. Tiny focus.”

“Ah, you noticed?” she grinned.

“It’s hard not to.”

“Yeah, it’s weird. I knew I couldn’t put it in the bag, you know how some magic items don’t mesh well...”

“Yes.”

“And I was trying for ages to turn it invisible, and all sorts of things. And then it just happened!”

“Hm,” he looked to the focus around her neck. “Your magic is  _ very _ curious.”

“Thank you?”

“I do mean that as a compliment.”

Elyse gave a half nervous nod. “Okay, good. Some people don’t.”

“Eh, who cares what they think,” he shrugged. “It’s just… strange. Strange that you just…  _ want _ the magic to do it, and it does it.”

“It’s equally strange to me, believe me.”

“Hm. Very interesting. Not like anything I’ve studied before.”

“Really?”

“No.”

Elyse took a moment for the knowledge to sink in before pressing on. “What kind of magic have you studied?”

“Just the sort of stuff that I’ve learned.”

“Did you go to a college or anything? Or did you just…”

“No. I’m an elf, Elyse. I've got lots of years to learn things.”

“That’s true,” she admitted. “I dunno, I didn’t go to a college, I don’t know what other people do.”

“Well, you were born with yours, so. Guess you just picked it up.”

“To some extent. There were some people who taught me as well, but, I learned a lot on my own. Just, experimented, and found I could do things.”

“Sure. You do it well, but, as I've said before, be careful with yourself.”

“I know what I'm doing,” she grinned.

“Mhm.” He gave her an unconvinced look.

  
  


As Vanden danced with Iyreia, he asked what exactly her father had meant about her inheritance.

She rolled her eyes. “It’s just a little joke we have, but Iymril… they’re maybe not the most business minded. Father has spoken about maybe, me being in control of the company. The name, the title. When they retire. But they've said that's at the cost of keeping Iymril under control. Tonight, and for many more nights.”

“Ah. Your idiot,” Vanden grinned.

“Unfortunately. They mean well, but. They're just an idiot. I do love them dearly, but I don’t think they… they love their wine too much. It’s a shame, but, I wish not to talk of this right now.”

“Of course, sorry.”

“Your company has been very welcome these past few days.”

“Your invitation was very welcome. Much appreciated.”

She grinned, looking over the crowd. “People look good here, don’t they?”

“They do. Is it often you find yourself at this sort of thing?”

“Often enough. Maybe every few months. I've never been here before.”

“I get the impression Valentinian doesn’t host many of these.”

“No, he’s rather reserved. Frankly, I didn’t even know he had a ballroom. Put it to good use, I suppose. What’s it going to do otherwise? Gather dust?”

“Quite. And your thoughts on him as governor? I know your father's thoughts.”

She sighed, thinking. “I think… strong leadership is needed. I think… Lothmuir has spent a lot of time with Berit Zha. I think, well, frankly I think if Lothmuir were to win, Berit Zha would be… there, at his shoulder. Providing good leadership, guidance. Things wouldn’t have to change too much, you know?”

“And you think Valentinian will change things?”

“Yes. I think he’d change a lot of things.”

“For the worse?”

“No... but I think he will change things,” she replied. “I think a lot of people don’t like that. I don’t know enough to make an informed decision. I wish I did.”

He nodded. “Just another question, that may be completely off track, but, do you know anything about Ketz?”

“The animal? Apparently there’s been a large one seen around the city.”

“No, the city below us…” Vanden trailed off, registering her words. “A large cat seen around the city?”

“Ketz! Oh, oh. Um, yes, yes, large horrible cats, panthers…”

“Panthers around the city?” he pressed.

She grinned, rolling her eyes. “Well, okay, don’t believe every…”

“There is a lot going on here,” Vanden chuckled.

“Supposedly someone brought some up from the Underdark.”

“Oh?”

“Ties into Ketz, as you said. Apologies, I misheard.”

“That’s okay.”

“Ketz the town, no, I don’t know much. I mean, I know of people who come from Kehaguia, the Underdark, originally. But, truth be told, I was born above the surface. I’ve no desire to go back under.”

“Quite understandable, I’m just curious about it. I’ve never been to the area.”

She shrugged. “Apparently it’s a sight to see. I mean, you're so close to the continent below, it’d be a shame not to. I’ve gone. I’ve had a lot more time than you.”

“Yes.”

“Drow, dwarves, we have… an unhealthy history with the Underdark. We left for a reason. I don’t see myself wanting to spend much time going back in, even if just to Ketz. I know it's a border town, but. It doesn’t appeal to me. Not to stay there, at least. Might pass through one day. Why, what interests you?”

“Just curiosity,” he covered. “I mean, we’ve come all the way out here, the gates to down there are right at our disposal.”

“Go, see the people. They have forests down there which grow without sunlight. Apparently they’re incredible. The blue leaves, the bushes you saw out front of the manor here, they’re from down below, I believe.” She looked around. “Sometimes this place feels like it belongs down below. Very little sunlight here. Works for me, I don’t take well to it.”

“I’m sure. And Bronze Harbour?”

“Bronze Harbour. It’s the family home, a bit sunnier than here. I dont like that, but, that’s where trade is based out of. Unfortunately pirates are a problem as well, coastal city. But you know, you get to go through the Marlborough Salt Flats on you way there, and that’s sure something.”

“I’m sure it's a vision.”

“Miles and miles and miles of salt, as far as the eye can see.There are some charming little mining towns on the flats though, before you get to Bronze Harbour.”

Vanden raised a brow at her. “You seem absolutely charmed to get back there,” he joked.

“Ah, I’m in no rush to get back there, but. Business is business. Many of our clients, sales, invoice... It will be over there.”

“I understand. And anyone else you’d have us speak to here? You think we should?”

She surveyed the dance floor. “Those two girls are still looking at Boblem.”

“Well, Boblem’s quite a sight.”

“Boblem is a sight. He’s very tall, and very handsome.”

Vanden grinned to himself. “He’d dance with you too, if you asked.”

“I might do just that.”

The prince turned. “Boblem!”

Boblem’s head swiveled to find Vanden. “Yeah?”

“Come here, cut in for me.”

“What? Um, okay…”

Vanden passed Iyreia off to Boblem. She didn’t get as close to him as the twins, but she maintained eye contact as they danced. She was a good dancer, very graceful.

Vanden walked past the twins on his way to the bar. “You’ve got competition.”

Their faces dropped. Muttering to each other in an unknown language, they peeled off in opposite directions.

Vanden moved to get himself a drink, or several. Those who weren’t dancing convened once more, and they saw Yewell Lothmuir in conversation with a woman in her early forties. They were muttering under their breath.

Vanden moved further down the table as Cassian appeared to have a listen as well. There was too much going on for the wizard to hear, but Vanden could pick up a few bits.

The woman had tan skin and dark hair held up with crystal tipped pins, wearing a dark grey floor length dress that shimmered in the candlelight before shifting to a brighter silver. Her mask was of the same fabric material, lacquered and kept in form.

“Lothmuir, my dear, you look positively dreadful. What in Caldera could be the matter?”

“I, um, uh… Absolutely nothing, my Lady. I simply came to inform…”

“For the love of Erathis, speak  _ up, _ man.”

Lothmuir coughed, clearing his throat as he fiddled with his collar. “I came to… regretfully inform that, there have been some… unexpected delays. To the work she requested.”

“Lothmuir, my disappointment is immeasurable. I’ve teams of miners already on standby. What do you expect me to do? Send them away? Pay them to stand around and scratch their asses? While you fail to deliver me what you promised? I say, Yewell. This would not be a promising start to your term as governor,” she tutted. “Be sure that it gets sorted out.”

She pushed slightly on his chest, walking past him.

Vanden stared at Lothmuir’s back.

_ L. _

He leaned forward to reach something near the man, bumping his arm. “Apologies.”

The man glanced up in surprise, shaken from his thoughts. “Good.” He looked into his wine glass, swirling it around and gazing through the ballroom, desperately looking for someone as he bit his bottom lip. He had bags under his eyes, mask now completely gone, with no idea where it was.

“Having a good time?” Vanden prompted. 

“Yes. These events are always… you know,” he shrugged. “Fun. And you?”

“Of course. They’re always fun.”

He gave a strained smile that came out more as a grimace. “Some say it’s quite politically brave of me. To go to my competitions… soiree.”

“Hm,” Vanden nodded. “But you know, you need to be bold, to be governor.”

“I do, I do.”

Cassian slid his way into the conversation. “A man has to make decisions if he wants to be in charge.”

“He does, he does. I assume I can count on both your votes, sirs?”

“Well, you could pitch yourself to me,” Vanden replied.

“Well. I promise, strong leadership. I promise a wealth of experience, support from the higher tiers. I have the ear of the governor, and the ear of the family Veranhya,” he made a mark on his forehead in salute. “I can get things done. I know people in the right places.”

“So you’re mostly well acquainted with the current powers that be,” Cassian summarized.

“Very much so. Very much so. Spent a lot of time at Zha’s right hand, I would say. Learned his ways. Shadebourne is strong, Shadebourne is prosperous. If we want to keep it that way, I’m the man for the job.”

“What do you make of all these companies leaving the city?” Vanden pressed. “Not doing much for your economy.”

“It’s absolutely not. We’ll bring new people in.”

“From where?” the wizard probed.

“We’ll call further in the field, wherever needs be. Remove some of the… barriers to entry. Have people who can really afford to live in this city, you know? Don’t bring it down. Spend money in the city, money goes around, find itself in the right places. Clean up the streets, you know? Get the filth out.”

Cassian took in the words. “So as opposed to abolishing the lower tiers, you would simply… make them richer, so those who can’t afford to stay there would be forced to leave.”

Lothmuir thought. “That’s a good way of putting it.”

“Interesting choice of tactics.”

“There are people who deserve a spot in this city, and deserve to reap the benefits of what we sow. And there are people who don’t. There are people who make… contributions. And there are people who don’t. I’m not so blind as to pretend that there isn’t.”

Cassian gave a slow nod. “Yes…”

“And I suspect most of the people here aren’t. Valentinian can harp on with his spiel about how… the lower tiers can’t help themselves. You know what? I think they won’t. I think they’re too accustomed to having everything handed out to them.” His mouth twitched in a smirk. “I think we need to stop picking them up, and…” he flicked his hand.

“Money is its own kind of power...” Cassian mumbled, staring at the man in thought. “It’s like a blood that flows through the city.”

“Exactly.”

“Forgive me, don’t think of this as a handout, but as a gift. From a like minded individual.” He passed over a bracelet.

Lothmuir took it, pulling it over a clammy yellow hand with browned fingernails. “I appreciate that. As I was saying, Valentinian harps on about how he’s going to help these people, and how they deserve it more than anyone else, but,” he waved a hand at the ballroom, “Look at this place, look at this opulence. He’s a hypocrite. What’s he done? What’s he done, really?”

“Surely just the delusions of an old man.”

“Precisely,” he glowered over to Haitius.

“Speaking of helping the people down there…” Vanden began.

“Aye.”

The prince gave him a strong side eye. “What’s your take on the murders?”

“Unfortunate, I suppose. But, the garbage will take itself out.”

Vanden stared at him. He didn’t seem to know anything more, and his expression didn’t change. He really just didn’t give a shit. “Fair enough,” Vanden nodded, clearing his throat. “And that wonderful woman you were standing with before?”

“Manolin. Ansika Manolin. She um, she’s influential. She’s someone who… I have her ear. Owes me favours. You vote for me, you’re voting for the power, the influence, of people like Manolin. Of people in this room, get things done around this city.”

“A more united Shadebourne,” Cassian murmured.

“Exactly. People who pull themselves up by their bootstraps, and really drive things forward.”

“Who worked for what they got.”

“Exactly, exactly.”

Vanden’s lips twitched, and he turned away. “Charming speaking with you.”

“Pleasure. I hope I can count on your support.”

Cassian stared back at him. “I’m sure you’ll be hearing from us soon.”

Lothmuir tapped him on the shoulder, and the wizard did his best not to flinch as the councilor moved past. Cassian zoomed away with Vanden, reconvening with the others, who had been watching nearby.

“He seemed charming,” Elyse grinned.

“That didn’t feel as good as I thought it would,” Cassian frowned.

Sariel looked up at the wizard. “What did he say?”

“Disgusting man.”

“L.” Vanden declared.

Cassian looked over to the prince in surprise. “You think he’s the L?”

The rest of the group repeated the letter in a chorus of confused L’s.

“I’m sorry, we picked up all the contracts out of,” Vanden lowered his voice, “Out of the Weeping Eye barracks.”

Boblem looked around, trying to make sure nobody was listening. There were a few attendants within earshot. One looked like they were very directly staring away from them with wide eyes.

“I think we should talk about this later, somewhere else,” Elyse urged.

Vanden looked around, clearing his throat.

“We could go to the balcony?” Boblem offered.

“Eyes and ears everywhere, Boblem,” Elyse warned.

To be fair, it was a lot more secluded out there. If they whispered, nobody would hear.

“I could play some music to distract,” Astra offered.

Cassian shook his head. “Or it would draw more attention.”

“Well there’s no music playing right now…”

“We could play music a little bit away from us,” Elyse grinned.

“Exactly.”

Vanden brushed them off. “Nevermind, we can talk about this later.”

“Yes,” Cassian agreed.

“Save it for the barracks,” Sariel followed.

Vanden watched the eavesdropper. It was a human, young man, maybe 18 or 19, clean shaven with slicked back hair looking tidy. They returned to their task of serving drinks around.

“That man,” Cassian continued, “Was rather unpleasant.”

“I’m sure he was,” Elyse sighed.

“Sorry,” Vanden shook his head. “We should continue with the evening.”

“You okay?”

“Mm.”

“Should we try and talk to the councilors?” Boblem offered. “See if we can change their mind?”

“Well, that was one of them,” Vanden frowned.

“”The unpleasant man?”

“Yes.”

“I take it there was no changing his mind,” Sariel followed.

Vanden tapped his fingers on the table. “I don’t think he has much of a mind.”

“No,” Cassian agreed. “And he seems to have the favor of everyone else, because he’ll just do the same as the current governor.”

“Like a puppet?” Boblem asked.

“Like a puppet.”

“That’s exactly what he is,” Vanden grumbled.

“And he’ll just keep things the way they want them,” Elyse groaned. “Right?”

“Mm.”

“Clear out everyone from the lower tiers,” Cassian added.

“Well,” Elyse sighed, “I did hear some people saying they feel like Valentinian is promising, but…”

“He won’t get their votes,” Vanden interjected. “He’s not with the money. If they even bother voting at all.”

“That’s the thing, isn’t it… And also, you never know. He might say one thing, and then do another. That’s why there’s graces here, right?”

“That one guest earlier…” Sariel recalled. “Why should it affect me? Why should I vote?”

“Oh gosh…” Boblem shook his head.

  
  


Cassian glanced across the room. The Duchess was back, looking a bit flustered. She was schmoozing with the man who had been talking with her before, and one of his lackies.

Vanden walked right over to them. “Evening.”

Barin looked over in suprise. “Greetings…”

“Hello,” the Duchess smiled as the group appeared, giving introductions. “Pleasure to meet you all. So nice to have you here.”

“Nice to be here,” Vanden nodded.

Barin looked a bit indignant. “So nice of you to join our conversation so… unexpectedly.”

“Seems to be the way here,” Astra covered, smiling.

“Yes, I suppose so. How are you finding the event?”

“Beautiful,” Cassian nodded.

“Charming,” Vanden offered.

“It really is, isn’t it,” he agreed.

“Yes,” the Duchess smiled. “It’s quite something.”

“You enjoying it?” Boblem asked.

“Of course. I’ve had quite my fill this evening.”

“Do you come to many parties here in Shadebourne?” Sariel pressed.

“The occasion. I’m not here all too often. My husband has business. He has decided not to grace us with his presence, for which I can only apologize.”

“Where might you be from? If you're not from Shadebourne.”

“Riven.’

“Well,” Vanden glanced to Astra, “Lovely city.”

“You’re familiar?” she asked.

“I have cousins there.”

“Ah, how wonderful. The architecture is really something. And the weather is much nicer.”

“A bit more sunshine.”

“Exactly, exactly. You should visit sometime. See the city for yourself.”

Sariel linked her arm around Vanden’s again.

“Apologies,” Boblem offered, “Who is your husband?”

“Duke Ginelon. Arda Ginelon.”

“Okay.”

Vanden didn’t recognize the name.

“And what business does he have, exactly?” Cassian probed. “That he can’t be here tonight?”

She tapped her fingers on the side of the glass, long nails clinking against it. “To tell you the truth, I don’t know. He said he would meet me here, and he’s not shown up.”

“How rude…”

“Fortunately, I have found very pleasant company here, elsewhere.”

Baride smiled, puffing up his chest. She gave him a withering smile before looking out through the ballroom. Cassian followed the track of her eyes to the other woman from before, who was stifling a laugh. Baride was none the wiser.

“There are a lot of faces I don’t recognize,” she continued. “The six of you, to start.”

“Well a lot of them are masked, to be fair,” Elyse grinned.

She laughed. “You make a good point. A lot of names and voices I don’t recognize,” she amended.

“We’re here with the Zauviirs,” Vanden offered.

“Ah, now that is a name I recognize. They are nice folks.”

“They are.”

“Yes,” Barin nodded, interjecting. “I’ve done business with the Zauviirs before.”

The Duchess turned her eyes on him. “Is that so, Baride?”

“Yes, I’m quite the merchant in some circles,” he boasted.

“Right, well the question wasn’t really aimed at you, was it,” Cassian grinned at the man.

“N- no, well, no, but I just thought I’d, you know, relate it…”

“You know, why don’t you go get your lady friend here a drink?”

Baride blinked. “I… I was just going to suggest that.”

“Of course.”

Baride glared at him as Ginelon cracked a smile.

“Please,” she agreed. “I believe there is something in the cellar. That the kitchen staff have on hold? Thank you…” He left, on a mission. “My ladies, gentlemen,” she turned to the others, “Thank you. That’s not the first time that little maggot has tried to crawl onto me tonight. I’m sure it shan’t be the last.”

“You looked like you needed saving,” Vanden teased.

“I’m no damsel in distress, but, it was appreciated.”

“Might want to go get lost in the crowd,” Cassian advised. “Before he finds his way back to you.”

“That’s a good idea. I see some familiar faces. Thank you for your time.”

Cassian passed her a necklace.

“It is very beautiful,” she smiled.

“Remember you have new friends tonight,” he replied.

She put it away, tucking it up a pocket in her sleeve before retreating into the crowd. Two of the Kranwell siblings stepped around her. The male, with the cane, walked through to take a position about fifteen feet from the group. The third and final dance would take up soon, in about ten minutes.

“Well, she seemed charming,” Vanden considered.

Cassian followed her with his eyes. “Yes… I suppose tonight is starting to come to an end.” They had been there for about three hours so far. Now, it was about 10:20pm. The formal dances would end soon, but the party would continue for several more hours.

“Well I definitely want to join in on this last dance,” Astra smiled.

“Yeah, why not,” Elyse shrugged. “If it’s the last one.”

“We should,” Vanden approved.

A number of attendants looked like they were setting something out on the South Terrace, but they couldn’t make out what.

Sariel looked over to the prince. “Vanden, will you dance with me?”

“Of course,” he agreed.

Cassian and Astra spoke each other's names at the same time.

The bard grinned. “Then it’s agreed.”

Boblem held out a hand. “Elyse?”

“Of course,” she smiled.

“Let’s go.”

They danced, taking to the music once more. Pretty much everyone joined in on the final dance. The few who didn’t included Stormcaller Lamellot, keeping to herself, the elf in the long white dress with blonde hair, making conversation with the attendants, and the Kranwells, rotating between each other. One went off to talk with other guests, the other two mostly sticking together.

  
  


A half hour of dancing went by.

Vanden watched his partner. “Sariel, are you okay?”

“I don’t know. Heard a name that I didn’t expect to hear.”

“Anything we can do?

“I’m not sure. I don’t know how she’s connected.”

“Hm. Okay, we can talk about it later if you want.”

“Alright. Thank you.”

“Try to enjoy the rest of the evening. I know this isn’t your thing.”

“I know this isn’t your thing either,” she replied.

“Nope. Just a few more hours to get through…”

“Are you doing alright?”

“I’m… I’m okay. The mask is comforting,” he admitted. “I feel like we should speak to everyone, but I don't know if that’s just trained into me at this point.”

“No, I think it would be a good idea. Gather what we’ve learned.”

“Right. So much I want to talk about. I’m not used to, anymore, not being able to talk with you five openly.”

“The sooner we can get back to our barracks, the better,” she agreed.

“Yes. Let’s hope the night passes… uneventfully, from here on out.”

Astra danced with Cassian, having a jolly time. The wizard glanced over to Vanden and Sariel a few times.

Elyse grinned at Boblem. “You’ve got a lot of interest tonight, I saw.”

“I… don’t know what’s going on,” he stammered. “Very confused.”

“What’s there to be confused about?”

“They’re looking at me!”

“Yeah?”

“Why?”

“Because you’re good looking, and tall, and nice,” Elyse teased. “And they want to dance with you!”

Boblem grew more and more red in the face. “Oh… Oh.”

“Did you not…?”

“I dunno. Maybe they wanted to know some secrets, and I don’t really have secrets to share.”

Elyse lowered her voice with a conspiratorial grin. “The secret of your travelling farm. They want it, Boblem.”

“She did ask about it… I dunno what’s secret about it, it just does what it does.”

The sorcerer laughed.

“You enjoying yourself?” he asked.

“Strangely, yes. I didn’t think I would, but.”

“Yeah, thought you’d appreciate the fight earlier.”

“It was very funny,” she grinned.

“I’m surprised it wasn’t you taking him up on his offer to duel.”

“Sword fighting duels aren’t really my thing, but you know. I probably could have bested _ him." _

“You could have taken him, even without the sword. I think the floor could have taken him on its own.”

She chuckled. “Just a good wax sheen on it is enough. But yeah, it’s been a good night.”

“I’m having fun,” Boblem smiled.

“I’m glad.”

The dance finished, and they all convened once more. More food was brought out, and as was traditional with dwarven meals and customs, the main courses were racks of pig and trays of vegetables, brought out with cakes and sweets for desserts around the sides. People began replenishing their energy at the side of the ballroom.

Vanden looked for the white haired elf who bumped into them earlier, but he didn’t see her around. The crowd had thinned out a bit after the final dance, though most of the attendees had stayed for the food. Many people were out on the South Terrace, but he couldn’t find that woman anywhere. Elyse didn’t see Lamellot anymore, either.

  
  


They could now see what was being set up a bit clearer. It was almost like a stage, barriered off by velvet ropes. Lady Ashani was out on the terrace, watching the construction with an eager eye.

Boblem pointed over. “I believe that’s one of the councilors as well.”

“Oh, well we haven't spoken…” Vanden considered.

“Yeah.”

“Well, we should. And I could do with some air.”

Elyse grabbed another drink, a bit disappointed that the full bottles were out of reach, held behind the bar to be individually poured. “Let’s go.”

They moved to the terrace, Sariel taking note of the stage as they headed out. “Maybe if they’re going to do speeches, or something.”

“Maybe,” Vanden replied. It was a rectangular stage, with two large bowls on either side. One was longer and wider, the other smaller, like a braiser. They were twenty feet apart. “We should find out.”

As they approached Ashani, the two lizardfolk guards closed ranks in front of her. She sighed, “Gentlemen, gentlemen. Enough with this. You don’t need it.”

The lizardfolk glanced back at her before opening ranks.

“Good evening,” she greeted.

“Evening,” Cassian replied.

Astra smiled. “Hello.”

“Hello,” echoed Boblem.

She nodded at them all. “Pleasure.”

Elyse greeted her with a “Good evening” in Dwarven.

Ashani responded back in kind, taking off her war mask and putting it down to reveal a refined, stern face. “Enjoying the nights’ festivities?”

“Pleasantly so,” Cassian replied.

“It’s been… good,” Vanden followed.

“Quite interesting,” Astra smiled.

She nodded. “I’m glad you think so.”

A fair few people had dropped their masks by now. Astra and Vanden dropped theirs, while Elyse wiped the sweat under her face.

“Why on earth Haitius thought a masked ball was a good idea,” Ashani shook her head, “No idea.”

“Especially announcing everyone on the way in,” Vanden agreed.

“I know. It’s silly, don’t you think?”

“I think it made everyone look mysterious and interesting,” Astra countered.

“Well, I guess so.”

“Aesthetic choice,” Cassian nodded.

The woman kept her eyes on Astra. “Is this your first masquerade, sir?”

“It is, yes,” he replied.

“Then I can see why you’d think that. I’m glad.”

Sariel looked over the woman. “Are there any other of Valentinian’s… values, that you disagree with?”

She blinked. “Oh, well. That’s right to the point, isn’t it?”

“I do like to get right to the point. The night’s winding down, after all.”

“I’ve got to tell you…” Ashani looked over Sariel’s dress. “You strike quite the figure.”

“I like to leave a lasting memory.”

“He’s um, how do I say this… Young blood. I think with time, he’ll… he could make a good governor. But, is the time right now? I don’t know. I think he needs to fail a few times, as we all do, before we can really succeed.”

“Do you like the other candidate then?” Boblem asked.

“Well, there’s a few…” she listed off a couple of the candidates. “I can’t say I’m particularly fond of Lothmuir. His nose is so far up Berit’s ass I- ” she stopped herself. “No, I promised I wouldn’t speak out of turn.”

“He does seem a bit like a puppet to me.”

Ashani looked at the boy in surprises. “Well, we’re certainly not mincing any words sir.”

“We’re very open here,” Elyse covered.

“Oh, sorry,” Boblem retreated. “Maybe I shouldn’t…”

“No, no,” she waved off the concern. “Please.”

“What are your policies, then?” Sariel pressed.

“Well, I’m Overseer General. I’m not running for election this year, but I’ll be keeping my position as councilor. My interests lie in defense of the city, that’s generally what I oversee. As long as we continue to get our budget, if we can put more guards on streets…”

“Well, Valentinian said that was exactly what he wanted to do,” Elyse reasoned.

“It is, it is. And, that’s something… one of his things that appeals to what I wish to see done. But there are other people who have other ideas, other missives. I’d be remiss to speak too openly about them, without them here. My mind is in a few places, on who to vote for. Frankly, I’m getting tired of politics. I hate to see people arguing, going this way or that way…”

“It is exhausting,” Vanden agreed. “Well, let’s change the conversation from politics then. Any idea what this is?” he gestured to the stage.

“There’s going to be a fight, I believe. A spectacle, for our entertainment.”

“Who’s fighting?” Boblem asked.

Elyse grinned. “Like a duel?”

“Like the one earlier?”

“I suppose so,” Ashani reflected.

Cassian tilted his head. “Some sort of staged fight?”

“Staged, no,” Ashani laughed. “I believe these creatures are really going to have it out with each other.”

“Creatures?” a few of them echoed back, horrified.

“Mhm, it’ll be fantastic. So no, not like earlier, I suppose.”

“What kind of creatures?” Elyse pushed.

“Raw elemental energy.”

“What?” Boblem gasped.

“Mhm. Bound spirits of water and flame are to fight,” she grinned.

“Why?”

“Why not?”

“Entertainment,” Sariel realized.

“Exactly. Water and flame are common enemies, it’s bound to be something.”

“Well, that sure is extravagant.”

She puffed her chest a bit. “It was actually my request.”

“Interesting,” Vanden nodded, looking away.

“Haitius wasn’t too pleased, but… this isn’t about Haitius.”

Astra and Sariel responded in tandem, the former with much less ability to mask their feelings. “What is it about?”

“You said it yourself,” she shrugged. “Entertainment. People come here to be entertained. Haitius wants to grease the right wheels, he has to make a lasting memory for people. Stupid little sod thought wine and pork was enough,” she laughed. “I told him you need to put on a show. This whole thing’s a show, okay? You can tell that to him, if you get the chance.”

Vanden eyed the stage. “And who is… regulating… it?”

“Well I’m certainly not going to be getting in the way of it. As far as regulation and such, this isn’t a conventional bout.”

“And if they grow angry and turn on the party guests?” Cassian warned.

“There are mages within our ranks who will be curtailing them,” she shrugged.

“Interesting.”

The rest of them looked to the bowl and braiser. The bowl was slightly reminiscent of what they had seen the Eyes of Sanskra use, ringing it and hitting it with something before conjuring a water elemental. This bowl looked a lot bigger, almost the size of a tub.

Lined up against the back wall of the balcony were dozens and dozens of what looked like wooden tubes, pointed outwards fanned out, kept separate from the stage. They were packed full of something, and barriered off. They smelled slightly familiar to Vanden, reminding him of his time at sea.

“Excuse me,” Vanden escaped back inside.

Cassian followed him, waiting until they were out of earshot to speak. “Doesn’t seem like the most pleasant end to the evening, does it?”

“No, I don’t like it. Sorry, I shouldn’t walk away, I- ” he stopped, clearing his throat. “I shouldn’t have walked away like that.”

“Hm. Sometimes you need to.”

Vanden fidgeted with his outfit, breathing deeply. “It’s just making me uncomfortable.”

“I can see why,” Cassian frowned.

“I’m fine, I probably just need a moment.”

“Seems a bit… Well, goes without saying, seems a bit cruel to summon spirits just to make them fight.”

Vanden was looking pretty pale. He recognized the smell outside. Gunpowder.

“This is stupid of them.”

“Probably,” Cassian agreed. “I mean, if they turn around and kill somebody, it’s their own damn fault.”

Vanden took another deep breath. “Unlace me?”

Cassian blinked for a moment, looking at the corset. “Alright, put your hands against the wall.”

“N-, no?” Vanden gave him a scandalized look. “Just… undo it!”

Cassian sighed, rubbing his face. “Okay…”

“It’s too tight!”

_ "Okay." _ The tailor deftly undid the intricate knots he had made earlier. “Should I tie it back off, or do you want it off?”

“Off.”

Cassian helped him out of it.

Vanden let out a grateful sigh. “Better… Better.”

  
  


Astra appeared, following them in from the outside, looking angry. Everyone was chatting excitedly, moving around and mingling. They saw Haitius and Laurel at the top of the steps, looking over it all. Haituis seemed fairly tired, but Laurel wore a big smile, waving to the people.

Astra made his way towards Haitius, walking up the steps.

“Ah, my tall green friend,” the dwarf nodded.

“Hello again.”

“How are you doing?”

“I was doing alright.”

“Oh? Until?”

“Well, for someone with a lot of empathy like yourself,” Astra replied, “The fact that you’ve agreed to have two creatures fight outside doesn’t quite line up.”

The dwarf sighed. “I’ve not fully… agreed to it. But, unfortunately, there are people who have powers above mine. That’s,” he gestured over to the woman outside, “That’s the Overseer General. Second only to the Governor. I am not going to… get in her way. Besides, they’re not creatures. It’s flame and water, they don’t feel.”

“How do you know?”

“That’s what she told me.”

“And if she told you the sky is green?”

Haituis frowned. “There’s no need for that tone.”

“Sorry.”

He sighed again. “No, I’m not comfortable with it.”

“And what if it turns on the crowd? Who’s fault is that going to be?”

“There are people here to curb those things, should they get aggressive. People will be far enough away. It’s a show, nothing more. They’re bound.”

“They’re what?”

“I don’t know how it works, I’m not a mage. I don’t understand any of this.”

“You’ll be safe, don’t worry,” Laurel piped up.

“Not my safety I’m worried about,” Astra countered.

“Everyone here will be safe. It’s just a show. Frankly, I’m more worried about those blasted things they’ll be shooting up at the sky. That’s what scares me.”

“What things?”

He pointed out. “See those tubes? Racked up, arrayed?”

“Mhm.”

“Technology they’ve drawn from cannons and firearms. Shoot up into the skies, and rain down lights. Supposedly it's going to be beautiful, a real spectacle to end the night on. But um, I don’t like it…”

“No.”

“I’ve seen far too much of warfare to see it as a spectacle.”

“Seems like you’ve allowed a lot of danger into your home,” Astra observed.

Laurel shrugged. “Sometimes you have to allow danger in, to get anywhere. Some people call it stupidity…”

“I didn’t say that,” Valentinian chided.

“No, you didn’t need to,” his husband countered.

Astra looked to the dwarf. “I would agree.”

“Aye,” Haitius nodded. “I’ll be… sticking back here. Watching from afar. I can see you’re not comfortable. Neither am I. Sometimes we have to let… people get what they want. In order to get what we want. I’d rather see two things fight if it's the first step on the path to a better place. Hells, I’d rather watch a thousand spirits perish before I see more people in this city starve. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Astra looked away. “...I agree your heart’s in the right place, wanting to help people. Just dont think why anything else should suffer for it.”

“No, you’re right. In an ideal world… this isn't an ideal world. This is Shadebourne,” he gave a sad smile.

“Come on, love,” Laurel offered an arm.

“Aye.”

“We’ll be taking our leave.”

“Thank you for the evening,” Astra nodded.

“Enjoy the night. You needn’t stay and watch the spectacle, some people have gone home already. Those three look like they’re gearing up to go anyhow,” he looked over to the Kranwells, sulking in a corner. The pair headed down the stairs and into the crowd.

  
  


Cassian stood by Vanden as the others gathered, looking across the room. “Well I suppose the only people we haven’t spoken to yet are the Kranwells that… seem to be scowling over everything at the moment.”

“Our host’s sworn enemies,” Boblem nodded.

“So perhaps,” Cassian posed, “We should get to know why.”

“Yeah,” Elyse grinned.

They walked over. The taller one of the three had mingled her way into the crowd, making pleasantries with everyone. She was strikingly beautiful, with roots of elvish and dwarven heritage. Though mostly human, it was obvious the family lineage went way back. The two twins were looking over everything, the man with a glass of red wine in hand. He wore a black tunic and a dark grey side cape with white fur trim. She had a matching fur wrap around her shoulders, and light grey dress, fading to purple around her ankles. They both wore grey half masks of ivory, embellished with dark purple stones.

“There’s a lot of people here I don't recognize,” the woman spoke.

“You’re right,” the man rasped. “These events usually tend to draw the same crowd. I’m surprised to see so many new faces.”

“Are you doing well? You look pained. I’m not sure if that’s just your face being what it is.”

He gave a low chuckle. “You’re quite the jester. I’ll get through. The wine helps. This piss poor food doesn’t, though. I’ve half a mind to head to the kitchens and find a rack of some real meat.”

“You can’t be serious. For one, Belladonna would lose her mind if you abscond. You know how important she thinks this is. Secondly, what are you going to do when the kitchen boy finds you tearing into the beef like some animal?”

The man was silent, staring at her.

“Don’t even think about it,” she concluded. “This isn’t the time or place to make a mess.”

Giving him a look, she stalked off. The man looked around before making a beeline through the crowd, heading for the doors where the staff brought out the food.

“They seem charming,” Vanden glanced at the others.

Cassian watched the man go. “You’re right.”

A short while passed, and the older sister emerged, frowning. The younger one glanced around, realizing the situation.

The older sister, tall and beautiful with high cheekbones and dark hair falling in waves down to her shoulders, radiated confidence and calm pride. She wore an ivory floor length sleeveless dress, and a thin black lace mask that could easily be seen through. “Maculata, you were supposed to keep him under control. Where in the nine hells is he?”

The younger sister rolled her eyes. “He’s fine. He was on the terrace, but I can’t see him now. He must have snuck off to the kitchens. Said he can't be dealing with this pretentious trite that they're calling food.”

The older one took a deep breath. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Stars above, we’re supposed to present a good showing to the people here. A cohesive unit ready to lead the most important families in Shadebourne. How are we supposed to do that if one third of us are not present? Or even worse, scoffing extras like a pig in front of kitchen staff?”

“Fine! I’ll find him. I’ll track him back. But you know he won’t be happy. If he lashes out, it’s on you.”

“You best see to it that he doesn’t. Or he won’t have to be the one you live in fear of.  _ Go." _

The younger one put her drink down next to where her brother had stored his, stalking off.

“Should we go help her?” Boblem whispered.

Vanden grinned. “What, track down that wretch who wants to stuff his face in the kitchens?”

“No,” Cassian agreed. “Clearly we talk to the older, confident one.”

“He wants to get himself into a mess, that’s not our problem.”

“Okay…” Boblem frowned, unconvinced. “He just seemed off.”

“I agree,” Sariel worried.

Boblem gulped. The man had been walking away with determination, using a cane as he limped. “He was limping…”

Elyse looked at the boy. “You don’t think…”

Vanden turned.  _ "Oh." _

“And the way he was speaking seemed odd,” Boblem continued. “And how hungry he seemed.”

“I agree,” Sariel nodded.

“That’s all things we’ve heard about before,” Elyse worried. “Let’s go.”

“Can we go subtly somehow, though?”

“I’m sure there are ways.”

Under the stairs, there were doors on either side that presumably led to the kitchens. As they conferred, an attendant came up to them. “Um, Lords, Ladies, um, sir… Vanden?” the attendant looked at the prince. “Of… house of Argentfort?”

Vanden lifted his head from the huddle. “Yes?”

“Um, I have a message for you. You have allies in Shadebourne, my Lord. My Lady Hala Brightspear has news for you. Meet her on the East Balcony Terrace. Um, all of you, to be there.”

“Thank you…” Vanden gave the attendant a wary eye.

“That’s okay.”

Astra looked around to the others. “Is that now, or?”

“I believe so.”

Sariel looked up at the prince. “Do you know who that is?”

Vanden shook his head. “I've never heard the name before in my life.”

Sariel thought back. She recalled the name from the announcements, the elf woman in the white dress with long blonde hair, golden bracelets down her arm.

“I can escort you,” the attendant offered.

Vanden nodded. “I think… I think we should do that first. I think we should.”

Elyse glanced at the doors to the kitchens. “I guess…”

“We can always go back to that,” Sariel agreed.

Boblem nodded. “At least we know Kranwell as the name.”

“We don’t know anything for sure though,” Astra countered.

“No, but, just to keep an eye out.”

Cassian readied himself to leave. “Right.”

“RIght, let’s go,” Sariel replied.

  
  


The attendant led them off. It was a man in his late thirties, whereas most of the other attendants were fairly young. He led the group up onto the balcony, through the door they had first entered through. Looking up and down the hall, he opened a door, bringing them through the house. The group walked through more carpeted floors, their footsteps sinking into the silence. The attendant led them on, walking past beautiful rooms with gorgeous, lavish interiors. After a few minutes they came out on a different side of the house, up to the East Terrace. They walked through double doors onto the balcony, the view looking out to the tiers of the city far below.

They saw the lady, Hala Brightspear, stand up from her bench. She had a mixture of relief and concern on her face as she saw them enter. There was a small scroll in her left hand, and by her side, a well dressed dwarven bodyguard.

She took a half step forward before stopping herself. “My Lords, my Ladies. I’m so glad you came.” She looked to Vanden. “I have worrying news of your brother.”

She held out the scroll in a trembling hand.

Vanden walked up to her. He took it, heart pounding as he unfurled the scroll. He looked down to see what was clearly a scrap piece of paper, with nothing legible on it. He looked back up, confused, only to see the glamour drop from the form of Hala Brightspear as he felt a punch in his gut.

The rest of the group heard the double doors slam shut behind them, multiple figures ambushing from behind. A large, feline shape twisted itself out of the shadows.

As the glamour dropped from Hala Brightspear, and they saw a face they had met before in Sanskra. Verran Greywood, the second in command to Lady Turquoid.

Two thin, golden blades protruded out of Vanden’s back.

Vanden’s body went limp.

It was a killing blow.

There was a blur of gold, and Verran spun with the prince’s body, launching his unresponsive form over the terrace balcony.

Cassian whirled on the others. “Boblem, bag!” he ordered. But the druid boy only screamed in surprise and terror.

The gold bracelets on Verran’s hand conjoined to form two blades, extending from her middle and index finger, softly dripping blood. The rest of the guards circled them, the Displacer Beast slinking in and out of view.

Verran stalked towards them, heels clicking on the terrace. The dress was gone, revealing her dark, banded leather armour.

_ Click, click, click, click. _

Light grew and swelled in the sky behind Verran, lighting up the darkness beyond her. Something bright streaked upwards into the sky, a burning comet quickly ascending, growing in intense illumination before arcing down and crashing onto the terrace.

Vanden stood before them, his shirt shredded and soaked in blood. Two heavy, enormous, copper feathered wings unfurled from his shoulder blades. His eyes burned with a fierce golden light, a luminous glow surrounding him.


	37. Shattered Pieces, Episode Thirty-Four

In a split second, Boblem opened the Bag of Holding, throwing out the staffs, Cassian’s sword, and Astra’s musical focus. They were unprepared, none of them wearing armour, but they were not outgunned.

Verran turned, the color draining from her face, stunned to see Vanden land back in front of them.

Elyse immediately sprang to action, grabbing the focus around her neck. Taking advantage of Verran’s shock, she sent a bolt of lightning straight at the assassin. It hit, sparking off across her shoulder, and she screamed, clutching the wound.

From behind, Verran pulled out a hand crossbow. She pointed towards Elyse for a second before sizing up the group, and aiming it over to Astra.

The bolt shot out, catching him deep in the gut. The bard went down instantly, poison seeping in through his flesh as he barely clung to life.

Strangely, he felt a burning on his chest, underneath his clothes. The sigil of Melora ignited, searing his skin. With a burst of energy, Astra opened his eyes and wrenched the crossbow bolt two inches out, snapping it in his hands before dropping it to the ground.

In the shock of standing back up so quickly, as though it was a part of him, Astra wordlessly lifted his fingers. A flame soared up and around Verran. She screamed again, her skin smouldering and burning before the flame dissipated away.

Guards continued to come at them. Astra was barely standing.

The creature slunk out of the shadows. As they searched for it, it seemed to jump between two separate points, impossible to focus on. A tentacle reared back, slamming towards Sariel. The thud of it hit her before the teeth sunk in, tearing holes in the shoulder of her dress. It didn’t pierce too deep, but it was enough to hurt. Another tentacle lashed out to Elyse, biting into her.

Vanden watched the scene unfold as if trapped behind a window. His body moved completely beyond his control. He had watched himself soar up and over, landing on the decking with Verran before him, striding towards his friends. He watched Astra nearly fall, the shadowy feline aberration attacking Sariel and Elyse soon after.

He pulled the rapier from its sheath. The rest of them heard him speak, though his mouth wasn’t properly moving. It sounded like a strange, ethereal singing.

Sariel understood the language. It was Celestial.

She looked at him with wide eyes. “Vanden?”

Vanden heard her, but it sounded foggy, as if she was coming from somewhere else. He watched as his arm came up, slicing twice towards Verran. As his first blow went in, her gauntlet glove broke it away. Vanden watched himself throw the rapier into his other hand before driving it straight towards her, sinking in between her armour with a burst of holy white light. Her eyes were panicked, looking around wildly as the blade snaked out again.

Boblem stepped between Astra and Cassian, raising his staff to let out a thunderous boom. The tiles rippled in a wave, shattering as the visible wave of energy hit two guards. Both of their swords were thrown from their hands as the bannister behind them shattered. The goons were thrown off the terrace, screaming all the way down.

As the explosion shook the balcony, they heard more coming from above.

_ Boom! Boom! Boom! _

The sky lit up in greens and yellows and pinks and purples from around the south. Enormous bursts of light launched out from the house, illuminating the city below, washing the battle in light.

Sariel clung to the tentacle in her shoulder, but where she saw it wasn’t where she felt it. She forced out a spell, lighting up the beast. Where she expected the cat to be, it was not. The real body was now glowing, allowing them all to see through the projected illusion.

Sariel looked to Vanden in absolute disbelief. “Since when did you speak Celestial?” she asked, speaking the same language.

Vanden heard something foggy and distorted from her, but he couldn’t understand. When he tried to speak, he couldn’t control his mouth. He could feel himself saying something, chanting over and over.

_ “I am Vanden Adrienus Diederik Florian du Argentfort, Regent Prince of Mirrortail, Commodore of the Mirrortail Navy and the East Caldera Company, Margrave of the Glass Isle, Warden of the Eastern Shore. I am Vanden Adrienus Diederik Florian du Argentfort, Regent Prince of Mirrortail, Commodore of the Mirrortail Navy and the East Caldera Company, Margrave of the Glass Isle, Warden of the Eastern Shore. I am Vanden Adrienus Diederik Florian du Argentfort, Regent Prince of Mirrortail, Commodore of the Mirrortail Navy and the East Caldera Company, Margrave of the Glass Isle, Warden of the Eastern Shore.” _

Cassian pushed through Boblem and Astra to Verran. Looking her dead in the eye, all of his henna lit up. He traced his sword around, following the pattern to cast a sheen of ice around his body before activating the enchantment on his sword in one graceful motion.

Heavily ignoring Vanden in the corner of his vision, he charged up to her. “Have at it, then,” he avowed.

The people who were dressed as attendants had ripped off their jackets, revealing patches of armour underneath as they drew weapons and clubs. One ran towards Elyse, swinging a mace. She ducked, but on the backswing, he came towards her ribs. The guard swung down into what appeared as a shattering of glass as the sorceress quickly cast a shielding spell, absorbing the blow.

Another came at Vanden. He watched as he was thrown around, a heavy spiked mace slamming into his side, then his hips. His vision pulsed, beginning to darken and cloud.

Elyse flew over to the Displacer Beast. As the booms went off above, color washing over the battle, she added another blast to the cacophony of sound. Clapping a hand into her fist, more tiles were shattered as the sorceress was wreathed in light, reappearing on the other side of the balcony. The Displacer Beast stumbled, another guard reeling from the shock of the explosion.

Verran turned to answer the wizard’s challenge. “Fine then, you mangy cur. You’ll have it for what you did to her!”

Two long golden claws came off her glove, still dripping with Vanden’s blood. She readied her weapon, striking towards Cassian. The blades drove into the shimmery shape of water, his sword’s enchantment blurring him from view. Pulling out, she dove forward again. Flashing in and out at crazy speeds, Cassian used everything he had against her, dodging the blows.

Astra pulled himself away from the immediate danger, trying to keep an eye on the scene as it unfolded. Steadying himself, he bit into his finger once more with his sharp teeth, sending out his magic in an attempt to suppress Verran, the Displacer Beast, and another guard. Verran was able to resist the spell, but the other two targets were hit. Surging out a second spell, he sent a boost of strength towards Vanden and the druids.

The beast growled, firing two more tentacles out at Sariel, but she could see it now. More attuned to combat with the month that she had spent travelling with the others, she anticipated the blows as it telegraphed the attack, pulling back to strike. She ducked under the first set of jaws, batting the other away with her staff.

Vanden tried to wrestle back control, and his vision flashed into focus. He felt the weight of two enormous wings spreading out from his back, his shirt shredded, and a burning pain in his gut where something went right through him. He felt a sensation that he had never felt before in his life, like fire coursing through his veins.

He lunged towards Verran, and she crossed a fist against his face before ducking out of the way. He lunged again, and she ducked, landing another blow into his already damaged ribs.

He lunged a third time. Vanden hit her, grabbing over one shoulder and under another to lock his hands around her back.

He flew up.

Carrying her off the balcony, he screamed out in Celestial as loud as he could.

_ “What have you done to me!?” _

He held her by the neck. She looked terrified, trying desperately to hold onto his hands, shoes dangling hundreds of feet above the ground.

Boblem let out a second thunderwave towards another guard and the displacer beast, but they stood their ground. The beast snarled, glowing with a slight violet light. Sariel grabbed a tentacle, wrapping it around her hand and raking at it with sharpened nails, her acid burning through its flesh. She looked back to Vanden, still in shock as she watched him over the edge, wings beating to keep him in place.

Cassian yelled up to the man in the sky. “For Gods sake, just drop her and get back here!”

With that, he charged at the Displacer Beast. One of his hands lit up as he dragged his palm across the flat of his blade to cast another spell. He slashed into it, and the creature was wrapped in a cloud of sound, rippling in arcane thunder energy.

He stepped back, daring it to attack him.

A guard swung a mace at Boblem, the first blow deflected off the boy’s shield before the second whacked into his ribs.

Another guard swung out, hammering into the wizard. Cassian didn’t so much flinch as the blow landed, a counter attack three times as powerful shooting back at his opponent as the ice surrounding the elf erupted into the guard’s face.

The guard smacked into him again, desperately trying to rid himself of the wizard. Ice fired back again, and the guard’s arm froze as he staggered back, dropping to the floor.

Cassian gave a disdainful glance to the corpse. “Is that really the best you can do?”

Elyse gave a wide eyed stare to the giant pair of wings in the sky before shaking herself back to the task at hand. Running forward, she launched another bolt of lightning at the beast, but she was too distracted to land the hit.

Verran sputtered in Vanden’s grasp. “I didn’t do anything to you. But I will!”

Another blade sunk into his ribs, unhindered by any armour. He felt poison seep into his bloodstream as he fought to hold onto consciousness. Another blow would end him.

She stabbed again. A miss.

Those on the terrace heard Verran hiss from above. “If I go down, you’re going down with me!”

Astra stared up at the sky, sending out another healing spell to the prince before turning his eyes on the Displacer Beast, chanting in its head, “ _ Leave my friends alone, leave my friends alone, leave my friends alone. _ ”

It snarled, flashing out tentacled jaws at the druids. One pierced into Sariel, the other slamming into Boblem.

Vanden looked the woman in his arms dead in the eyes, speaking in Celestial once more.

_ “You have been judged.” _

He let go.

She dropped silently, without a scream, maintaining eye contact until she fell out of vision. He saw her land, so far down they could no longer hear the impact.

Vanden turned, flying directly at the Displacer Beast. He carved through its hindquarters with his blade, another ray of radiant light exploding out of the sword. Vanden hacked into it, another beam of light shooting out as it dodged his second attack.

From the incredible blue, purple, and green lights in the sky, one pillar of white opened onto the terrace. Boblem enrobed the Displacer Beast in a familiar silver fire, and it howled as the final guard began to smoulder and burn under the moonbeam. Sariel did the same, dismissing the violet glow around the creature to increase the moonbeam’s intensity. The guard burned away, a blackened silhouette blooming into dust. No longer illuminated, the creature shifted in and out of sight once more, beginning to retreat as the blows rained down on it.

Cassian moved back between Elyse and Vanden, pointing his sword at the beast with eyes wide. The henna on his face lit as he traced the sigil with his free hand, his third eye glowing as two bolts of arcane energy fired from the pupil. Looking dead in its horrible, panting face, the seafoam beams fired into the creature, throwing it back. He followed it with his sword, watching as the Displacer Beast dropped dead in front of him, lying completely still.

_ Boom. Boom. Boom. _

The terrace was illuminated by the lights of the fireworks and Vanden’s glowing wings as Cassian slowly sheathed his sword.

Astra looked over to the prince. “Vanden.”

“...Vanden?” Sariel followed.

Elyse stared at him, still a bit scared. “What the hell, man?”

“We need to heal him,” Astra urged.

“Yeah.”

“We need to heal you as well,” Boblem gave a worried look to the bard. “Both of you.”

“Vanden’s still bleeding,” Astra countered.

The prince didn’t seem to be responding.

“There's more than enough healing to go around, I’m sure,” Elyse assured them.

“Vanden…” Cassian breathed.

Elyse approached the prince. “Vanden?”

Sariel spoke to him in Celestial. “Vanden? Can you hear me?”

“I can hear you,” he responded, speaking the same language.

“Tell us what’s happening?”

His voice shook, breaking as he managed words, breathing fast and heavy. “I don’t know… I don’t know…”

Sariel reached forward to take his face in her hands. He backed all the way up to the edge of the balcony. “Okay, okay!” Sariel put her hands up. “It’s alright! I’m sorry! It’s okay to be scared! It just means you’re about to do something very, very brave.”

Cassian turned his head towards Sariel, keeping his eyes on Vanden. “Is he responding to you?”

“He’s talking to me in Celestial,” she explained.

“We’re your friends, Vanden,” Astra called. Vanden was frozen on the edge. Astra turned to Sariel with desperate eyes. “Tell him we’re his friends!” he begged.

“It’s us, it’s us!” she tried. “You know us.”

A few seconds passed, and Vanden felt the adrenaline rush out of him. His knees were crumpling, the weight of the wings dragging him down, sagging to the floor. He could barely gather the strength to keep himself up.

He fell to his knees.

Sariel tentatively approached, Cassian close behind. “I’m coming forward,” she announced.

“It hurts,” he replied, staring off and taking short, fast breaths.

“I know.”

“It hurts.”

“It’s okay. Can I come over? Is that okay?”

He didn’t reply.

“It’s me, it’s Sariel. It’s your friends.” She kneeled down in front of him.

He met her eyes.

“It’s going to be okay,” she repeated. “I promise you, it’s going to be okay.”

He gave a shaky nod.

Cassian looked down to Sariel. “We should get him back to the barracks.”

She gave a nod. “Should we go back to the barracks?” Sariel offered to the prince. “We’ll go home.”

He shook his head. “I can’t go home, I can’t go home…”

“It’s alright,” she pleaded. “Can you stand up?”

He pushed himself to his feet, trembling.

Sariel reached out to take-

“Don’t touch me!”

“Okay, okay, okay,” she backed off. “I just want to help you, we all want to help you. What do you need?”

He shook his head, voice completely broken now. “I don’t know. I don’t know what this is.”

“It’s alright. We’re going to work this out.”

Vanden began to drag himself towards the doors. It was hard, the dead weight of the wings trailing behind him.

Boblem waved his hand, casting a spell to increase their stealth as they made to walk back through the house.

“If, if he wants me to hide them, I can,” Cassian offered, turning to Sariel. “Ask him.”

She looked over to him. “Vanden?”

He made a small noise in reply.

“Cassian says he can hide your wings. Do you want him to do that?”

Vanden stared off without reply.

“Visually,” Cassian explained to the others. “So people won’t stare, I don’t know…”

“Or I could just make him invisible,” Elyse offered. “I know he doesn’t like it, but…”

“Just so that people won’t see them,” Sariel relayed to the prince. “And you won’t draw attention to yourself. And we can just get out of here and go.” She noticed the heavy velvet curtains on the other side of the door. “Or we can cover you up.”

“I’ve cast a spell on us,” Boblem confessed. “So we’d be less likely to be detected.”

Vanden continued to walk to the door.

Sariel walked next to him, careful not to touch. “I promise you it’s going to be okay.”

“I don’t understand.”

“We don’t understand yet, but we will.”

Vanden pushed the door open.

Boblem pointed at the curtains in question.

Cassian shook his head, waving a hand to cast the illusion, hiding the wings from view. The spell didn’t feel like anything as it settled. Vanden couldn’t really feel anything right now anyway. With everything else, it was like nothing.

“Can someone run ahead and make sure the carriage is ready, perhaps?” Sariel asked the others in Common.

“Sure, I’ll go,” Elyse nodded.

Astra clutched his chest. “I don’t think I can run anywhere right now.”

Sariel fixed him with a worried eye. “Astra, are you okay?”

“Let’s get home,” he replied.

“We can heal when we get home,” Elyse agreed.

“Sorry to ask stuff of you guys right now,” Boblem apologized, “But can you make us look like we haven’t just been in a fight?”

Astra sent out a spell, disguising himself in a less ragged form.

“I think a lot of people will be watching the fireworks now,” Sariel reflected.

“Okay,” the boy agreed.

Elyse ran ahead, down the corridor. She poked her head out of the main hall, but there was nobody there. Looking to the ballroom, it seemed like the guests were all watching the spectacle out on the terrace. 

A few attendants nearby saw her. “You’re not supposed to be down there, you know there’s a show?”

“Sorry, my friend has had a bit much to drink, we just wanted to go home,” she covered. “I was wondering if we could get our carriage ready ? It’s a bit embarrassing.”

“Right, yes, you’re with the Zauviirs, aren’t you.”

“Yeah, they’re not coming with us, though.”

“Yes, there were a few carriages. No worries, we’ll have it pulled around.”

“Thank you so much. Really appreciate it.”

She waited for the others. Other attendants saw the rest of the group come through in their ragged state. They didn’t say anything, but they watched.

They walked through, unaccosted, and escorted to the carriage. A young stable boy looked over them. “What’s happened?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Elyse shook her head.

“We’re going back to the barracks,” Astra replied.

He nodded. “Understood.”

Whipping the reins, the carriage began trundling off. The sounds of the fireworks dimmed, and soon all they heard was the sound of the wheels on the cobblestone.

  
  


Time passed. It was late in the night. They stepped out into the cold air, outside the door with the sun. They pushed it open to the familiar sight of the barracks as the carriage trundled off.

Cassian dropped the illusion, and Vanden’s wings came into full view once more.

Astra dropped his clean disguise, the blood visible on his clothes again. “Let’s get him inside.”

“Sariel, can you see if he’ll let you heal him?” Elyse asked.

“I can’t, I don’t have anything,” the druid shook her head. She was drained from the fight.

“I can try,” Boblem offered.

“I have a potion,” Cassian followed. “If he’ll take it.”

“Me too,” Elyse followed.

Vanden tensed. Divine light shimmered over him, and the wounds knit themselves back together.

“...Guess it doesn’t matter then.”

Cassian watched the man carefully. “That’s a neat trick…”

Elyse turned back to the bard. “Astra, are you doing okay?”

He put up a thumb, going to sit down.

“Do you want me to heal you?” Boblem offered.

“I’m just glad we’re back. We need to help Vanden, more importantly.”

“You’re bleeding, Astra,” Elyse coaxed. “Come on.”

“You also deserve help,” Boblem agreed. “We all do.”

Astra felt a bit of vitality return to him as Boblem pushed forward a small spell. The tiefling held the symbol of Melora close to him. It was no longer warm.

Cassian kept his eyes on the prince. “Vanden, can you understand the rest of us, or…?”

Wordlessly, he nodded.

“Do you know what this is?” Elyse pressed.

“No,” Vanden replied. He was still speaking Celestial.

They all looked to Sariel. “He says no,” she translated.

Astra frowned. “It’s like Jocelyn.”

Cassian shook his head. “But, corporeal.”

“And Jocelyn’s didn’t seem to hurt her, or upset her,” Elyse recalled.

“Vanden?” Sariel tried again. “Do you mind if I take a look?”

He looked to the floor. “...Okay.”

“I promise I won’t touch you.”

She went around to his back, looking at the wings. They physically extended from him, they were unquestionably material. There were tears in his shirt from the wounds, and where the wings had burst out. The wings were now functionally useless, hanging limp as his sides. They were the same size and shape as Jocelyn’s, but hers had been made of semi-corporeal light.

“Vanden, do you remember this happening before at all? At any point?”

“No.”

“There’s no familiar feelings or anything like that?”

“No.”

Sariel turned to the others. “He’s never had this happen before, he doesn’t… the feeling isn’t recognizable.”

“I didn’t see a spell being cast,” Boblem reflected. “I can’t imagine a spell could do this…”

“It wasn’t a spell for Jocelyn either, it was…” Cassian shook his head, at a loss for words.

Elyse frowned. “Yeah, if it’s the same as Jocelyn, it came from her…”

“What are they talking about?” Vanden looked to Sariel with desperate eyes.

“It’s alright,” she tried to steady him.

“What are they talking about? Jocelyn?”

“When Jocelyn did this before.”

“What?”

“When we were at the abbey. Fighting the Weeping Eye? Jocelyn… she grew wings from her back, wings of radiant light, and flew across the abbey courtyard. Surely you remember that?”

Vanden turned away his eyes. “...I don’t remember anything about that fight.”

“...What? We, we killed Verris. We killed all of them, we set up a trap for them- ”

“I remember  _ that _ .”

“What bits don’t you remember?”

Vanden concentrated. “They stepped through the stone doorway… then you had the leader on his knees. Rest of them were dead.”

“You don’t remember any of the fight?”

“No.”

“Alright,” she turned to the others, switching to Common once more. “He doesn’t remember anything about the abbey fight.”

“What?” Boblem gasped.

Elyse sighed. “He said he’s had problems with his memory or a long time, right? So if he doesn’t remember the abbey fight...”

“He said they stopped after a certain point…”

Elyse shook her head. “Could the two be related, is what I’m saying.”

“I know what you’re saying,” Astra worried, “I just don’t know how it…”

“How it works,” Sariel finished.

“Ask him…” Elyse looked to Sariel again, “Does he want us to get like, food and water or something, for him?”

“Is there anything we can get you? Is there anything that you need?” Sariel turned back to the prince. “Are you in pain, first of all?”

Vanden slowly met her eyes. “...It almost hurts so much I can’t feel it, now.”

“Okay.”

“Everyone should rest.”

“You need it more than any of us. Do you want us to take you up to your room?”

His face twisted with disdain. “I don’t want to go back in that  _ cell _ .”

Sariel nodded. “The war room, then. I know it’s not particularly comfortable, but you’ve been sleeping in there a lot, I noticed.”

He nodded.

“Let’s go upstairs.”

Vanden began dragging himself upstairs, Sariel behind, followed closely by Cassian. Two giant wings scraped on the floor behind him.

As Boblem made to follow, Astra stopped him. “Maybe we should give him space, not try and crowd around.”

Boblem nodded. “Yeah.”

“He can sleep in my room,” Elyse offered as Sariel translated their conversation. “I barely use it. If he wants a room with a window.”

“Elyse has offered her room,” Sariel passed on. “If you want a room with a window.”

Vanden’s eyes were empty. “I don’t care.”

He pushed into the war room, taking a seat. The wings sat heavily behind him as he leaned on the table.

The rest of the group saw him from behind. Where the shirt was shredded, around the base of where the wings had torn out, they saw heavy, heavy scarring. They were old burns of flame and chemicals across his back.

Cassian sat behind Sariel, facing opposite as she sat with the prince. Astra and Elyse made their ways into the room, trying to give them space. Boblem got the alchemy jug, asking it for water before placing it next to Vanden and stepping away.

Astra began to play his music.

Vanden glanced over to the bard. “Thank you.”

Astra looked to Sariel. “Thank you,” she translated.

Vanden poured out a goblet of water, drinking it.

“You’re our friend, Vanden,” Astra tried.

His reply came in the same strange language. “I know. Didn’t, for a minute there.”

“What do you mean?” Sariel asked.

“Couldn’t even control my body. I thought she’d done something to me.”

“Did that… did it happen when you fell off the roof, you think?”

“Yes.”

Sariel’s voice was shaking. “You… you died. And she threw you off a roof, I… saw light leaving your eyes. But somehow you’re back with us.”

He gave a bitter laugh. “Hardly myself, am I?”

She returned with a sad smile. “I know you’re still in there.”

He looked away. “Well sitting up looking serious about it isn’t going to solve everything. People should get rest.”

Sariel turned to the others, speaking in Common for them. “People should try and rest, I suppose.”

“The offer still stands,” Elyse replied. “You can sleep in my room if you want a bed. I can just sleep on the roof again.”

As he slightly moved, the group could see something else behind him. It appeared there were three tattoos between his shoulder blades. Circular, a few inches wide, starting at the nape of his neck and moving halfway down his back.

Sariel went to take a closer look, and Vanden bristled.

“It’s alright, it’s alright,” she assured him. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

She nodded. “I just want to look, is that okay?”

He took a deep, steadying breath. “Okay.”

“I promise I’m not going to hurt you.”

She moved around him to look closer. They were glyphs of some sort, branded into him.

“What is it?” Cassian pressed.

Sariel pointed to the marks. “Can you read these?”

He could. He didn’t know the exact spell, but he understood the symbols of various schools of magic. One of Illusion, one of Transmutation, and one of Enchantment.

Cassian slowly leaned away with the realization. “...Oh…”

“What is it?” Elyse prompted.

Sariel eyed the wizard. “What does it say?”

“Um…” Cassian shook his head, swallowing as he frowned. “It’s a… brand. Of different schools of magic.”

Sariel switched back to Celestial. “Did you know you had these, Vanden?”

Vanden was looking at the table. “...Yes.”

“Do you know how long you’ve had them?”

He thought for a moment. “Fifteen years.”

“Do you remember when you got them? How you got them?”

“...I think back on some of the dreams I’ve been having recently. Vaguely.”

“Do you know what they’re for, and what they mean?”

He shook his head, weakly. “No.”

Sariel relayed the information to the others. The room was full of stoic, drawn faces.

“What happened fifteen years ago?” Boblem wondered.

Sariel looked to the brands. “Whatever happened, he was a child at the time.”

The seconds passed by in silence. Sariel left, fetching the blankets and pillows from Vanden’s room to bring them back into the war room. “Here.”

He looked up. “Thank you.”

“Do you want someone to stay with you?”

Another few seconds ticked by before his response. “No one has to.”

“What if people want to?”

A small laugh. “Well, I can’t decide what you do, can I?”

“Would you like someone to stay?”

“I’m fine.”

Sariel relayed the conversation. Cassian looked to the other elf. “Neither of us need much sleep, so…”

Astra stood up, left, and returned with his own bedding. Settling in on the floor nearby, he carried on with his music.

Elyse smiled. “We can all stay in here, can’t we?”

“It’s like a sleepover,” the bard nodded.

“That’s true,” Boblem considered. He did the same, settling in on the floor as Elyse followed.

They shunted the table to the side, bringing in a few candles to set up around the edge, making a little nest. Vanden, wings spread, took up a fair bit of space. They were able to set up around him, giving him room, but staying close. The prince gazed out across the space, looking over his bruised and battered friends.

“Well,” Astra chuckled, “So much for this outfit, eh?”

A few small smiles appeared around the room.

“Do you think the Zauviirs will want them back after this?” Elyse teased.

Cassian looked them all over. “I can do some repairs.”

“You can clean them up,” Sariel smiled over to Astra. “Clean the blood off them.”

“Would anyone like some wine to calm their nerves?” Elyse grinned.

Astra shook his head. “Not really.”

“I would,” Vanden replied. He tried to speak Common, but it came out Celestial again.

“He say something?” Elyse glanced to Sariel.

She held her hand out for the wine. Elyse passed it over to her, the expensive bottle from the tavern on the first tier. Sariel gave it over to Vanden, who took a long drink, letting out a sigh. It was good wine, smoky, with notes of cherry and cedar.

“This is good wine,” he approved, smiling at the bottle for a second. A moment later, the smile disappeared, and he dropped his face to his hands with another long sigh.

“Well don’t hog it all for yourself,” Sariel teased.

He slid the bottle over. “Take some, take some.”

She took the bottle, drinking a bit before passing it around to Boblem, Astra, and Elyse.

Vanden shook his head. “We really keep finding ourselves in… ridiculous situations, huh?”

“Well I for one certainly didn’t see this one coming,” Sariel replied.

“Me neither, funny that.”

Astra glanced between the Celestial conversation. “I can talk in other languages too.”

A few of them chuckled.

“Me too,” Elyse grinned.

“You wanna speak Draconic?” Boblem offered.

Cassian turned his eyes on Astra. “Yeah, lots of languages,” he teased in Infernal, voice rasping and growling with the words. “Or something slightly different,” he concluded in Sylvan, his speech echoing the sounds of the forest.

Astra gave him an indignant look at the Infernal, but he responded in Sylvan. Elyse summoned Rana once more, beginning to speak to her in Fulgan. A mishmash of languages rang around the room.

Boblem left to change his shirt. When he returned, he brought another one, offering it to Vanden. “In case he doesn’t want to be covered in blood,” he explained to the others.

Elyse gave the boy a look. “How would…?”

“How am I gonna wear it?” Vanden gestured to his enormous wings with a half smile.

“Cut some slits in the back?”

“He can cut holes in it,” Boblem agreed.

Sariel looked at him, surprised. “Are you happy for him to do that?”

“Yeah, it’s just a shirt.”

Sariel translated for Vanden.“He says he can cut the shirt open, if you like.”

The prince shook his head. “No, it’s fine.”

“We should probably clean you up.”

Vanden sat in the chair for a moment longer before he began tearing off the remains of his shirt, throwing it to the floor. It was just a bloody rag now. Astra put it in the fireplace.

“That’s an expensive kindling,” Sariel grinned.

“We can’t clean it,” Astra defended. “It’s past repair.”

“No,” she agreed.

Sariel moved closer to Vanden, seeing if he would allow her to clean the blood from his back. Vanden froze up, incredibly tense, but he sat obediently until she finished.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “You were all enjoying the party.”

“I wouldn’t say we were enjoying it,” Sariel grinned, earning a small laugh from the prince. “Don’t know if now’s really the time to bring together all the information we found out over the evening. Maybe that can wait until tomorrow.”

“It’s really lovely,” Astra interjected. “The language that you’re speaking. It’s just beautiful to listen to.”

“Thank you.”

Vanden looked over the group. “Well, stop all looking so miserable,” he chided.

“Astra, play us some of your music,” Sariel prompted.

“Okay,” the bard agreed. “Sure.”

They sat in the late evening, Astra’s music accompanying them. By now, it was about midnight. There was nothing but the sounds of the music, their drinking glasses clinking and rolling, and all of them, breathing. Alive.

  
  


After a while, some of their eyelids grew very heavy, the adrenaline of the evening and the alcohol wearing on them. Elyse sat quietly with her research journal, writing and drawing, keeping an eye on the room for a bit before she went to bed. Boblem put the Bag of Holding on the table, heading to sleep. When Astra finished playing his music, he changed into something less form fitting, sadly putting away his ruined outfit. He curled up into his bedding, holding the symbol of Melora to him as he slept.

Vanden noticed the two elves, still awake. “Don’t sit up on my account.”

“I’m very uninclined to sleep this evening,” Sariel smiled. “Far too much in my head.”

“...Not sure I even know how to lie down,” he admitted.

“Try lying on your front.”

Vanden gave a small smile before turning to lean on the table.

“Well isn’t that normally how you go to sleep?” Sariel teased.

He looked over to her with a grin. “Funny. You’re very funny.”

“Yes I am,” she smiled. “Oh, and…” she slipped off the signet ring, handing it back to him.

Vanden took it, turning it over in his hands before he put it back on. The three brands disappeared, as well as the scars, leaving nothing but smooth skin. The wings were still very much there.

“Clever little ring,” Sariel observed.

“Isn’t it?”

“I need to have a word with your jeweler.”

He tried to chuckle a bit, but it turned into another sigh.

“Try and sleep, Vanden.”

“I will.”

After a while, he passed out, facedown on the table. After an hour or so, Cassian and Sariel watched as the furthest tips of his wings ignited. The feathers began to burn away, smouldering into embers for about half an hour, softly burning to nothing.

Cassian crossed his arms, thinking. “It’s very impressive, isn’t it…”

Eventually, all of them went. The skin, very slowly, began to knit itself together, glowing at the edge.

“Those brands…” Sariel began. “Someone did that to him.”

“Yes. Illusion, Transmutation, Enchantment,” he listed, looking to the floor. “Interesting choices.”

Sariel held out a hand for Cassian. He took it.

The wizard stared out across the room. “Never in my two hundred years did I think I’d be stuck with you bunch of people actually… caring about people,” he grimaced.

Sariel gave a soft smile. “Well, I’m sorry to have disappointed you.”

Cassian put his free hand on his forehead. “It’s not a disappointment, it’s just very shocking…” He shook his head, gesturing to Vanden in confusion. “Like, a month ago… I told him I would kill him!”

Sariel grinned wide. “And now?”

“And now… it makes me sad when he is unhappy.”

“Funny that.”

“Very funny.”

“And… Boblem and Astra I thought were stupid, and they’re both very intelligent people,” he threw his free hand into the air, trying to make sense of it all.

“They are.”

“And Elyse is wild, but she always knows the right thing to do… And you’re just amazing, Sariel,” he concluded, shaking his head.

“ _ Shh _ ,” she warned, teasing.

“You  _ shh _ ,” he countered. “I’m glad we’re all getting rest.”

“Yes.”

“You should too.”

“There’s no way I’m going to sleep tonight.”

Cassian grinned at her. “Then we’re agreed.”

She smiled back at him for a moment before her expression turned serious. “We’ll work this out.”

“Yes. We’re a team now I suppose,” he admitted.

Sariel gave him a look. Cassian met her eye, barely suppressing another half grin before turning away. The pair stood vigil all night.

  
  


Morning came, and with it, a rude awakening. There was a booming knock at their door.

Boblem was shaken awake. “...Um..?”

Vanden sat up, looking around. “What are we doing here?”

Astra got up and went straight down to the door. He opened it to Lord Haitius Valentinian, flanked by two attendants who looked armed.

“What in the nine hells happened to my East Terrace?” he demanded.

Astra put a hand up. “We were attacked.”

The dwarf blinked before making to move in. Astra let him pass.

“Come on!” he waved the attendants inside. The doors shut behind, a number of more city guards visible outside, looking in and waiting. The dwarf stormed into the barracks. “Where are the rest of your compatriots?”

“Please calm down!” Astra warned.

“You’ve got to understand, there are  _ dead people _ in my house!”

“And we almost got killed as well.”

“Well you’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

“Lord Greymantle. His wife.”

He waved the bard off. “Let’s… everyone together!”

Haitius stormed into the war room. Looking around, he saw the piles of bedding, with various things scattered everywhere.

Vanden looked at the others. “What’s… going on?”

“Well?” Haitius ordered. “Drop some seats.”

“Sure,” Elyse shrugged.

“Alright,” Cassian complied.

Vanden was still looking at the others. “What’s going on?” he repeated.

“Don’t worry,” Elyse brushed him off.

“We’ll tell you later,” Cassian whispered to him.

“We’re very sorry,” Elyse offered to the councilor. “They attacked us.”

Vanden gaped at her. “What?”

“Vanden…” Sariel looked over to the prince, realizing.

“We were ambushed yesterday,” Boblem supplied.

“They nearly killed our friend here,” Cassian pointed over to Vanden.

Haituis looked over to the prince, staring back with disbelieving eyes. “It seems you should get your story straight.”

“He was unconscious,” Boblem covered.

“They knocked him out,” Elyse agreed. “That's why he doesn’t remember anything.”

Haitius made his way to the table, taking a seat. He was now dressed in very different clothes, though still formal. The attendants waited in the doorway. Vanden took Boblem’s extra shirt off the table, putting it on. It looked gigantic on him.

“Why don’t we start at the beginning,” Haituis decided. “Don’t try and tell me you weren’t there, or it wasn’t you. A number of my staff saw you come from there.”

“No, like we said,” Elyse agreed. “We were there, we were attacked first.”

“We were led there under false pretenses,” Cassian explained. “And attacked by an assassin with a Displacer Beast,”

Sariel fixed the man with a stare. “It would seem, Lord Councilor, that you’ve had a security breach. A lot of your atten- ”

He shook his head, interrupting. “I, the- ”

“Listen,” she warned, a strict tone in her voice.

He quieted.

“Your attendants were in cahoots with this woman, and attacked us.”

“They led us out there,” Elyse agreed.

Haituis frowned. “I… that’s a valid point, and I… granted, there was a security breach, but they were not my attendants. I discovered several of my staff tied up.”

“There is a security breach, then,” Sariel concluded.

“Granted, a security breach nonetheless, but, none of my men and women.”

“No, but you put your guests at risk. By not being tight enough, on things like that.”

“We just protected our own,” Astra defended.

“Could have been a lot worse.”

“We could have died,” Boblem added.

“People did die,” the councilor replied. “And… yes, it could have been worse.”

“Imagine if they’d attacked us in the middle of the ballroom,” Elyse pressed. “Instead of a secluded balcony.”

“Why don’t we continue the story,” Haitius prompted.

Cassian shrugged. “We were attacked. We fought back. We were victorious. We left.”

“Why were you attacked? Why you? Six strangers to the city?”

“Lady Tur- Lady Greymantle,” Astra declared. “She goes by the name Turquoid now, in Sanskra. She tried to get us to do some stuff for her, and we said no.”

“And she sent people after us,” Elyse finished.

Cassian eyed the dwarf. “She’s wanted in Shadebourne, yes?”

“She’s… she was known in these parts,” he admitted. “Notorious.”

“Well there you go. Notorious villain wreaks her notorious vengeance.”

Haituis was silent for about thirty seconds. “...I wish it hadn’t come to this. I believe you though. I believe you can… I hope you can understand my temperament.”

“Of course. We made a terrible mess in your house, but so did our attackers.”

“Yeah,” Elyse nodded. “We would have never wanted that to happen there.”

“The mess wasn't my primary concern,” the dwarf waved them off. “The fact that… assassins were on the loose, in this city, in my house. As if these people didn’t have enough to worry about. That beast, that… my staff were assaulted, I…”

“By the creature?” Cassian wondered.

“By her accomplices.”

“Sorry we left without saying anything,” Boblem offered. “We just wanted to make sure our friends would survive.”

“You’ve got to understand, it looks suspicious.”

“We understand that,” Elyse admitted.

“We didn’t know if they had more people in there,” Boblem reasoned. “They could disguise themselves as part of your staff, how many more staff members could there be disguised?”

“Understandable,” Haituis relented. “Granted, we had a terrible breach in security. Not the sort of thing you expect for, but I have to know... did you know people were after you?”

“No,” five of them answered. Vanden was still sitting silent, watching the conversation with his arms crossed protectively in front of him.

“Didn’t think saying no to Lady Turquoid would mean…” Boblem frowned, “We would… be put in danger.”

Elyse nodded. “It was just turning down a job, to us.”

“Especially since they sank Sanskra, anyway,” Astra shrugged.

Valentinian frowned. “Lady Turquoid is in Sanskra?”

“Last we saw her,” Cassian confirmed.

“...You’re saying you went to Sanskra?”

“Yes,” Elyse nodded.

“We could mark it on any map,” Vanden spoke up. “But we won’t.”

“Right…” Haitius replied.

“It’s a lagoon now,” Cassian shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”

The dwarf shook his head. “Right, forget about that… But, so this… this accomplice, this assassin. Lady Hala Brightspear?”

“Was she on your guest list?” Sariel asked.

“Hala Brightspear was.”

“Then you should be asking where the real Hala Brightspear is.”

“She was disguised as her,” Astra gulped.

Elyse eyed the dwarf. “I assume that’s a real person you know?”

“Not personally,” he admitted. “I don’t know everyone personally. I don’t know the six of you personally.”

“It could have been a fake name,” Cassian thought.

“I believe the staff manage the list,” Haitius shrugged.

“It’s interesting,” Astra pressed. “That someone on your political staff let in an assassin. Potentially that's where you should be turning your attention.”

“My belief is that, perhaps something has happened to Hala Brightspear, and this accomplice has tied her up as well, assumed her form.”

“Do we know who she is?” Sariel prompted. “What it is she does? Why she would have been invited to this in the first place?”

“I can find out,” he assured them.

“Maybe what would have made her a target for this person,” Elyse continued. “To adopt her identity.”

“I suppose someone who maybe didn’t know too many others.”

“Thank you though, for believing us,” Astra repeated.

“And we’re very sorry,” Elyse followed.

“I’m sorry you had to go through this,” he returned. “It’s a difficult time.”

“It is.”

“I still have things I wish to talk to you about. It can still happen at some point.”

“Yeah.”

The dwarf turned his eyes on Vanden. “Do I smell, sir? You look mighty uncomfortable.”

Vanden averted his eyes. “No, sorry…”

“Like we said, he took the brunt of the fighting last night,” Elyse covered. “He’s a bit out of it.”

“Alright,” the dwarf softened.

Cassian watched the prince squirm under Valentinian’s gaze. “Would you like to get some air?” he offered.

“Um,” Vanden rubbed his face. “Sure, sure. Sorry.”

Cassian tilted his head to the door. “I’ll walk with you.” He nodded to Valentinian. “If you’ll excuse me and my compatriot.”

Cassian escorted Vanden from the room. Sariel gave the wizard a look as they left.

“Was there anything else unusual going on at the party last night?” Elyse pressed. “That might be related to this, that you can tell us?”

Valentinian frowned. “I’ve been doing my best to find out. I’ve been up all night. My main concern was my staff.”

“Of course. I hope they’re okay.”

“They’ll have a headache for sure.”

“But no one was killed?”

“No, no. They were hit on the head. They’ll be resting for a few days, but no one was killed. Besides… hired muscle. They found the mess of the lady, on the tiers below. It was quite a stir.”

“I’m sure it was.”

“The beast as well, was that…?”

“Hers,” Astra supplied.

“Hers, yeah,” Elyse nodded.

He shook his head. “Lords…”

“Dangerous thing.”

“Aye.”

“I dread to think what would have happened if that had gotten out amongst your guests,” Sariel pushed.

“You need not make me feel more guilty than I already do,” Valentinian replied. “You’ve got to be sure, I’d protect my guests against whatever I can, but there are some things I can’t anticipate.”

“I believe you,” she relented.

“Thank you. And truly, truly, I’m grateful that the six of you stopped this… I wouldn’t say assault, but… incursion. Granted, it seemed they were seeking only you, and the general wellbeing of everyone else there was not at risk, but…”

“But at least the fighting was contained to just us,” Elyse finished.

“Precisely.”

“You must grant us the same kindness,” Boblem pressed. “There are things we can’t anticipate. We had no way of knowing people were after us.”

“You’re right, you’re right. Don’t expect any charges pressed.”

“Thank you.”

“Grateful for that,” Elyse chuckled.

Valentinian tilted his head. “I’m still considering billing you for my terrace, but… I’m a stonemason. I have a mind to practice. I made a fine balcony in my day.”

“That would be a nice project,” Boblem smiled.

“I suppose. But, old hands. I value your time and your conversations.”

“And yours,” Astra replied.

“Thank you. If you wish, still feeling like you can contribute in any way, intellectually, to the campaign…”

“Give us a day or two,” Sariel nodded.

“I’d be more than happy.”

“Yeah, we can see the city really needs someone like you in power,” Elyse followed.

“Thank you.”

“Just the other day,” Boblem recalled, “We went down to distribute some food to the first tier. They really seemed to appreciate it.”

“That was you?”

“Yeah.”

“I heard about that.”

“It’s nice to see that somebody in the higher tiers actually cares about them.”

“Well, what’s life without caring about someone else?”

“True,” Astra smiled.

“Come find yourself in my office. Anytime soon. I can do with your help in this campaign… we’ll see how things go. I’ll take my leave.”

“I’ll see you out,” the bard offered.

“Thank you. You have a nice place, but… my mind is curious.”

“What’s that?”

“...There’s six of you, in a barracks for a hundred. It’s odd.”

“We didn’t quite realize how big it was.”

“And we don’t usually all sleep in here,” Elyse grinned. “That was a one off.”

“Mmm,” he nodded. “I wasn’t gonna say anything, but.”

He began tottering out, and Astra led him to the gate. Astra saw the array of guards outside, and Haitius waved a hand at them. “About your business, you have better things to do in the city!”

Hopping back aboard his carriage, he leaned over to Astra. “I really do hope to be seeing you soon.”

“We will,” Astra promised. “Your office is on this tier?”

He nodded, giving directions. “Thank you, truly. I’m sorry for what you’ve been through.”

“Thank you. We believe in you, and what you want to do in this city.”

“Good. You may be the first six.”

The door closed, and he began moving off.

  
  


While the others finished their conversation, Cassian took Vanden around back. The second they got out of earshot, Vanden whirled on him. “I have never seen that man before in my life.”

Cassian raised his eyebrows, taking in the information. “Right…”

“What’s going on?”

“Okay, I think we covered some of this last night, um… How to put this delicately…” Cassian frowned, fidgeting with his hands as he formed the words. “...You have wings?”

Vanden offered a confused smile, shaking his head. “What?”

“Okay,” Cassian put a hand on his chin, thinking. “Where do you not remember from?”

“We… we arrived at the ball.”

“Right,” Cassian prompted him, but Vanden gave no further details. “...That’s it?”

“Sariel took my arm, I think?”

“Yes,” he nodded. “And that’s it?”

Vanden was still giving him the same confused stare.

“I don’t know how to put things to someone who,” Cassian rubbed his forehead, “Has memory problems. Sorry, I mean no offense… But, we….” the wizard waved his arms through the air, searching for an explanation, “We did the ball. It was a reasonable evening, quite fun. And then… you got stabbed. By Lady Turquoid’s… elf lover? And then,” he clapped, “Poof. Wings.”

“...Yeah, I don’t believe you,” Vanden replied, crossing his arms.

“Okay. The others will back me up,” he countered.

“Okay,” Vanden grinned back, misinterpreting the conversation as one of Cassian’s strange teasings.

“You can choose not to believe me, but, it is what happened. We all saw it, and… it was very impressive!”

Vanden eyed him, not quite getting the joke. “Okay.”

“Mhm.”

The prince chuckled a bit. “Okay.”

“Okay?

“Fine.”

Cassian held out his hands in an exaggerated shrug. “That’s… you took quite a blow, so. Take it easy.”

“I’m gonna go and… wash.”

“Yes. Seems appropriate.” As Vanden began to turn away, Cassian called out to him. “How does your back… feel?”

Vanden squinted at him. “...Fine?”

“Okay…” Cassian squinted back.

“Because nothing happened.”

The wizard nodded back with a tight-lipped smile. “Nothing happened.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“Right. Just you wait until you hear the four other accounts.”

With a chuckle, Vanden left to wash. Cassian scuttled back up to the rest of the group in the war room.

Elyse popped her head up as he entered. “Is he okay?”

Cassian put his hands on his hips, tilting his head with the same tight smile.

“How is he?” Boblem pressed.

Cassian made a  _ whoosh _ sound, wiping a hand across his forehead. “No memory.”

Sariel blinked. “What?”

“He remembers linking arms with you at the ball,” Cassian offered, swiping another hand across to demonstrate where the memories stopped.

Boblem shook his head. “Did you tell him what happened?”

“Oh, he doesn’t believe me.”

“Why would he,” Elyse shrugged.

“Exactly.”

“Okay…” she put her hands on her head, thinking.

“He couldn’t speak for awhile,” Boblem recalled. “Not anything we understood, besides Sariel.”

Sariel was still looking down, shocked. “What…”

“Try speaking to him in that language again?” Astra suggested.

“Yeah, maybe it’ll trigger something?” Elyse guessed.

Sariel frowned. “I’ll try when he comes back.”

“Would…” Boblem looked over to Astra. “What you’ve cast before, that made people speak the truth… work on him?”

Astra frowned. “I don’t think it would work with memories.”

“Yeah,” Elyse agreed. “If he doesn’t know that’s the truth.”

“If you don’t remember it to be true,” Cassian followed.

“No,” Boblem shook his head. “To prove to him that we’re speaking the truth, is what I mean.”

“Oh,” Astra tilted his head, considering. “Why not.”

“We all, willfully…?” Cassian glanced around the room before shrugging.

“And there is also a person we can contact, and ask… what that was?” Elyse suggested. 

“Jocelyn?” Boblem wondered.

“But it isn’t the same,” Cassian countered.

“He doesn’t remember about Jocelyn either,” Sariel frowned.

“Exactly.”

“That was odd,” Boblem worried.

Elyse sighed again. “I don’t know.”

“And we still have all the information that we learned last night to go through.”

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s start with that,” Astra decided. “And inform Vanden about it all.”

“Sure,” Cassian shrugged. “The man loves information, so.”

“Exactly.”

They parted ways, getting ready for the day. Elyse finally changed out of her ball outfit, which was getting uncomfortable.

Cassian peeked into his room, looking to see if there were any whispers he had missed out on since last night. He got the impression there was probably something, but it wasn’t coming through to him just yet. There was nothing verbal, but he got the sense there was something on the breeze.

“...I suppose we’ll talk later, then.”

  
  


They reconvened. Vanden came back out after washing, wearing the common travelling clothes he wore when he had first met the group. “Where are my clothes?” he chuckled, looking over the group for the culprit of the prank.

“Oh yeah…” Elyse recalled. “They’re all at the Zauviirs.”

“Oh…” Boblem frowned.

“Oh, yeah,” Sariel realized. “Oh, no.”

They did have a few things still at the barracks, but they would have to return to pick up their other belongings from the Zauviirs, including the nice outfit Cassian had made for Sariel.

“The fancy clothes?” Boblem asked.

“Yes, what I was wearing yesterday, before I changed for the ball?” Vanden clarified.

“Oh, your wings ripped it open.”

“Yeah, they got torn up,” Elyse agreed.

“No, that was the ball outfit,” Cassian shushed them. “Your regular clothes are at the Zauviirs.”

Vanden frowned. “I see that everybody is in on the joke.”

“Not a joke.”

“It’s not a joke, Vanden,” Elyse agreed.

Astra stared at the prince. “Let’s not push it, today.”

Vanden crossed his arms, shifting under the gazes.

“Yeah… might not be ready for this,” Boblem frowned.

“Don’t talk about him like he’s not in the room,” Cassian admonished the boy.

“I’m not!”

“I can run to the Zauviirs and go get our stuff. Okay?” Astra surveyed the group.

“Yeah, appreciate it,” Elyse nodded.

“I’ll be back soon.”

Cassian sighed. “Alright.”

It took the bard a few hours, but he wanted time alone.

After returning the ring to Vanden, Sariel’s scars had been on display all night. “I’m going to go get out of this dress.”

Vanden glanced at the ring, not sure why he was wearing it and not Sariel, but he didn’t say anything.

“So,” Cassian began.

“So?” Vanden prompted.

“We have a lot of information.”

“We do,” Elyse nodded.

“Great, something I can actually do something with,” Vanden agreed. He got out all of his papers, sitting down to take notes.

They began to recount the night, discussing all the whispers and personalities they heard. Elyse fiddled with her arcane focus around her neck. After about half an hour, it returned to normal size. “...Okay.”

“So I think,” Cassian concluded, “The main point of what we found is this Councilor Lothmuir… potentially the L. From the Weeping Eye contract.”

Vanden raised his eyebrows, leaning in with interest. “You’re kidding me.”

“No, um… you overheard, I was also there… him talking with a woman who was like,  _ oh, you have disappointed me…” _ Vanden chuckled a bit at the impression.  _ “I asked you to go do things, there are miners.  _ And that sounds a lot like the Underdark.”

“We also heard him talking to the current governor,” Boblem recalled. “About business that he should be handling  _ down there _ . And when Lothmuir brought it up, he got really upset, like,  _ don’t speak about that." _

“Sounds like he’s got Lothmuir in his pocket,” Sariel observed.

“Absolutely,” Elyse agreed.

Cassian scoffed. “Absolute puppet.”

“Yes, well,” Vanden frowned, “Politicians will often employ a puppet to do things for them like that.”

Sariel tilted her head. “Makes me wonder how legitimate the election is, though.”

“Of course,” the wizard agreed.

“Most people seemed inclined to vote for him,” Boblem recalled. “Because he’ll just keep things like they always were, he’ll just do what the previous governor is doing.”

“Maintaining the status quo. Or people just didn't care,” Elyse shrugged.

“Lothmuir talked as if he’d already won,” Cassian added.

“Do we know who the woman was?” Sariel asked. “Who he was speaking to?”

“Manolin. He claimed she was very influential. And, to have her on his side was a big deal.”

“And she was getting angry that he hadn’t made progress with the Underdark.”

  
“She potentially asked him to take out the contract. To cover her own tracks, perhaps.”

“Maybe.”

“Or to secure her vote.”

“So more than one person in the upper tiers has a hand in trying to get this person in power,” Boblem realized.

“Most of the council like him,” Cassian finished. “Because he won’t change anything.”

“Yeah, I can see why they’d… there’s obviously some kind of network in place to keep it upheld,” Elyse speculated.

“Not only that,” Boblem agreed, “But more than one person has a hand in what might be going down in the Underdark.”

“Yeah.”

“And then…” Cassian looked to the boy. “You noticed the man with the limp.”

Boblem sighed. “Yeah, the other family, the ones that the Zauviirs hated…”

“Kranwells,” Sariel and Elyse offered.

“Yeah, the Kranwells. He was limping.”

“And saying something about being hungry,” Elyse frowned.

“Yeah, ravenously hungry. Ran for the kitchen.”

“Yeah, we didn’t get to follow and investigate, but… Sounds an awful lot like that man who was described down in the first tier.”

“Interesting,” Vanden scribbled that down. “Okay.”

“It’s more the limp that’s the coincidence,” Cassian explained. “Since it was stabbed through the leg.”

“I just got a feeling about him,” Boblem frowned. “You felt it too Sariel, didn’t you?”

She nodded. “I didn’t like him from the moment I saw him.”

Vanden looked at all the papers in front of him. “Well, I don’t even know where to start.”

“The dwarf, Haitius?” Cassian reminded the prince. “You had a lovely conversation about politics.”

“...Good.”

“Very much aligns with your policies.”

“Glad I can remember that.”

“He wants to help the lower tiers,” Boblem expanded. “And make it an open barrier policy.”

“And he’s also offered to work with us,” Elyse added. “And have us go meet him in his offices.”

Vanden nodded. “Well, that’s… brilliant. I’m full of ideas I can offer him.”

“I’m sure you are.”

“Okay, where to even start?”

“There’s a lot.”

“Perhaps the Kranwells,” Cassian frowned. “If it really is one of them, we can…”

“Well is there more to it than he had a limp?” Vanden pressed. “Lots of people have a limp.”

“It wasn’t just that,” Elyse shook her head. “It was the talk of the ravenous hunger, and the way he was acting strangely.”

“And how he wasn’t allowed to be let out of their sights,” Sariel recalled.

“Yeah.”

“He didn’t seem like he was doing well,” Boblem agreed. “His voice sounded off.”

“Okay,” Vanden relented.

“Just something unnerving about him,” Elyse continued. “And I just remember how that barkeeper described that man, saying he did weird things, unnerving.”

“Drinking strangely,” Cassian recalled.

“Did you see him drinking strangely?” Vanden prompted.

They hadn’t.

“Okay, well…” Vanden shrugged. “What do you all want to do today?”

“Don’t even know,” Elyse chuckled.

“Don’t even know how to follow last night,” Sariel agreed.

Cassian stared at the table. “Last night was a lot.”

  
  


Astra arrived at the Zauviirs. The door was opened by Ezio, who had to step over a very prone Iymril in the corridor. The bodyguard gave Astra a tired look, glancing back at the drow. “I’ve been told not to disturb him.”

“At least he came home,” Astra chuckled.

“They’ll be fine.”

“How are you doing?”

He sighed. “You know…”

“You don’t get paid enough.”

“No,” he shrugged. “We hear you absconded?”

“Yeah, we kind of had to move as fast as we could.”

“You missed the show.”

“I heard it was beautiful.”

“Mhm,” Ezio leaned in with gossip. “The Duke turned up late. Found his wife kissing another lady.”

“Oh. So that was the show…”

“That was the second show,” Ezio grinned. “But the two creatures, that was cool too.”

Astra looked down. “Right…”

“Come in, come in. You staying?”

“No, I’m actually here to collect everyone’s things. We’ve moved back to the barracks.”

“Oh, oh that’s a shame. Will you be coming to say goodbye to the family?”

“Oh, we will be up at some point,” Astra nodded.

“Okay… they’re leaving at the end of the day.”

“At the end of the day? Okay, we’ll get them up here before then. I think everyone’s not feeling too hot this morning.”

“Understandable,” he looked down at Iymril. “Come on in.”

“Thank you.”

They both stepped over Iymril. There was a parchment note stuck to his back that read  _ Do Not Disturb. _

Astra grinned at the sign. “Was that you?”

Ezio grinned back. “That was… that was their mother, actually. At least they won’t be able to get up to too much trouble in Bronze Harbour.”

“Looking forward to going home?”

“Yes. I miss the sea air.” He helped gather their things, loading them into a carriage and setting it up. “But make sure you’re back later, say goodbye.”

“We will, for sure. Thank you again, Ezio.”

“No problem Astra. Look after yourself.”

“You too,” he smiled. “See you in a bit.”

“See you later.”

Iymril groaned. “Ezioooooooooo… my head hurts…”

Ezio groaned.

The bard stifled a smile. “Good luck.”

Ezio shook his head, smacking his ear. “Would you believe that? I can’t hear anything…”

“Oh, the music was loud last night,” Astra nodded.

“So loud. I’m going to have my break, and a glass of wine.” Ezio walked off.

Astra moved past, stepping back over Iymril. They were still facedown, though slightly shifting by now. “Who’s there...?”

The door closed behind, and Astra headed back to the barracks.

  
  


“I guess if we want to take things more easy today,” Elyse began, “Given everything… we could do something on this tier. We probably don’t want to go to Valentinian right away. But there were the mercenaries, who might have that woman with them. The woman who held off the beast?”

“Yeah,” Boblem agreed.

“That’s true,” Cassian recalled.

Sariel looked over to the sorceress. “Were they on this tier?”

“Ursa Volantis,” Elyse nodded. “Apparently, they have a lot more orcish and elvish mercenaries, and someone said she might have been one of them.”

“If we do find her,” Boblem thought, “We can try and describe the Kranwell guy to her. See if that fits.”

“Might be worth a shot.”

“If we’re not doing too much,” Sariel thought, “I might pass by the Anvilhold. Drop something in.”

“Okay,” Vanden nodded.

“I’ve got some things to sell,” Elyse shrugged. “Might be able to do that right now, at some point.”

Astra returned.

“Morning,” Cassian greeted.

“Everyone’s things are in the carriage,” he explained. A chorus of thanks returned. “Ezio’s asked if we can go back up to say goodbye before they leave tonight.”

“I suppose it’s only gracious, they did host us,” Vanden agreed.

“Yeah,” Elyse shrugged.

“Right, well,” Cassian sat forward. “Do you want to go question those mercenaries?”

“Yeah,” Elyse quickly explained the plan to Astra. “If people think it would be useful, it might be a good lead.”

“Why not, let’s do it,” Vanden stood.

“Right,” Cassian knocked on the table, announcing. “I am going to stay home for the day.”

“Sure,” Sariel nodded.

“I might do the same, if that’s okay,” Astra followed.

Vanden, Sariel, Boblem, and Elyse set out into the city to find Ursa Volantis while Astra and Cassian settled in for a nice day indoors.

  
  


While Cassian was home, he heard fragments of whispers, reflecting around from the points where the shells were placed in his room, in his hands, and on his person. There were traces of something in the air.

He picked up the name of the other Kranwell sibling, Eustacius. Eustacius Kranwell Junior. He was speaking to someone named Commander Ossghym. He heard the hushed fragments of voices, though not a whole conversation.

_ “Half-orcish, half-elven. Blue-grey skin. Yellow eyes. Tattoo of a paw on the back of her neck. Discretion.” _

_ “Very well. Scouts. 90 pieces of platinum.” _

_ “Result.” _

Cassian ran from his room, chasing down Astra. The bard was in the garden, working with the sprouts as Cassian skidded out.

“Astra!”

The bard glanced up. “...Cassian?”

“You can… message people? Right?”

“Yes?”

“Can you message the others, right now?”

“Yes.”

Cassian moved forward, setting the scene and gesturing wildly. “Eustacius Kranwell has set out a hit on a half-elvin, half-orcish, blue-grey skinned person with a paw tattoo on the back of her neck.” He hit a final pose, arms in the air, allowing the bard to draw his own conclusion.

“Okay… who do you want me to send it to?”

The wizard paused for a moment, thinking. “Elyse. She knows you can do the spell properly. She won’t mind magic in her head.”

“I’ve got 25 words,” Astra worried.

“Be concise.”

Astra began to count the words on his fingers. “Eustacius Kranwell set a hit on the half-orc, half-elven woman…”

“Mercenary.”

“Mercenary,” the bard nodded. “With a paw on the back of her neck…”

“90 platinum.”

“90 platinum.”

“Discretion advised.”

“Discretion advised.”

“Werewolf?” Cassian shrugged.

“Werewolf?” Astra shrugged back.

Cassian gave a thumbs up. Astra mirrored him.

Hearing the message, Elyse stopped as she walked with the other three. “Useful information,” she replied aloud. “Where did you get that?”

“What?” the druids turned.

“Um, Astra just messaged me and said that… Eustacius Kranwell took out a hit on… potentially, sounds like the woman we’re looking for?”

“Eustacius?” Sariel pressed.

“We should hurry then,” Vanden urged.

“So we should hurry, definitely,” Elyse agreed.

Boblem walked faster. “We need to get to her.”

“He also mentioned, I don’t know if we knew this before, she has a paw tattoo on the back of her neck?”

Astra heard the reply, passing it to Cassian. “She just asked, where did you get the information, but I can only do that one more time…”

“That’s fine... Should we go meet them?”

“...Sure,” Astra sighed.

“Okay,” Cassian frowned. “I was looking forward to a nice day in.”

“Yeah.”

The wizard stared at the bard a moment longer. “You’re right,” he groaned, resigning himself to the task.

“I know.”

Cassian offered a hand, and they shook on their mutual disappointment.

“Come on, let’s get going,” Astra grinned.

“Okay.”

  
  


Vanden looked to the other three. “Should we go and get them?”

The two groups continued marching on through the city, one searching for the barracks, one searching for the others. After a full hour, with people bustling and going about their day in the busy city, the sun just breaking through the crest of the ridge, they both turned a corner, pointing forwards the discovery of the other.

“Convenient,” Vanden nodded.

Sariel smiled at the pair. “Hello.”

“We came to find you,” Astra explained.

“Yes,” Cassian nodded.

Elyse grinned. “Yeah, thanks for the message. We need to find these barracks.”

“Hurry,” Boblem agreed.

“Yes, posthaste,” Cassian urged.

After another half hour of wandering through, they came to an enormous set of barracks. Huge walls lined up in front of them, close to twenty feet tall. They heard the unmistakable roar of bears coming from behind. Boblem knocked on the huge gates.

Someone stepped down as the doors creaked open. Before them was a male figure with blue-grey skin, tall, broad shoulders, and a square jaw, ears tipped and tinted in an elvish-orcish combination. He had a large and heavy brow, long cheekbones, and an angular face with piercing yellow eyes. He wore a fur collar with beautiful heavy red leather armour, intricately detailed with angular runes and swirls breaking through them, covered head to toe in it all. “Greetings?”

“Hi, we’re looking for someone?” Vanden prompted.

“You might have to narrow it down…”

“Someone who we think might be one of your people,” Elyse offered.

“With a paw print tattoo on the back of her neck?” Vanden pressed.

Cassian peered further into the courtyard. “Survived one of the attacks on the lower tiers.”

The man gave them all a look before turning around, pointing to a paw print on his own neck. “You’ll find most people here have that tattoo.”

“Oh, good,” Vanden frowned.

“Survived the attack on the lower tiers,” Cassian repeated, undeterred.

“Female,” Elyse continued, “Fought it off with a spear or something.”

“You’ll be wanting Boske,” the man nodded.

“Boske.”

“We think she might be in danger,” Sariel warned.

At that, the man straightened. “Really? What source have you on this?”

“We have reason to believe the person that attacked her might… be trying to attack her again,” Boblem explained.

“Take out a hit on her,” Vanden agreed. “Can we come inside?”

The man seemed pretty doubtful. “Stay here, okay? I’ll bring her down.” He took a step back, noticing that a fair few of the group had weapons. The gates closed.

As they waited, Boblem looked out over the rooftops. He didn’t see anyone following them, though there were plenty of people walking the streets. Elyse sent Rana to take to the skies. They didn’t see anyone specifically watching them, save for a few who glanced over at the group with mild interest.

Ten minutes later, there were footsteps, and the doors opened. The same man from before appeared once more, standing with another woman, the same racial mixture of elvish and orcish. There were a number of figures behind them as well, most with a hand on the hilts of their swords. One had a hand on the woman’s shoulder, looking out and over at them all.

The sentry who had greeted them before now had a weapon on their back. Astra raised his arms in surrender. “No no,” the man assured them. “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

The double doors opened, and they were allowed to enter. The courtyard was four times as large as their own, a field of compacted dirt and sand the size of a sports pitch. Flanking the sides were rows of stables, but they were larger than most stables they had ever seen. In the distance, they saw the enormous figures of white polar bears. On the top of them were incredibly detailed saddles, full harnesses encasing the bears in the same red leather armour. The armour came over the tops of their heads like a helmet, plate leather completely wrapping over their bodies. Where the saddles came up, there were heavy crossbows mounted at the top.

A figure was mounted on one, straddling the top of the bear as it reared up and roared. A lance in the mercenary’s hand, they were decked out in the same armour, two enormous decorative ceremonial wings coming from the back to arching over their head, steel feathers poking out to glint in the sun. The bear thudded down on all fours, pounding as it ran forward. A target was completely demolished on the other side of the training ground, the bear taking a swipe at it while the lance swun around to bisect it in midair. A roar echoed out from the enormous animal.

The group of adventurers had to shake themselves back to attention. A few of the mercenaries grinned.

“Ah,” Vanden cleared his throat.

“That’s a lot,” Cassian mumbled.

Elyse grinned wide. “That’s amazing.”

“They might not need help after all,” Boblem realized.

Astra was melting. “They’re so pretty!”

The woman stepped forward, a bit shorter than those surrounding her, men, women, and a few who’s gender they couldn’t determine. Many of them were fully armed and armoured. The woman crossed her arms, cracking her neck. “So I hear there’s a hit been taken out on me.”

“Apparently,” Elyse nodded.

“Quite a large one,” Cassian agreed.

Sariel looked up at the woman. “Are you Boske?”

She nodded. “Visal. Visal Boske.”

Introductions went around.

“Verdant Astra.”

“Elyse.”

“Boblem, nice to meet you.”

“Vanden.”

“Sariel.”

“Cassian.”

Elyse grinned. “We heard you were quite the hero down in the first tier.”

“I get that a lot,” she replied.

“Don’t,” another mercenary chided. “Her head will get even bigger.”

“Well,” she turned on her companion, “When you save as many people as I did, maybe you can call yourself a hero too.”

“Apparently, the creature that you went toe to toe with has put out a hit of 90 platinum against you,” Astra explained. The woman grinned at the number.

“Well, the person we suspect might be,” Elyse corrected.

“Potentially.”

“We were hoping to ask for more information on that, actually.”

“Well, we saw the man last night,” Cassian recalled. “Did you get a good look before he turned?”

“No,” she apologized. “Come on, we can’t have you standing out here in the cold.”

“Thank you,” Vanden nodded.

The mercenaries backed up, allowing them to enter past the gatehouse. The doors shut behind them, and a few people fanned back. Many still had their arms crossed, looking pretty defensive. From the intricacies across Boske’s armour and the rank braids across her shoulder, she seemed like one of the younger, less experienced members. Other people had more badges of rank and merit, and over the eye slits on their helmets, carvings and markings of some sort. There were many eyes watching over the six as they entered one of the buildings.

“So,” Boske repeated. “Someone’s taken out a hit on me.”

“Yes,” Vanden nodded.

“Not just someone,” Boblem warned.

Elyse frowned. “A very influential person, it seems.”

She sighed. “I had a feeling that the person behind this was some scum from up above.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah,” she ran her tongue across her teeth, sucking in air with a hiss. “Intuition. What do you know? Come on. Fill me in.”

Vanden gestured a hand towards Cassian, prompting the wizard to speak.

Cassian cleared his throat. “Um, I… know that a man called Eustacius Kranwell Junior has taken out a hit on you. Worth 90 platinum. That should be done discreetly. We saw the man last night, acting strangely hungry and walking with a limp. You struck the creature in the leg, yes?”

Boske tilted her head. “Struck is a way to put it. I turned him into a kebab.”

“Good job.”

Elyse chuckled.

“Aye, she’s a good one,” another mercenary followed. “Strong too.” They went to push her, and she didn’t move. Grinning, Boske pushed up her sleeves, posing.

“That night you were in the tavern,” Vanden began.

“Aye,” she acknowledged.

“I know it’s not easy to say exactly who it was. But if you saw them again, do you think you would vaguely recognize them?”

“I think so,” she shrugged.

“One of us could turn into him,” Elyse offered.

Vanden turned to the wizard. “Cassian?”

Cassian snapped his fingers, and his form was replaced with the image of the Kranwell sibling.

Boske examined him. “He was… he was hooded, and cloaked, but… it seems right.”

Cassian added a hood and cloak, the outfit materializing over him.

Boske tilted her head. “Roll your shoulders forward. Slouch.”

He complied, a few members of the group grinning.

“Bite your nails.”

Cassian did, a few members of the group now giggling.

Boske nodded. “Yeah, that’s pretty spot on.”

Cassian dropped the disguise. Vanden gave him an approving grin, but the wizard was too focused on the nasty taste leftover in his mouth to notice.

Boske chuckled a bit before stopping herself. “No, I shouldn’t be laughing. Two people died.”

“More than two people,” Cassian countered.

“Well…”

“Over the course of two months.”

“Yeah.”

Astra frowned, looking at the table. “Why would someone do that?”

“Hells if I know,” Boske shrugged.

Boblem’s face dropped. “The people up above seem to think that the people down below are disposable.”

“That’s true,” Elyse conceded. “But it’s strange…”

“You said he seemed hungry last night,” Vanden pressed.

“Yeah, he kept talking about being hungry.”

“Went down to the kitchens,” Sariel recalled. “Wouldn’t take what was on the buffet tables.”

“His sister complained that the staff would find him gnawing on a raw leg,” Boblem agreed.

Boske began to chuckle, looking at her companions.

Cassian eyed her. “What’s so funny?”

“You really live a high life, don’t you?” she replied.

“No,” Vanden returned.

“It was a one off,” Elyse explained.

“Right, right,” Boske grinned, not entirely believing. “Okay.”

“We were in the right place at the right time, to help the right people.”

“Well, I’d say I know something about that.”

A few of the other mercenaries gave her friendly pats on the shoulder before turning to walk back out, returning to the training ground. Two others remained, a sentry, and another full orc woman. The woman seemed about 45, watching quietly in the corner.

“So,” Boske continued. “What evidence do you have? Of this hit, that’s out on me.”

The rest of the group turned to Cassian, equally interested in the answer. He looked down, searching for an answer. “That… is hard to describe.”

“Very well. So if we went to the guard and said... Eustancius Kranwell?”

“Junior,” Cassian agreed.

“Okay, I don’t know the name- ”

The older woman piped up. “Aye, I know him. I know of him, at least.”

Boske stiffened slightly, standing a bit straighter as the other woman spoke. “Yes, if we go to the authorities and say, Eustacius Kranwell, Junior,” she nodded to Cassian, “Put out a hit on me…”

“They’re probably not going to believe you,” Cassian shrugged.

“You’re going to be met with laughter,” Vanden agreed.

“Yes.”

The prince crossed his arms. “You’ll need proof.”

Elyse frowned. “Yeah, and that might put you in even more danger.”

“But staying safe is not unwise,” Cassian advised.

“Pretty safe here,” Boske countered.

Vanden turned to Cassian again. “Do you know who they were contracting?”

“No,” he replied. “I can try and ask...” Suddenly, he remembered. “Ah, yes, of course, something about… Ossghym?”

Boske raised her eyebrows, her mouth forming a small o.

“Do you know who that is?” Sariel asked.

“He’s… the commander of the Silver Host,” she explained.

“Who are they?” Boblem asked.

“Another mercenary company?” Elyse guessed.

Boske nodded. “Very respectable.”

“Huh. Are they up on one of the higher tiers, or something?”

“They might be around here, they might be on the fifth. I’m not certain. Held in high regard, for sure. There’s a lot of them, and they pay well.”

“Makes sense for a richer family,” Cassian agreed.

“90 platinum,” Sariel repeated.

“That’s… I’ve never even seen platinum,” Boske admitted, grinning.

“Oh, be honored,” Cassian returned. “This man really wants you dead.”

“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t fill me with a little bit of pride.”

“Must be quite flattering,” Sariel replied.

“Yeah,” Elyse chuckled.

“It would do me a great honor to finish the job,” Boske considered. “Really stick ‘em this time. That sick- ” she swore in Orcish. Vanden suppressed a grin at the curse.

“Well maybe we can help bring him to justice in some way,” Elyse offered. “If we team up.”

“Perhaps.”

The older woman spoke again. “We’ll have to go through the right channels. We can’t just assault a house on… forgive me, quick information.”

“Of course,” Elyse nodded.

“We’ll… we’d be locked up by the guard in minutes.”

“Naturally,” Cassian agreed.

“But we have ways of finding out more information,” the sorceress continued. “And together, I’m sure we have… all sorts of networks we can tap into.”

“And at least you can be prepared,” Sariel agreed. “Rather than not knowing.”

“Contacts is the name of the game,” the woman nodded.

Astra shrugged. “Wouldn’t have sat well with us to not come and tell you, at least.”

“It’s appreciated. It… it…” Boske sighed. “When I ran him though, I pulled the spear out and… it closed up right after. It did something to him, but… barely threw him off. I think he was more surprised that I stood up to him. I don’t know much about these creatures, I never even thought they really existed before, but… I think you need something special.”

“Did you know what sort of creature it was?” Elyse pressed.

“I’ve heard of a werewolf, who hasn’t? But…”

“Did it look like a wolf?” Sariel asked.

Boske frowned. “Some… twisted reflection of one, maybe.”

“You can’t damage them with a regular blade,” Vanden concluded. “The bandits we fought, back in the Flooded Hills.”

“And yeah, when I used… when I used that item,” Elyse recalled. “I barely took a hit.”

“Magic seemed to work on them,” Boblem remembered.

“Really need to go to the Anvilhold today, then,” Sariel decided.

The older woman spoke again. “My name is Captain Cranna. Look, if you were at these functions, and you’ve got networks… maybe you can put the right wheels in motion. Who’s to say you can’t… expose the right things. Hire Ursa Volantis to lead the charge, legally, and provide some reinforcement. I’m sure the guard don’t want to get their hands messy, or risk lives.”

Elyse looked over the group. “Do you think either of our… contacts… higher up, might be interested in helping with this?”

Cassian shook his head. “Well, the Zauviirs are leaving today.”

“They do hate them, though,” Boblem added.

“The other one, as well?” Elyse continued. “Who has offered to help?”

“Oh,” Vanden realized her meaning. “Possibly.”

The captain considered. “I’d say… this is a somewhat personal matter, don't you think Visal?” she turned to look at Boske, who nodded. “I’d say if a sum were to be paid in silver, promptly… we can see what we could do.”

“Silver?” Elyse wondered.

“How much silver?” Sariel asked.

The captain smiled. “The weight of a bear.”

Cassian raised a brow. “And how much does a bear weigh?”

“Enough to break the ice.”

The captain chuckled with Boske, the rest of the adventurers giggling as Cassian sat with no reaction.

“Very good,” Vanden admitted, grinning at the captain.

“Look, look, look,” she waved a hand. “This is more practical than anything. We don’t want to waste much time. Melt down the silver, bolt heads, arrowheads… Look, if you can go about this, set the wheels in motion the right way… Ursa Volantis will be more than happy to fight by your side. It doesn’t take much to recognize adventurers.”

“We’ll do what we can for you.”

“We’ll do what we can for you,” she returned.

“We'll keep in contact,” Elyse agreed. “And figure something out .”

“In the meantime, watch your head,” Vanden advised.

“Please.”

“Be safe,” Sariel followed.

The captain turned to Boske with a grin. “You’re on mopping duty. You’re going to be safe.”

“No…” Boske shook her head. “No…”

“I’m your captain,” the other woman chuckled. “Go on,” she gestured away, pointing a thumb over her shoulder.

Boske frowned. She turned to the adventurers, thumping her chest with a fist three times before stalking back off.

Elyse grinned at the captain. “That’s no way to treat a hero.”

“I think that’s a very good idea,” Vanden countered, speaking in Orcish to the woman.

“No way to treat a hero, maybe,” the woman admitted. “But I’m still her commanding officer. There are certain rights that come with the rank.”

“I get it,” Elyse grinned.

“Grease the right wheels. Put things in motion.”

“Consider it done,” Vanden agreed.

The captain thumped her own chest, and turned to let them leave.

Sariel stood. “Let’s go grease the wheels, I suppose.”

They headed out. The roaring of another bear echoed from behind as the doors closed. They turned, stepping into the city with nerves were ablaze, but they had a new optimism that change, and perhaps even justice, was on the way.


	38. Whispers Of Change, Episode Thirty-Five

“I think we need to head straight to Valentinian with this,” Elyse decided.

“I agree,” Cassian followed.

Vanden nodded. “We do. Can we swing by the barracks? There’s something I want to take, to make our argument.”

“We need evidence, yeah,” Boblem agreed.

“Let’s go,” Elyse prompted.

It took about an hour for them to walk over, pick up what they needed from the barracks, and head to the municipal offices on the fourth tier in the district Haitius looked after. It was a fairly modest building, with a number of people going in and out, wearing the official black and silver robes of Shadebourne. A couple of guards were stationed outside, looking them up and down as they entered.

They moved in, thin pillars surrounding them in the marbled atrium. Speaking to the acolytes inside, they were guided to the Valentinian’s office. Vanden knocked on the cherry door, pushing it open. They saw a few chaise longue sofas in a fairly large office, with racks and racks of scrolls, books, and maps along one side. There was a window on the back end that looked out to the city, a table in the middle for meetings and discussions, and a smaller desk in the corner. Valentinian had been speaking to someone, a young drow in the same official robes.

Haitius looked up. “Oh... I wasn’t expecting you so soon.”

“No, Lord Councilor, we have some rather pressing things to discuss,” Vanden explained.

He nodded, turning back to the drow. “If you don't mind, I’ll catch up with you later.” The drow nodded, walking past. “Come in, come in. Rightfully, how can I help you?”

Cassian surveyed the others.“Where to start?”

“Where to start…” Sariel echoed.

“We have come into the possession of some further information,” Vanden explained. “I think things are advancing. We need to act soon.”

“Crucially,” he nodded, “This sounds like it might call for tea.” He turned, bustling himself. The dwarf brought down a steaming teapot, pouring a number of cups to serve them all. The cups were beautifully made of copper, with dwarven banding around the sides. It was a fragrant red tea that they hadn’t seen before, but they all drank.

“I get the sense this is important,” the councilor frowned. He went to the door, locking it.

“We have two matters to discuss,” Vanden began.

“The murders, for a start,” Cassian explained. “And… your competition.”

“Where would you rather we begin?”

“The murders,” Haitius resolved.

“Well, we’ve come into the information that um…” Elyse sighed. “Kranwell has taken out a hit on the mercenary who helped fight off the creature. Down on the lower tiers. She’s a member of the Ursa Volantis.”

“Aye, they were… they were guests, last night. I didn’t speak to them personally but… which member of the Kranwell family?”

“Eustacius Junior,” Cassian replied.

“Eustacius… hm. Okay. A member of Ursa Volantis, you say?”

“Mhm,” Elyse continued. “We saw him at the ball, limping, with the same leg that supposedly this woman stabbed that creature with. And some other things that seemed to hint, perhaps…”

“You’re insinuating that Eustacius Kranwell… is a creature, that has attacked these people?”

“Some sort of lycanthrope,” Vanden agreed.

“We just don’t understand why we would take out a hit on the person that attacked the creature, if he has no interest in it,” Boblem reasoned.

“And the fact that we saw him limping,” Elyse argued. “It just adds up, too much.”

“To eliminate a witness. I turned into the man in front of her,” Cassian added. “And she said it seemed about accurate.”

“Exactly,” Boblem nodded. “There seems to be too many things all linking together.”

“The problem is,” Vanden continued, “From what we’ve gathered, he’s taken up this hit with the Silver Host.”

Valentinian raised his brows in surprise. “Well this complicates matters greatly.”

“That’s why we’ve come to you.”

“I mean not to sound rude or dismissive, but, a lot of this is… circumstantial. A limp, a message… do you have written proof?”

“No,” Cassian shrugged.

“A contract killing, one of the members of a company on another… that’s recordable. Can be charged.”

Elyse rubbed her chin. “Surely there would be a written contract somewhere.”

“Or with the mercenaries,” Cassian added.

“Must be in their barracks,” Boblem agreed.

Vanden frowned. “Do you have any rules in place, that you can requisition this information?”

“Aye, we have judicial powers,” Valentinian nodded. “We can seize assets. It takes a long time, but we can have people dragged to the Temple of Bahamut. It’s not nice, but… force people to tell the truth.”

“It would perhaps be better if we could get further proof ahead of time.”

“Mhm. Would your cohort in Ursa Volantis be willing to testify under charm?”

Elyse surveyed the others. “They didn’t say anything about that specifically, but they did seem very willing to help.”

“They seemed very interested in helping,” Vanden agreed. “And pitched, perhaps, that they would be interested in investigating to obtain further proof, officially.”

“Perhaps, perhaps,” Valentinian nodded. “Although, if… if their name is out there, perhaps dragging them out in public to testify is not a wise option.”

“No,” Cassian agreed. “They should lay low if scouts or assassins are after them.”

“I would not wish to be the assassin walking into the barracks of Ursa Volantis.”

“Having seen them, me neither,” Elyse grinned.

The dwarf chuckled. “Mighty.”

“But that doesn’t mean they’re not in danger.”

“I also don’t think that is particularly the concern here,” Vanden worried. “It’s more the… what this means for the city.”

“This means….” the dwarf sighed. “If what you’re saying is true, and I’m not doubting that, but I’m not affirming that… if a member of the wealthy elite is picking on and preying on the…”

“The most unfortunate people in the city,” Elyse supplied.

“Exactly. That spells disaster. And if… if nothing is done, what happens?”

The wizard began to speak, stopping himself as he realized the dwarf was going to continue. Noticing the false start, Valentinan nodded to him. “Go on.”

Cassian pursued his lips. “...Seems to be a recurring theme around here, so…”

“It’s unfortunate you should say so, but. It’s true.”

“We know that you’re aware of that,” Elyse nodded. “That’s why we came to you with this.”

“Thank you. Your trust is well received. Usually, the wealthy elite don’t take it out so viscerally…”

“That’s the thing that gets me, he could hurt them in any number of ways. Why choose that way? Maybe he can’t control it, I don't know.”

Astra spoke up. “The way that it was said at the ball, it sounded like he doesn’t really have control over it. His sister was saying about… what if people find him tearing into a leg of ham with just his mouth?

“No crime to be a sloppy eater,” Valentinian countered.

“It’s no crime, but also… if he’s got no control on how he does it… maybe his hunger is just taking him too far.”

“Perhaps. The report from my guard says that, in several situations, he barricaded people in with him.”

“Yeah, I was about to say,” Elyse followed, “That makes it seem like it's calculated in some way, to an extent.”

“And not only that,” Sariel growled, “He’s doing it for sport. He’s not eating them, he’s not robbing them. He’s killing them for the fun of it.”

Valentinian had a think for a few minutes, sitting quietly. “Gathering evidence, proof of this, would be… most beneficial. If we could tie him down to this somehow. I assume there would be a copy of the contract with Eustacius Kranwell Junior, and also a copy with the Silver Host, perhaps.”

“We could always pay the Kranwells a visit,” Cassian suggested. “Politely.”

“I’m sure you could do that. And I’m sure that would all be above board, but, be mind not to… spark their interest. If what you’re saying is true, you want to keep them in the dark, so to speak.”

“Think it would be best if people don’t know that Ursa Volantis has been warned about anything,” Boblem agreed.

“Absolutely,” Elyse seconded.

“I would not like to start a war between the companies on these streets,” Valentinian warned, “Because the only people who will pay for it are the civilians, the shopkeepers, the tavern owners, and the patrons.”

“Quite right,” Vanden frowned.

“Enough blood has been spilled. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you,” Elyse relaxed, grateful.

“The other matter…” Vanden began.

Haitius sighed. “Go on.”

“Lothmuir,” Cassian frowned.

“Aye?”

“So… how to go about saying this…” Vanden took a moment to form the words. “We have also obtained reason to believe that your competition… has been taking out contracts of his own. In the Underdark.”

“Okay… now, politics is dirty and underhanded, but… I hope everything here is above board. I wish not to resort to subterfuge to undermine my opponent. If he has committed crimes, gone against the way and will of the city, that’s understandable. But I would not wish to slander or accuse anything which is… not unquestionably verifiable.”

“Something fell into our possession.”

The dwarf hung his head for a moment, chuckling. “I’ve been around many a year, and I know when elements of a story are left out. But go on.”

“I’m leaving elements of the story out for your deniability,” Vanden countered.

“I appreciate that.”

“...Do you have methods of identifying someone from, say, a smear of blood?”

“Personally, no. But at the temple, aye.”

“Do you have a powerful mage that you trust?” Boblem asked. “Within your ranks?”

“Within my ranks, no. Traditionally, politics and the clergy are kept seperate, but… we keep… we have ties, to the temple of Bahamut. Justice, and truth, are within their unit.”

Vanden pulled out the Weeping Eye contract, passing it over. Haitius took it, reading it through.

“Pertinent with some things we overheard Lothmuir saying last night,” Cassian added.

Valentinian raised a brow. “What specifically, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“What was her name… Manolin?”

“Aye?”

“She expressed… disappointment in Lothmuir. That she had miners on hold, who would need to get paid one way or another, and that results weren’t being made, and what was she to do. I believe the specifics of the contract say that a certain quartz is to be left untouched.”

“Are you familiar with the Underdark, sir?”

“Not particularly.”

“The twilight quartz is a crystal that is embedded, naturally, in the roof. The ceiling, of the Underdark. Provides them with their light. No sunlight down there. It’s a source of… life. If this… to be true… a campaign of fear and terror, to move the residents away, to harvest their… their quartz. That’s despicable. Granted, I know the town of Ketz is… it’s a separate town, it’s not within the realm of Shadebourne. But many people from Ketz, from the Underdark, Kehrago in general, end up here. Many of our citizens on the first and second tiers started their lives in the Underdark, and have now come here. Close ties. If people are being hurt down there… terrorized… it is my responsibility to make sure this is stopped.”

“Ours too,” Vanden followed.

The dwarf looked up at them from the contract. “You’re a curious bunch, but. Your heart’s in the right place. If this goes as high up as a councilor, that's dreadful.”

“I gotta say,” Boblem frowned, “We also overheard the governor, the current governor… talking about a project  _ down there. _ With Lothmuir. And when Lothmuir tried to discuss it with him, the governor immediately snapped at him. Told him to not bring this up right here.”

Haitius had wide eyes. He rolled up the scroll. “Sorry, the governor? Berit Zha? The gnome?”

“Yeah… I’m afraid so.”

“Sounds as if he has Lothmuir in his pocket,” Sariel griped.

“Seems things go higher up than you would think.”

“From what I understand,” Cassian recalled, “If Lothmuir gets control, he wants to clear out the lower tiers. Make it so that only people who can  _ afford _ to live in the city can live there.”

Haitius had been quiet, taking in the words. “This can’t be serious… we all know Lothmuir has no spine of his own, but… for Zha to be tied into this?”

“I know it sounds somewhat unbelievable,” Vanden admitted, “But corruption is a very old tune.”

“Putting a puppet in power is a way to stay in power when you can’t,” Boblem agreed.

“I’m well aware, sir,” the dwarf nodded. “You’re very wise. This breaks my heart… granted, my policies don’t align with Zha or Lothmuir neither, but I had always… I assumed it was as a parent, looking after their child with a strict, firm but fair hand. Tough love. Sometimes you want the best for things you look over, and you have to go about it the hard way. But this could not be further from it. If this is true, if Zha authorized or instructed these… the Weeping Eye? I’ve heard of them, I’ve heard of them.”

“Nasty bunch,” Sariel nodded.

“Aye….” Valentinian paused, leaning back in his chair as he realized something.

“Everything alright?” Cassian prompted.

“...I’ve heard some things about the Weeping Eye. But we’ll talk about that later. For now, and more pressing issues… this truly breaks my heart, but. I will have to escalate this.”

Elyse sighed. “Probably for the best, for the city.”

“You’ve got to understand, this looks… extremely convenient for my campaign.”

“We understand that.”

“Then we escalate it,” Vanden decided.

Boblem looked over to the dwarf. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

“We take it to the Temple of Bahamut. We prove it to the city.”

Haitus eyed Vanden, passing the contract back over.

“Just think, if he found anything against you, he would be using it during his campaign right now,” Sariel warned.

“Aye,” he admitted.

“This doesn’t have to be on you,” Vanden agreed. “We don’t want you connected with this piece of paper.”

“And you’re not doing this to do something against his campaign,” Boblem pointed out. “You’re doing it to protect the people.”

“Yeah, exactly,” Elyse concurred.

“True, that’s my intention,” he relented. “It may not always be seen that way. But I don’t wish to hide anything. If anyone asks you where you’ve been, you tell them honestly. You don’t lie. You can say you brought this to me. If it’s inconvenient for my campaign, it’s inconvenient for my campaign. But, there are other candidates for the governorship. If I am disqualified, Malgear… she’s competent enough. But, more important than my campaign is that justice is delivered to those who deserve it.”

Astra listened with a smile. “You’re a good person.”

“I don’t know about that. I've had my share of bad experiences in the past, done my best to atone for them, but…”

“But learning and growing is better than… digging deep, and never changing,” Elyse reasoned.

“Aye. Bring what you’ve found to the temple of Bahamut. The two separate issues. They both… they seem unrelated, I can’t see a string between the two, but someone might connect threads. All those parties at my ball, perhaps there’s something I’m missing. Perhaps they’re unrelated. But, the people deserve to know. The people deserve to not be… scared in their homes and taverns and the markets anymore. They deserve not to be taken advantage of. The walls were put up to protect the people, but when the monsters are in the walls too, there's nothing you can do.”

“Sounds like the monsters have always been in the walls,” Cassian replied.

“Sounds like it.”

Vanden looked back to the dwarf. “What could they do with the twilight quartz?”

“Honestly? I don’t know. Shameful of me, dwarven ancestry, to not know what could be done with it. It’s a relic, natural wonder. Sheds light of its own, perhaps has other qualities. I couldn’t say. It’s for a smarter smith than I.”

“Might there be anyone in the city who would know?” Elyse wondered.

“Perhaps. I can ask around. For now, that’s not my priority. My priority is that people are being pushed out of their homes, in Ketz. And this needs to find the right hands.”

“We’ll take it to the right hands,” Vanden agreed. “Is there a name? Someone at the temple that we can take it straight to?”

“High Priest Elvinath.”

“We’ll do what we can,” Astra promised.

“Thank you. I can set wheels in motion, as well. But this may be the first step. I can rally what investigators I can, see if we can pull anything up on Ossghym and Kranwell. You deal with Lothmuir for now. I’ll do what I can behind the scenes.”

“Thank you,” Boblem nodded.

“It’s good to have you on the side of Shadebourne.”

“I’m sure that, together,” Elyse smiled, “We can bring about great change in this city.”

“I’d like to see that.”

“Well, we have work to do,” Vanden stood. “We shouldn’t dally any longer.”

“Thank you for the tea,” Astra grinned.

“Lovely tea,” Boblem agreed.

Haituis shrugged. “It’s an old family recipe.”

“You gotta share that with me later.”

“I’d be happy to sir. If you can’t find me here, send a missive up to the house. I usually finish up come nightfall, after that I’ll be at the home.”

He stood, as did the others.

“We’ll speak again soon,” Vanden nodded.

“Thank you.”

Elyse wished him goodbye in Dwarven, and he responded in kind. They were given a missive to enter the fifth tier, and escorted out onto the street.

“Right,” Cassian sighed.

“The Temple of Bahamut, it seems then, is pressing,” Vanden declared.

“We need to go to the higher tiers anyway, to go say goodbye to the Zauviirs,” Astra reminded them.

“Yeah…” Boblem tilted his head. “I think I know someone, in that temple.”

“You do?”

“I…” he went a bit red. “Um, I danced with a lady. That works there. I think.”

Vanden raised his brows, grinning. “Oh?”

“Maybe… she can point us to the High Priestess.”

Elyse gave him an approving nod. “Maybe.”

“Look at you,” Sariel smiled at the other druid. “Making connections.”

The boy fiddled with his shirt. “Umm…”

“All the ladies were all after Boblem last night,” Elyse teased. “It was really fun to watch.”

“Pressing matters, no?” the boy urged, guiding them away from the conversation.

They began to walk. As they did, the sorcerer grew nervous. “Do we all have to go into this temple? Or is there something else we could be doing at the same time?”

“I think we should all go in,” Vanden advised. “This is an important matter, Elyse.”

Astra nodded. “We never had a problem going into temples before.”

Elyse frowned, crossing her arms. “... Yes, I have, it was just necessary.”

“Do you remember in Lakeside?” Vanden consoled her. “I told you it was just a building?”

“To you, maybe.”

“It’s just a construct of stone. If you’re not a believer, what’s there to be afraid of?”

“...It doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about it. Let’s go.”

“I will worry about it,” Vanden bumped her shoulder. “But you’re going to be okay,” he offered a gentle smile. “It’s just… it’s a beautiful piece of architecture.”

“...Sure.”

“Let’s head straight there, then.”

  
  


They climbed through the city, ascending into the fifth tier, showing their notary badge of official business to the guards. They saw the three long spires of the temple well before they arrived at the building itself. Turning to entering the square, the enormous marble spires were before them, climbing up and into the clouds. They went beyond and above even the buildings on the sixth tier. The building was incredibly bright, standing out like a beacon against the dark and more muted color palette and the Shadebourne architecture. Spires and frescos dripped down with gargoyles, incredible flying buttresses, and enormous balconies curving all the way up. Incredible large doors stood out front, at least four or five times the size of any person. As they stood outside, the doors opened. They could see dark wooden floors and marble pillars inside, with plenty of people further in.

“Any sign of your friend?” Sariel prompted the boy.

“Um…” Boblem looked through the doors. “Let’s see.”

There were many people in the robes of Bahamut, but he couldn’t see his dance partner from the outside.

Vanden said a little prayer before nodding to the group, walking in. Astra and the others followed while Elyse held back a bit.

Vanden looked up at the cathedral inside. “We meet again.”

His voice echoed off the walls.

Elyse looked inside once more, counting the priests. She could already see at least twenty. She reached into her pouch, putting a hand on her focus and subtly channeling a bit of magic into it. “Is this safe?”

Nothing responded, but as she took a deep breath out, she didn’t feel as scared anymore. The sorcerer hesitated for another minute, but eventually filed in. She looked to Rana on her shoulder. “Keep an eye out for me, okay?”

She entered. One of the priests looked at Rana, a bit confused. Elyse glared at them.

“I have to let you know,” the priest warned, “There are a lot of pigeons in here. And… if that makes a mess of the other pigeons, we might have to ask you to leave.”

“Don’t worry. It doesn’t need to shit.”

The priest blinked. “I’m more concerned about… nevermind.”

Elyse glanced up at the racks of pigeons along the balconies before dead eyeing the priest once more. “She won’t attack anything unless I tell her to.”

“Okay… okay.”

She caught up with the others. There were many priests and worshippers walking the halls, the echo of a singing choir bouncing off a nearby cloister. They couldn’t find the source, but the low tones were reverberating throughout the entire halls.

“Should we maybe ask if we can see the High Priestess?” Boblem prompted.

“Yes,” Vanden agreed. “Good plan.”

Cassian looked around for a priest. Rounding a corner, the group saw two priests talking with each other, one with distinct white hair and light purple skin. Almost in slow motion, she turned and caught Boblem’s eye, going bright purple with surprise. “Oh!”

Her colleague looked at her, and she turned back. “No no no no no no! Shhh!” she whispered.

“You shhh!”

The woman took a moment to straighten her outfit before turning once more. She wore very formal robes, a platinum silver tunic coming down with three quarter sleeves, and very nice platinum choker. Her hair was tied back with small pins that glittered like starlight.

“Master Boblem,” she smiled.

“Hi, Sonya!” Boblem greeted.

“I’m… so glad you came to visit us.”

“Is this your friend you told us about?” Astra glanced to the boy.

“Yeah, yeah we danced… she’s a wonderful dancer,” Boblem offered, visibly nervous.

Sonya straightened. “I didn’t realize you were speaking about me.”

“All the time,” Elyse grinned.

“That so… Well I mean, I’m working right now, but- ”

“Um!” Boblem interjected. “I’m afraid we… kind of come on business matters?”

Her face faltered for a moment before reviving the smile. “Well, I’d be happy to assist.”

“Of course, we came specifically to you,” Cassian nodded. “Because you’ll do the best job, no?”

“And on recommendation, I expect,” she grinned.

“Exactly.”

Vanden, with no idea what was happening, plowed forward. “We need an audience with the High Priestess.”

“Oh,” Sonya blinked. Looking over, she recognized the prince. “My sister spoke quite highly of you as well.”

Vanden looked to the others, searching for answers.

“You did dance with her sister,” Boblem reminded him.

“Selina?” Sonya prompted.

“Oh! Um, of course,” Vanden feigned recall.

“Looks like me,” Sonya continued. “But older.”

“Of course.” Vanden gave another confused glance to the group.

“I'll take you to her,” Sonya smiled. “If you don’t mind me asking, what is the nature of your visit?”

“It’s a legal matter.”

“Ah, well I suppose you’re in the right place. Do you come seeking council?”

“In a manner of speaking,” Sariel considered.

“Very well.”

“Truth,” Cassian offered.

“I hope you take no offense,” Astra continued, “But it’s something we’d rather talk to her about. In private.”

“Understandable,” she nodded. “Come with me.”

She led them through the high vaulted halls. Incredible works of art hung everywhere, with many sarcophagi lining the corridors, five by seven foot raised caskets with incredible sculptures on top, featuring warriors, mages, scholars, and all sorts. The statues had elven features, draconic features, human features, dwarven features, and many of them were clad in glittering armour, all carved out of the same blocks of marble. They passed on through to the point where the main branch of the cathedral arched out. Twin choirs stood on either side, one singing at the low end of the scale, the other on the higher. The notes conjoined, echoing from all around. The architecture of the cathedral seemed to have been built to amplify and dissipate the sound. Astra felt quite inspired by the incredible experience, walking along through the fields of music.

As they passed the stained glass window Vanden had noticed before, he stumbled, stopping to stare. Stunned by the memory of his last visit, he paused for a moment before shortly hurrying after the others.

They headed past the altar in the center, moving forward. Sonya led them to a kind of amphitheatre, just before the stained glass windows. Stone steps carved down and out, forming a courtroom. At the bottom was a raised dais, a stone table in front. Four or five priests were in deep discussion, Elvinath among them.

Sonya cleared her throat. “High Priestess?”

Elvinath looked over. “Yes, Acolyte Sonya?”

“There are some people who wish to speak to you.”

“Very well. Bring them forward.”

Sonya beckoned them in, their feet echoing against the stone as they stepped to the bottom. Elvinath towered over most of them, her imposing figure reaching eye level to Boblem and Astra. She looked down her nose at them all. “What brings you to the service of Bahamut?”

“We have quite a pressing legal matter that we’d like to speak to you on,” Astra replied. “In private, if possible.”

The High Priestess looked them over. “Very well. I must tell you that, as is our custom, we require a witness with us. One of the acolytes shall stay.”

Sonya puffed out her chest.

Elvinath noticed her. “Very well. The rest of you, if you don’t mind?”

The other acolytes bowed their heads, moving away. She beckoned them through to a side door, leading them first through a long marble tiled corridor before bringing them to a completely enclosed room. It seemed to be an office or bureau of some sort, adjacent to the courtroom. She placed her hands in front of her, clasping them. “Tell me. How can Bahamut provide for you today?”

Vanden cleared his throat. “We have fallen into possession of some information with… some very serious connotations for the city. And, we need… a person identified. Based on blood.”

She raised her brows as Vanden took out the contract, giving it over to her. She read it, her face twisting between confusion, anger, and disgust as her eyes moved down the page. She set the scroll aside, leaning forward on the table. “Understandable. Do you have any predisposition as to who this might be?”

“We have an idea.”

“If you would care to share that with the temple?”

Vanden’s eyes flicked to the others for a second before proceeding. “Lord Councilor Lothmuier.”

“Serious ramifications, indeed.”

“That’s why we wanted to know the truth,” Sariel agreed. “Before going any further.”

Vanden stared at Elvinath for a moment, trying to get a read on her. He looked her in the eye, and she did not look away. She was a stranger to him, but somehow he had never trusted anyone more in his entire life. “You understand how pressing this is,” he prompted. 

“...I do.” She replied. “Who else knows about this?”

Vanden and Cassian met eyes, silently agreeing. “Lord Councilor Valentinian,” they chorused.

She nodded. “Another candidate for the governorship.”

“We brought this to him,” Vanden admitted, “But then we brought this to you ourselves. We don’t want it… implicated that he’s trying to frame a fellow candidate, or anything like that. It’s nothing to do with that.”

“We came into possession of it,” Astra explained.

“We brought it to him because we thought maybe he’d know what to do,” Boblem concluded. “And he advised to come here, to seek the truth.”

“Seems you are… harbingers of truth and justice,” she nodded. “I shall not let my knowledge of the characters of both Valentinian and Lothmuir obstruct my judgement. I shall do my best to remain impartial. But, evidence is evidence. Let me see what I can do…” she gazed over to the drow in the corner. “Sonya. This would be a good opportunity for you. Show me what you can do.”

Sonya’s expression dropped in awe. “R- Really?”

“Go on. I trust you.”

She gave a nervous nod. Sonya took the scroll, her hands shaking as she read it over. She moved to the table, placing it down and weighting it with four dragonchess pieces. She gathered a number of candles, placing them around before running her hands through the flame. As she did, elements of smoke traced off each one, forming a complete circle between each candle to surround the paper. From her necklace, she took out a small needle. Piercing her thumb, she let a bead of blood run off her hand, and the red droplet hung suspended in the air over the contract. Closing her eyes, she focused for about ten minutes, muttering arcane words. Boblem and Astra began to recognize elements of Draconic, picking out a few words; truth, mystery, secret, justice, vision, seeing, disguise…

Sonya pushed a hand out, and the smoke dissipated. She gasped, looking to Elvinath with a nod. “Unquestionably.”

“What did you see, my dear?”

“I… I see Lothmuir. In his council chambers. Taking tea by himself. The blood is his.”

The group let out a collective sigh. “That was impressive,” Sariel complimented. She had been watching the whole process very closely.

“Very impressive,” Boblem agreed.

She gave him a small smile. “Thank you.”

The High Priestess addressed them. “I believe we will take this… investigation… into our own hands. We appreciate what you have done, but, regrettably, we must carry this forward now. As is our duty to do so.”

“If there’s anything we can do to help,” Astra offered. “More than happy to.”

“You’ve done enough.”

“We should tell you,” Vanden added, “We don’t have any proof of this, but, we have reason to believe that… Berit Zha may know.”

“Lord Governor?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“...How high up does this go, I wonder…”

“And Ansika Manoli, as well,” Boblem added.

She nodded.

“If anything,” Cassian speculated, “She asked Lothmuir to take out the contract.”

“So by my understanding…” she summarized, “Berit Zha has been instructing or requesting Lothmuir to carry out the wishes of Manolin, and the like.”

“That sounds right,” Vanden agreed.

“We don’t, we can’t say for sure,” Boblem warned. “We don’t have the evidence of that. But we know they’re all aware of this.”

She frowned. “We have our methods of ensuring people tell the truth in these halls. That can be done.”

“And if they have nothing to hide, they have nothing to fear,” Cassian finished.

Elvinath looked to her acolyte. “Sonya. Rouse the Platinum Guard. Make sure they’re armed and armoured.”

Sonya nodded.

“The Governor's halls aren't too far a walk from here. Is there anything else?”

The group was silent for a moment.

“No,” Astra replied. “But, maybe we’ll come back with- ”

“With what?” Vanden stared at the bard.

“...Something else you might want to have, looked into?”

Vanden turned away.

Sonya gave a bow, smiling a bit at Boblem.

The boy blushed. “Thank you for your help!”

“Thank you for yours.” She turned, heels clicking as she left.

Elvinath remained, looking them over.

“We have some people we should be seeing,” Sariel stood.

“Yes,” Cassian agreed, following.

“Can we do anything else for you?” Vanden offered.

Elvinath shook her head. “Thankfully no. You’ve done enough, and this may be all we need. The next stage is simply asking questions of Zha, Lothmuir… we’ll see where we proceed from there.”

“Thank you.”

“If you find anything further, feel free to bring it in. Anything that can add to the investigation can’t hurt.”

“Thank you,” Boblem nodded.

“If you need anything from us,” Sariel extended, “We’re the barracks in the fourth tier, with the sun on the door.”

“Sounds nice,” Elvinath smiled.

“Thank you for your help,” Astra smiled back.

Vanden stood. “Thank you.”

“Thank you for your time,” she returned. “You’re doing the city a service. Trust this shall be done in the city’s name.” She showed them the door. Elyse walked very quickly out of the temple.

Vanden lingered in the main hall for a bit. Sariel came up from behind him.

“You alright?”

He shook himself. “Yes, I was, um… Last time I was in here I was feeling a little… shaken. On my faith.”

“And now?”

“Somewhat better.”

Sariel offered him a hand.

He squeezed it, but he let go straight away. “Where to now?”

“The Zauviirs, I suppose.”

“I suppose we should... Okay.”

“Come on.”

  
  


They caught up with the others outside, making the journey to the Zauviirs in the early afternoon. When they arrived, they saw a carriage outside being loaded by several of the attendants. They didn’t see Ezio, but they saw Iymril, hanging outside and just about up. The drow did not look great.

“You came to say goodbye!” they smiled.

“We did,” Vanden grinned.

Cassian eyed the drow with amusement. “Of course.”

“Oh, come in, come in, we’ll have some… going away drinks,” Iymril offered.

Vanden took in the drow’s haggard appearance. “Yeah, looks like you need them.”

“I do, I do…”

“How many of those have you had by now?” Boblem pressed.

Iymril thought. “I haven’t had any going away drinks. I’ve had some getting better drinks, but, they’ve not worked yet.”

“Funny that,” Sariel quipped.

“It is!”

“Are you not feeling very well?” Vanden asked, giving a patronizing but sympathetic look at the drow.

“...N- no. Yes? It’s a double negative, I don’t understand…”

Vanden chuckled. Patting him twice on the cheek, a burst of divine healing shot into Iymril as the prince walked past, moving inside.

The drow perked up instantly. “Yeah, yeah, yup… That feels better. Okay,” they stretched. “Come on then.”

Iymril led the rest of them inside. They saw Ardusine and Bowyer preparing themselves and their bags in the hall.

“Ah, we’ve been wondering when you would come,” Ardusine smiled in greeting. “What happened to you last night?”

“Weren’t feeling too well, so we went back to our barracks,” Astra covered.

“Oh, understood.”

“We know our limits,” Elyse grinned.

He laughed. “At least one of us does. Worry not, worry not. Did you enjoy it?”

“Wonderful party,” Vanden replied.

“Of course,” Cassian agreed.

Boblem nodded. “Lovely.”

“Thank you for the invitation,” Elyse added.

“I’m so glad,” he smiled. “I’m so glad. It was… it’s been a pleasure to have you with us. To have you join.”

“It’s been a pleasure to be here,” Cassian returned.

“Couldn’t not say goodbye,” Astra followed.

Bowyer nodded. “We appreciate that. You’ve done a lot for us. Just happy we could return the gratitude. And I hope you enjoyed your stay here, as well.”

“We did,” Vanden agreed. “You have a wonderful house.”

“Thank you. Do you plan to be staying in Shadebourne long?”

“Potentially,” Astra replied. “We’ve got a place, we’ve got a barracks for at least a month you know.”

“Of course, of course.”

Iyreia appeared, wearing light travelling clothes. “Oh! You’ll be leaving then. Ah, well, it is a shame, a shame.”

“It was nice meeting you,” Boblem turned to her. “Thank you for the kind offer, and for the lovely dance.”

“The pleasure was all mine. All of you.”

“Well I guess if we’re ever in Bronze Harbour, maybe we can... come visit?” Elyse posited.

“We’ll be there most of the time. The journey will take around a month, but, once we’re there, if you find yourselves… Do, come find us. Ask anyone around, they’ll know where we are.”

Iymril dragged his feet behind them. “I… I suppose, we’re very grateful. We are, very grateful. Myself, particularly…” they rubbed their head.

“Maybe next time we see you, I can help you with your lute training,” Astra offered.

They frowned. “I’m not sure I need help, but thank you.”

“We could play together, then,” the bard amended.

“Yes, I could show you how they play in Bronze Harbour, perhaps.”

“Sure,” Astra grinned.

“It’s… it’s a different style,” Iymril defended. “Yours is alright, I'm sure, from wherever you’re from…”

“We can exchange some tips.”

“Yours… it’s quaint, yes.”

Astra stared at him. “Mine’s tuned, so.”

“Ah, yes, well I’m, um… less contemporary, I suppose, as a musician…”

“Right.”

Ezio appeared, looking to Astra, looking to Iymril, and shaking his head. Running a hand through his hair with a long suffering sigh, he spoke. “You’re not going to be playing your music the whole time there, are you Iymril?”

“I wouldn’t be thinking of anything else!” the drow proclaimed. “You’ve a lot of entertainment to look forward to.”

Ezio sighed.

“Hi Ezio,” Boblem offered.

“Hello everyone,” he returned.

“Hello,” Astra grinned.

Vanden gave a nod. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Good to see you too,” he replied. “I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of you. Please, do come find us in Bronze Harbour. I need something to look forward to.”

“Hey,” Iyreia grinned. “Isn’t being with us enough?”

Ezio put his hands up. “Right.”

“Beeswax is a friend,” Astra advised, rubbing his ear. “If you know where to put it. By the way.”

“...That’s a good idea. I may take use of that.”

Ardusine gathered them, addressing the group. “I’m proud to call you all my friends. Please, do good things. I look forward to seeing you again.”

“And you,” Astra smiled.

“Thank you,” Vanden nodded. “Safe travels.”

“Safe travels,” Ardusine returned.

Astra looked over the family. “I look forward to meeting you all again.”

“I’m sure you shall.”

He moved to each of them, passing over small drawstring bags of silk.

“Thank you,” Astra grinned.

“Thank you,” Boblem followed. They peeked into their bags. There was a little diamond inside. It was not that little. “Oh… thank you!”

Astra held his in the air, enthralled by the shimmer

Cassian stared down at it. “That’s mighty generous…” He tried to determine the value, but despite his years of experience, he came up empty. It could be worth anything from 50 to 300 pieces of gold.

Vanden looked back up to Ardusine. “Our deepest gratitudes.”

Elyse gestured to her bag. “Thank you.”

“It’s a pleasure,” he replied.

“We’ll see you again,” Vanden repeated. “We’ll leave you to your journey now.”

“Thank you.”

“Um, one question before you leave,” Boblem pressed, “Do you happen to know where the Kranwells live?”

Ardusine raised a teasing brow. “You’re not planning to replace us so soon after we’ve gone?”

“Certainly not,” Astra chuckled.

“No,” Boblem agreed. “We wanted… to see what their manor looked like. I’m sure it looks… terrible. Compared to yours.”

“Trash, absolute trash,” Ardusine scoffed.

“Well, we want to… see it for ourselves.”

“I suppose? Yes, sure, it’s on this tier, but it’s in the… I think… I’m not sure, the Gold Blades district, or something? Hells if I know. Yeah, try there,” he offered the name of a street in the Gold Blades.

Elyse grinned. “When we come visit you in Bronze Harbour, we’ll be sure to bitch all about it with you.”

He chuckled. “I’d like that, I’d like that.” He described what the manor looked like, a two story building of dwarven architecture, with two black and white spiraling pillars by the front door. “But that’s the best I could do.”

“Thank you,” Boblem replied.

“Don’t go making friends with them,” he warned.

Astra grinned. “We won’t.”

“Wouldn’t think of it,” Boblem assured him.

Cassian grimaced a bit. “I really don’t think we will.”

“Well, I’m going to miss you,” Astra smiled to the family. “All of you.”

“Going to miss you too,” Iyreia grinned. “Hope to see you again soon. Bye bye for now.”

They all headed into the carriage. Astra watched them file in. “Safe travels.”

“Safe travels,” they echoed back.

Ezio filed in last, giving a salute.

“Beeswax,” Astra repeated.

The man gave an enthusiastic nod before stepping in, the carriage door closing behind as the cart began trundling off. Boblem waved, and Iymril put their head out the window to grin back before the drow was dragged back in by the ear.

They were left standing outside the Zauviirs house.

Vanden cleared his throat. “So, the Kranwells…”

“Should we?” Cassian warned.

“I mean, Valentinian did say that he would look into handling that, but…”

“Should we pay them a…  _ polite _ visit?”

“Or a covert visit?” Sariel countered.

“Don’t really want to show our faces to them,” Astra worried.

“I guess, similar to our other situation recently, we could just go have a wander around near there. And see what we can see without actually going inside, first. You never know. Could send in a creature or two. Have a little peek around.”

“Yeah,” Boblem agreed. “We didn’t want to rouse suspicion.”

“That’s true,” Cassian nodded.

Vanden paused. “Do we think this is a good idea?”

“Perhaps leave it for the day? See what Valentinian comes up with.”

“Exactly, I don’t want to meddle with it if Valentinian’s already doing something,” Astra concurred.

“Seems confident in himself.”

“But we know we can do stuff like this easily,” Elyse argued.

Astra frowned. “We can, but, should we?”

“I know, I’m just saying… once we know what Valentinian has found, we have ways of acting on it easily.”

“I know.”

“We can leave it for now,” Boblem agreed.

“In the meantime,” Vanden realized. “I think perhaps we should prepare ourselves against… a lycanthrope.”

“Yes,” Elyse sighed.

“The mercenaries were discussing it earlier.”

“Silver in weapons,” Cassian recalled.

“Does magic work on them?” Boblem asked. “‘Cuz I don’t really use weapons.”

“I don’t know,” Vanden admitted. “All I know is that my sword… didn’t do what I hoped it would do.”

“It did on the rat,” Cassian shrugged.

“Magic seems to work fine,” the sorcerer assured them. “It’s weaponry that needs to be altered.”

“And perhaps we could… I don’t know. Patrol the lower tiers?” Vanden suggested. “Catch him in the act?”

“Yeah,” Boblem nodded.

The wizard considered the plan. “Maybe so.”

“He travels on rooftops,” Astra remembered.

“Likes crowded locations.”

“I guess we could maybe scout out a few taverns,” Elyse proposed. “And see if they seem to be places he targets.”

“Maybe,” Boblem nodded. “Yeah, it’s a good idea to patrol.”

Vanden agreed. “I’d rather be down there protecting the people than meddling in Valentinian’s efforts up here.”

“Precisely,” Cassian followed.

Elyse lifted her head in realization. “We did also say we’d take food down to that tavern owner.”

“Well great,” Vanden approved. “We can do that. Food, weapons…”

“Good plan,” Astra smiled.

“Should we go about the weapons business first?” Boblem advised. “Before we go down with the food?”

“Yeah, might be a good idea,” Elyse replied.

  
  


They headed out of the sixth tier and into the fourth, stopping by the barracks to pick up things to sell. As they arrived, they found a twelve year old human boy, a courier, waiting on a barrel nearby with a letter in their hand.

“Ah! Might have something for ya!” the boy raised the paper.

“Hello!” Boblem and Astra greeted.

Cassian moved forward to take it. It was a letter, but not one of his. He popped the top, unrolling it.

“Who’s this from?” Boblem asked.

The boy shrugged. “They um, they asked to remain anonymous? But, they said you’ll know? They told me to look out for people matching your description. But didn’t give me no names.”

“Okay,” Astra smiled down at him.

Cassian skimmed the letter. As he unrolled the scroll, something dropped from it. He caught the item, and immediately handed the letter to Vanden as he recognized what the message was.

Vanden hurried them all inside, and he read the paper aloud to the group.

  
  


_ Little Fox, _

_ I hope you and your friends are well, and that this letter finds you all so. It was so good to see you, and to meet them. I know you’re in safe hands, so, please do send them my love.  _

_ My… companion and I are as well as can be. After we departed your company we travelled southwest, a little away from the eastern shore, towards somewhere I didn’t expect to ever return to. I wasn’t raised in Mirrortail, and my encounter with your party left me thinking. You see, my family name means blacksmith, and I set out to retrieve something I had seen perhaps once or twice in my life. And if I am to be involved in these… adventures, I need to be better prepared. It was no easy feat, but with help from my companion, and a few others, I have found what was made by my ancestor. It’s armor like none I can compare to, and work that… well, it made my family name. _

_ I hope I will be able to show it to you in person one day. Perhaps your friend could take a look at it with her keen eyes. Anyway, I’m to return to my duties henceforth, and shall keep you informed of what we discussed. _

_ Stay safe. _

_ Calico J. _

  
  


There was another smaller, shorter section.

  
  


_ Well well. I believe she summed everything up quite well. She’s not wrong, we’ve had some… adventures. Mishaps, perhaps. I’d like to let you know that I’m doing better. I know you’re all very worried about me. But the wound is healing nicely. I received good care, but, I wouldn’t be writing this without the attention I first received from the six of you. _

_ I believe my life has been changed, irreversibly, from meeting the six of you. I look forward to our paths crossing again. _

_ This is for him. _

  
  


Cassian, hearing the final line, looked to the item in his hand. It was a small button, about two centimeters. “Was that last bit in Aerenthias’s handwriting?”

Vanden looked up. “Yes.”

Cassian flicked the button to Astra. “He wanted you to have this.”

Astra caught it, looking it over. It was a black button with gold trim, and a gold anchor on the front. The bard recognized it from the other tiefling’s jacket. Astra began fiddling with his hair, his voice raising in pitch as he blushed. “Okay. Thank you…”

“Cute!” Boblem approved.

Vanden stared off, nervous. “Oh Gods… We need to, we need to contact them. Straight away. They need to know about this,” he rubbed his face, “I don’t, I don’t even know if the palace is even safe for them. For Jocelyn.” He looked for a date on the letter, but there was none. “Who knows how long this took to get to us.”

“Well, Astra can do that,” Elyse glanced to the bard.

Vanden nodded. “Message… message Aerenthias, if you’re going to.”

“What do we even say?” Sariel rubbed her forehead.

Boblem looked over at the tiefling. “You’re blushing again, Astra.”

“No I’m not,” he countered.

Elyse grinned. “Yeah he is.”

Vanden waved a hand. “Just, Jocelyn could be in a compromising position. We don’t want to drop a message into her head if she’s standing right in front of my brother.”

“Yeah, that’s a good point.”

Vanden raked a hand through his red hair. “Um, okay, what are we going to say…”

“That we have confirmation that it was Mattijn?” Sariel offered.

Vanden swallowed. “...Yeah. Mattijn is behind this, Jocelyn isn’t safe. Um… I guess just be on your guard?”

“That we found a contract, Mattijn signed it,” Boblem frowned.

Sariel tilted her head. “Do we need to tell him where to find us?”

“Who knows if we’ll stay here long enough for that to make any sense,” Vanden countered. “Um, and just to bide their time, I don’t want anyone doing anything rash.”

“I only have a limited amount of words I can send,” Astra worried, starting to take notes.

“Just do your best,” Elyse shrugged.

“Crop your sentences,” Cassian advised.

Boblem began counting words on his fingers. “Found contract, Mattijian signed… be on your guard? Or be careful?”

Sariel glanced over at the page of notes. “Jocelyn compromised.”

“Make no moves,” Cassian followed.

“Okay, Here’s what I’ve got so far,” Astra passed the paper over to Vanden. “You might need to write it out for me, just to make sure that I don’t… mess up.”

Vanden sat for a minute, writing out the message.

Sariel eyed the bard. “Astra, are you alright?”

“Yes. Course I am,” he replied. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You’re flushed,” Cassian observed.

“No I’m not, no. No I’m not.”

“He is very handsome,” Elyse teased.

Boblem giggled. “What are you going to do with your gift?”

“I don’t know,” Astra moved on the offense. “How’s your girlfriend at the temple?”

Boblem’s mouth dropped open, stunned for a second before he pushed it right back. “How’s  _ your _ boyfriend?”

Astra pursued his lips. “I’m going to go look at the garden,” he announced.

“Well,” Cassian’s lips twitched in a grin. “Everyone’s stirring the pot today, it seems.”

“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Boblem muttered. He looked back to the others. “Is there anything else we should let them know?”

“I think Vanden’s got it covered.”

“Yeah, let him phrase it,” Elyse agreed.

Astra went outside to do some very flustered gardening. The end of his tail was pink, quickly flicking back and forth. Cassian watched out the window, softly chuckling to himself. Elyse was barely containing her own laughter.

Boblem leaned out of the open window. “Maybe we should name one of the sprouts Aerenthias.”

“I’m not doing gardening anymore, I’m coming inside,” Astra announced, walking back in and past the others.

“We have to do the message, Astra,” Cassian grinned. “Come back.”

“Yes, okay…” he turned.

“I’m sure Aerenthias will really love to hear from you,” Elyse teased.

_ "For him," _ Cassian repeated.

Astra fidgeted. “Do I look alright?”

“You look lovely,” Sariel replied.

“Well he won’t be able to see you….” Elyse reminded the bard.

Cassian squinted at him. “He can’t see you.”

Astra continued to squirm, refusing to make eye contact with any of them. “No, I’m just asking.”

“Your hair is still nice from the ball last night,” Sariel consoled.

Astra smiled at her. “Thank you!”

“Still got a bit of the sparkle on your cheeks.”

“I liked wearing makeup. Thank you.”

“It suited you very well.”

“You looked very pretty,” Boblem agreed.

Astra turned his smile to Boblem. “Thank you.”

“Maybe that’s something you can start doing more often, if you wanted.”

“I think I might.”

“Suited you a lot,” Elyse followed.

Astra didn’t respond to her.

Cassian thought for a moment. “It’s easy enough to get the materials for it...”

“I think you need to show me how to do it, though,” Astra chuckled at the wizard.

Cassian sighed, but he was grinning. “Okay.”

Vanden returned to the others with the paper. “Okay.”

“Ready?” Elyse prompted.

“Mhm.” He passed the page over to Astra.

The bard took a minute to read it over a few times. “Right.”

“You can do this,” Vanden encouraged.

He was still a bit flustered. “I know I can do it, I can, okay… I know! Okay…” he frowned. “I look okay?”

_ "Yes, _ Astra,” Cassian repeated, a bit louder.

“Okay…”

“Lovely,” Sariel agreed.

Vanden furrowed his brow. “He can… see you when you do this?”

“He cannot see him!” Cassian exclaimed, rubbing his forehead.

“No, he can’t,” Elyse grinned.

“I’m just asking!” Astra defended.

Boblem smiled. “You look perfect.”

That seemed to settle him. “Okay. Okay.” He focused, sending the message to Aerenthias.  _ "Found proof, Mattijin planned it. Joce unsafe. Make no moves. Fox will return when time is right. Look for sun sigil to find us.” _

A familiar voice replied.  _ "My my. This isn’t how I expected to hear your voice in my ear. Thank you. Message received. Will stay safe. Take care.” _

Astra was blushing again.

“Did he get it?” Sariel prompted.

“Astra?” Vanden urged.

“Mhm,” the tiefling nodded, keeping his eyes down. “He said they will stay safe. Take care.”

“Good.”

“That’s that taken care of,” Elyse approved.

Vanden sighed, putting his head in his hands.

“It’s good to know they’re alright,” Sariel consoled him.

Boblem watched the prince lean over the table. “Anything we can do Vanden?”

“...Nothing right now,” he replied, his voice quiet.

“Want to preoccupy yourself with some weapon shopping?” Elyse offered.

He stood. “Let’s go hunt a werewolf.”

“That’ll be fun,” Boblem joked.

Vanden brought Kahnym’s sword with him this time. Elyse had informed him he would need to spend an hour meditating with it to unlock its full abilities, but it was still a powerful weapon.

Boblem grew a worried face as Vanden brought out the sword. “Um, should you be waving that thing around when we’re in the first tier? And Kahnym is there?”

“Very good point,” Elyse agreed.

Vanden tilted his head, considering. “Perhaps I can pick up a sheath.”

“Okay,” Boblem agreed. “Yeah, good idea.”

Vanden had a bit of a confused look on his face. “...Good point.”

  
  


The group moved on to buy and sell weapons. They walked through the Anvilhold, the district their barracks were in. They passed by a few more barracks; The Keeps Of the Plains, The Shroud, The Velvet Teeth. All around them, they heard the ringing of hammers, smelling the smoke of the forges and blacksmiths. They passed by the Overforge, the Temple to Moradin, a wide and square building with an open top. With heavy bronze columns surrounding it, the central area was open and filled with liquid. Passing by even a hundred feet away, they could feel the heat of the liquid. Orange, bubbling, and boiling, magma pooled between walls of jet black obsidian, moving up from somewhere underground.

Many channels came out from the main pool. Smiths of all types and trades gathered together, igniting their first flames in the magma before taking it to their forges in some kind of divine ritual. Many people passed by, with hundreds of citizens moving through the city. There were labourers, smiths, apprentices, people carrying trays, people carrying materials, and people pushing carts and wagons. Something stood out to Elyse as she heard a bit of Fulgan spoken through the crowd. It was a slightly different dialect to what she was used to, but unmistakably the same language. As they walked through the streets, looking out for smiths and armories, Elyse found the speaker.

It was a young looking woman with dark red skin, her black eyes ringed with a yellow iris. Her hair was shaved on the back and sides, the top pulled up in a ponytail. Her arms were bare and muscled, and she wore a scorched leather apron and a belt of tools over simple clothes.

Hovering just over her shoulder was a small, winged creature, brightly glowing orange. It appeared to be a creature of living magma, little droplets falling off it and sizzling as they hit the floor, turning to grey stone as they cooled. The smith was talking to the creature in a primordial dialect that Elyse recognized, listing off weights, measurements, and the ingredients of fuels and metals. The creature scribbled them down with a glowing claw on a metal tablet.

She walked past them as they moved down the street. Elyse stared at her. The woman caught her eye, noticing her staring. “Draw a picture,” she teased, speaking Common. “It’ll last longer.”

Elyse blushed for a moment before straightening. “I’m actually a very good artist,” she replied in Fulgan. “So it would be a very good picture.”

The woman chuckled, replying in the same language. “Well, maybe you ought to come by and draw me sometime.” Noticing the others, she reverted to Common. “Looks like some nice weaponry you’ve got there. What are you in town for?”

“We’re looking to sell some of it,” Astra explained.

“Well well well. Isn’t that convenient. I’m in the trade of buying, and selling, and making. Should you be so inclined.”

“Sounds like you’re just the person we’re looking for,” Vanden nodded.

“Why don’t I show you my shop. It’s just around the corner.”

“Lead the way,” Astra smiled.

“I’ll be happy to.” The creature on her shoulder fizzled a bit, a gargoyle figure with a long, spiny nose, eyes just two lumps of coal, and little wings that fluttered to keep it up. Boblem was fascinated looking at it, feeling the heat radiating off the strange creature. Vanden was less excited, watching it with a wary eye. Rana, on Elyse’s shoulder, looked a bit perturbed, not wanting to engage with something so hot.

The woman led them around a corner, past the temple. The heat was growing almost unbearable from all the smiths nearby. Cassian and Boblem tried their best to fan themselves as the group was led to an open blacksmith shop. The sign over the front had a gorgeous painting of a mountain covered in pink flowers.  _ The Mountain Orchid, _ it read.

They saw a dwarf and a gnome inside, clinking and working away on a variety of projects. The little creature flitted off into the room, dropping down the tablet and moving to a bellow. It spewed towards it, breathing out a fountain of flame. The dwarf with goggles on muttered something out in response.

“Come in, come in, please,” the woman invited them. “Please, lay down what you’ve got.”

Elyse put the giant glaive down first. From the Bag of Holding, she took out the great axe, the warhammer, and two spears. She also pulled out the copper candlesticks and the gem encrusted goblets.

The woman examined the items. “These are all quite interesting. Where did you…?”

“This glaive we found in a very interesting tomb,” Elyse grinned. “Very old.”

“I like the look of it. And this hammer is a fine make. It’s a bit battle worn for sure, but. Do you make a habit of collecting old weaponry, or is this just… for fun?”

“We’ve seen some strange places,” Cassian shrugged. “Why not pick up a few souvenirs.”

“We go on adventures!” Boblem proclaimed.

She grinned. “I respect that, I respect that. Well, if you’re looking to sell, I’d be willing to take these off your hands.”

“Certainly,” Elyse agreed.

Sariel tilted her head. “Potentially… looking to commission something as well.”

Her eyes visibly flared, lighting up. “Is that so?” She placed her broad shoulders and arms on the scorched countertop. “What would you be looking for?”

“Do you work much with silver?”

“Not often, but I have. Depends on what sort of thing you’re looking for.”

Sariel took out the silver sickle she had found in the spider den. The woman let out a low whistle, examining it. “You see this?” the woman called to the little creature. It hissed and skittered by her. “I know,” she grinned.

Sariel took out the unicorn horn from the Weeping Eye barracks. “Wonder if you could combine these somehow. Could give you extra money if you need the extra metal or anything like that.”

The woman’s mouth gaped open. “Oh…” she beckoned her apprentices around, pointing to the items. “Look what we’ve got here,” she whispered excitedly. “I shan’t ask how you came about this, but… I could do something with this. Let’s see… crush the horn down, melt the sickle, imbue it into steel. You’d possess something very powerful.”

“I’d like that,” Sariel nodded.

“What are you thinking? Arrow heads? Bolt heads? Javelin? Sword? Blade?”

“A blade of some sort. Scimitar, perhaps, maybe.”

She turned to her assistants. “See if we have any molds in the back.”

“Aye,” the gnome ran out. After a few minutes, they returned with a heavy mold. Flipping it open, they saw the recess of a gorgeous curved blade. The woman took the sickle. “There’s not much of it, but…” She looked at the warhammer. “There’s more than enough steel here. I mean…”

“So a trade then?” Elyse posed.

“Hm. I mean, we’ll have to cover the time and the work as well, of course. No material cost for that. And… with all this here, I couldn’t rightfully give you… Let’s see, minus the cost of my time and the expenses… with everything you brought, you’d probably still come out on top. Let’s see. You give me everything you’ve shown here, I’ll give you back... let’s say, 90 pieces of gold. And I’ll put together a scimitar for you.”

“Thank you very much,” Sariel nodded.

“Sounds good. You happy with it?”

“If everyone else is,” she looked to the others. “I’d be happy for everyone else to take the gold.”

“Well, we’re going to need this weapon,” Elyse nodded.

“Exactly,” Cassian agreed.

“It’s a good idea.”

Sariel turned back to the woman. “Then we have a deal.”

She grinned, turning. “Suit up boys. Goggles on,” she snapped her fingers. “Okay, okay…” she rubbed her hands together. “This is exciting. So this might take… two days. Okay?”

“Of course.”

“Robert, fetch me 90 pieces of gold.”

The gnome returned with a small drawstring leather pouch, counting out nine stacks of gold coins for them. He plopped the bag on the table.

“This is for you,” the woman grinned. “This is your change.”

“Thank you very much,” Elyse replied.

“Thank you,” Sariel agreed.

Cassian followed with his own “Thank you,” his mouth moving ever so slightly as the barest amount of sound formed the words.

“This is going to take me up for a couple of days,” she reminded them, “But by all means come visit me again. We have many more things, we can do custom requests. Couple of daggers knocking about.”

Elyse perked up at that. She spoke in Common at first to reply, but switched to Fulgan halfway through. “I actually might be interested in buying some new daggers soon,” she unsheathed the one on her belt. “I’ve had this for a long time. It’s getting a little rusted. I just thought I might upgrade.”

“We can do you something better than that. Let’s see, let’s see,” she fiddled about, pulling a few things out. “No, no… broken… rubbish… ugly….” She pulled out another. With a normal crossguard and hilt, the blade itself curved and moved before coming to a point. She spun it between her fingers, the tip of the blade coming into a long black nail. “Perfectly balanced. Slight enchantment to it.”

“Oh really?”

“For this, separate transaction. I’d say, 128 pieces of gold. But, I’ll keep it aside for you. If you want to come back another time?”

“I appreciate that. I’ll think about it. I like to have my options open,” she grinned.

“Don’t we all.”

Elyse continued slipping back into Fulgan, not even realizing when she did so. The blacksmith dropped back to Common. “The rest of you look pretty well geared up,” she glanced to Cassian’s sword.

“Just need a sheath?” Vanden wondered.

“Sheath… I can recommend someone to you. I don't specialize in leather, but I have friends who do.”

“I appreciate it.”

She gave him a place to check out.

“We didn’t catch your name?” Sariel prompted.

“Phaesta,” she replied.

“Phaesta. Pleasure doing business with you.”

“Pleasure’s all mine, You look like a hardy bunch… need someone on retainer, let me know. I’m always looking for regular work.”

“Good to know,” Elyse grinned.

“We’ll see you again soon,” Astra nodded.

Boblem tilted his hat. “Thank you.”

“Find me in two days,” she repeated. She glanced back over to Elyse. “Find me sometime later.”

Elyse genuinely blushed, quickly turning away with a grin.

The creature burbled and skittered. Phaesta grinned at it. “Yeah, I know.”

As they left, Phaesta knocked down her goggles, pulling on a pair of heavy gauntlets before reaching straight into the fire, digging something out as the creature danced around her. Tapping on the metal, the entire bar of steel glowed bright orange. She looked up, wiping her brow before bringing out a hammer, wailing down on her work. Elyse turned to watch in awe.

  
  


As they left, Vanden visibly relaxed, as if he hadn’t taken a breath inside. Outside and away from the burning hot metal and steam and fire, he took a deep gulp of air.

Cassian eyed him. “Little bit too hot for comfort?”

“Mm. Uh, let’s move on. The sheath.”

The sheath was easy enough to get, passing over three gold for it. It would have to go on his back, as the blade was so large and long. The sheath was open on one side and fastened with a simple clasp, allowing him to bring out the blade with ease.

“Okay,” Vanden nodded. “Food, and then…”

“Tier one?” Sariel prompted.

“Take it down to the Clipped Wing, and I guess, see what the situation is down there.”

It was midafternoon, around 3:00. It would take an hour or so to get down. Vanden and Boblem dropped 25 gold each for the food, Astra offering another 10. It would be enough to feed a hundred people.

The cart was loaded up, and they wiggled it slowly down, wheels creaking under the weight. As they moved through the second tier, people paid attention, following along as they went. Astra played his music to draw more eyes. By the time they reached the first tier, there was a crowd of thirty or forty people following them with expectant faces. Word had already spread of their efforts.

The door to the tavern was open, with many woodworkers ducking in and out. The barkeep was nearby with his sleeves rolled up, sitting with a pint of water. “Oh! You came back so soon!”

“Good to see you again,” Vanden greeted.

Boblem waved. “Hello!”

“I confess, I didn’t realize you’d be coming back so soon,” he apologized. “We’re not really in any suitable state to host people here, the work is still ongoing.”

“We can seat them outside,” Vanden suggested. “We just have the food, that we talked about.”

“Yeah, that works, that works,” he smiled.

“I'm glad you’re getting your place back together,” Astra beamed.

“All thanks to you lot. Wouldn’t have been able to pay the workers or pay for materials otherwise. Thank you, your kindness is unprecedented. Please please, let me help you set up…” he moved aside, bringing out tables. Most of the group helped, setting up a little C section of tables for the food. Once again, Cassian hid around a corner to observe.

Astra sat nearby, playing his music. Vanden pulled a bell off the bar, giving it a ring. The crowd formed into a few long lines, snaking around the tavern. The first few were a bit nervous, walking up expectantly. “Can I get some, please?”

“Sure, here you go,” Boblem handed over a parcel.

“Thank you,” they smiled.

“Spread the word that we’re doing this, yeah?” Elyse prompted.

“Yeah!”

“It’ll be here every time,” Vanden nodded.

“How often?”

Elyse looked to the others. “As soon as we can, I guess?”

“Can’t say exactly right now,” Boblem apologized.

“Every few days for now,” Vanden decided. “We’ll see what we can get moving”

“That’s very generous of you,” the resident replied. “Very generous.”

“Just doing our part.”

It took about an hour and a half to get through all the food they had brought. The people at the end who didn’t get any were disappointed, but the people around still had some to share. As early evening set in, the area outside the tavern was full of almost 150 people. Many of them looked very hungry and scrawny. One or two minor arguments broke out, but nothing major occured. A few guards posted themselves at the ends of the street, watching as people went down, but no one gave the adventurers a hassle. They were able to distribute portions of food to a large number of people.

While they did this, they asked about places that people congregated at night. They were told that The Dying Lion Inn was very popular, as well as the Dog and Emperor. There was also Farmer’s Square, a more wide open area. The three locations were all a bit spread out, half an hour to twenty minutes walking distance between them.

“Perhaps we could post a familiar at each one?” Vanden strategized.

“Yeah, just to watch,” Elyse nodded.

“Or scouting around the skies between the area? I mean, it’s probably going to be quicker than us doing it, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“Especially if they move on rooftops,” Boblem agreed.

“Yeah,” Elyse frowned. “The only thing would be, depending on where we station ourselves…”

“Getting there,” Cassian supplied.

“Yeah, and them taking the time to report back to us if anything happens. Might be the difference between life and death.”

Astra thought. “Maybe it’s worth sending a familiar, or sending someone, to the Kranwell house? To keep watch?”

“Yeah…”

“Because if there’s movement up there, bringing news from up above down here would be faster than bringing news up to us from here.”

“It surely wouldn't have to be as far as that,” Vanden realized. “They have to pass through the gates, there’s no other way through the city.”

“Station them at the gates,” Sariel concluded.

“Station them at the gates to the third tier, surely.” On the first tier, there were three gates leading out of the city. Beyond that, there was only one gate leading up between each tier. “They have to go through. Or scale the wall down, which thus far seems to be impossible.”

“Not with the bad leg,” Boblem agreed.

“Yeah, we could wait until night,” Elyse planned. “Maybe have a couple people waiting by one of the gates with a familiar, or just a familiar by itself. It can report back, with us down here.”

Vanden rubbed his chin in thought. “That would be good. I think, considering what you told me about how he was acting last night… could be ravenous tonight.”

“Maybe we could position ourselves in between the three locations?” Boblem suggested. “So we’re as close as we can to them?”

“In pairs, maybe,” Elyse thought.

“Or altogether in the midpoint,” Vanden countered. “I don’t want to spread us out and put us in danger.”

Boblem pointed to the prince. “Right, that’s what I meant.”

“Oh, I thought you meant stations at each one,” Elyse rescinded.

“No, I meant in the middle, so we’re all together, close to the locations.”

“I definitely prefer to stay together,” Astra agreed.

“Yes please,” Sariel seconded.

Cassian looked over the others. “So what, are we doing this tonight, or?”

Vanden and Elyse responded in tandem. “I think we should.”

“Okay,” he agreed.

“Don’t want anyone else to get hurt,” Astra followed.

“Yeah, I don’t need to wake up tomorrow and hear that someone else has been killed,” Vanden frowned.

“It’s never small groups, either,” Boblem sighed.

“I can send Rana to watch on the gate,” Elyse decided. “She lasts a lot longer than your familiars,” she looked over at the druids. “But they might be useful too, I don’t know.”

“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. We don’t know how long we need to wait.”

“At least until nightfall,” Sariel replied.

Elyse scratched Rana. The bird twittered.

“Okay,” Vanden declared. “I guess, then, we… sit around. Relax for an hour.”

“You can get to know your new sword,” Astra prompted.

“Yes,” he nodded, frowning.

“Discreetly,” Boblem advised. “In case…”

Vanden crossed his arms, unenthusiastic. “It needs… attunement.”

Elyse shrugged. “Yeah, it doesn’t take too long.”

“No,” Cassian agreed.

“We’re going to be sitting around anyway,” Astra encouraged.

“I know,” Vanden sighed. “I know I should, it’s just… this is going to be a magical weapon,” he cringed. “Against a creature that can’t be hit with a regular weapon, I just…”

“I know,” Elyse sympathized.

“I could use a drink.”

“I mean,” she gestured to the Clipped WIng, “We’re right outside a tavern.”

“Our friend has drinks,” Boblem agreed.

“Okay,” Vanden steeled himself. “I’m just gonna…. I’m gonna buck up and do it.” He groaned, already feeling uncomfortable.

“It’s like you said,” the sorceress encouraged. “I didn’t want to go into that temple to Kord, but it was necessary. You know?”

“Exactly. If you can do that, I can do this,” he reasoned with himself.

Vanden sat for an hour, attuning to the goddamn sword. He had no idea what he was doing, but he focused on it, committing to memory every knock and dent in the blade. He felt the weight of it in his hands, as an extension of his arm. Thoughts began to creep into his mind of what he could do with the blade, and the vengeance he could take against Kahnym. His mouth grew very dry, and he went pale for a second. There was an uncharacteristically large rumble from his belly. He was attuned to the sword… and it could not be undone.

“You all good?” Elyse called over.

“Somebody’s hungry,” Astra observed.

“I feel sick,” he replied. “That’s not unusual, is it?” He rubbed his face. “I don’t… I don’t feel right.”

Elyse tilted her head. “I mean, I know you don’t like having magic used on you, but to me, when I’m attuning to an item, it doesn’t feel like a spell being used on me, it’s just…”

“Yeah, nothing felt wrong when I got to know my sword,” Cassian followed.

It hadn’t felt like a spell to Vanden. He just felt a bit hungry.

“Maybe you’re just tired after last night,” Elyse consoled. “It was quite an ordeal.”

Vanden shook his head at the sorcerer. “Stop.”

“Stop what?” Cassian returned.

“This… nonsense about last night.”

Elyse sighed. “Regardless of if you believe us about… you were still attacked.”

“Okay.”

“Regardless of anything else, it was a hard fight. So, why don’t we just get something to eat?”

Vanden crossed his arms, thinking. “Maybe we should take a look down the city where the barracks were…”

“What?” Boblem blinked, surprised.

“You sure?” Sariel warned.

Vanden’s voice was quiet. “Just to see if anything’s happened…”

“You have his sword,” Boblem reasoned.

“It’s in a shealth,” Astra followed.

Sariel frowned. “He’ll be back there by now.”

“And the whole point was we were trying to avoid it,” Cassian reasoned, giving Vanden a confused look.

“And they would recognize us,” Elyse agreed.

Vanden shook himself. “No, you’re right. It’s stupid.”

“And we don’t want to get caught up there if we’re trying to investigate the murders tonight,” the wizard finished.

“We’ll go another time,” Elyse offered. “We don’t want them to recognize you and throw all of this off.”

“Okay,” Vanden relented.

“Let’s get some food then,” Astra urged.

“Yes, please.”

They ate heartily, served stew of goat and potatoes, and nice dumplings in a thick, rich gravy. Vanden ate all of it, everything, even the vegetables. But he was sated.

  
  


Evening came as they ate in the tavern. The barkeep made an exception for them. He didn’t allow anyone else to come inside while the woodworkers finished the final touches on the floor, but a special table had been set aside for them.

Feeling better, Vanden leaned on the table. “So... Aerenthias?”

“...Yes?” Astra replied, looking at the ceiling. “I sent the message. For you. To him.”

“He gave you a button.”

“He sent you, yeah, one of his,” Cassian recalled. “I quite liked that it said on the letter,  _ for him, _ but we all knew which  _ him _ it was.”

There were a few laughs around the table. “It could have been any of you,” Astra protested.

“He’s very handsome,” Vanden approved. “Very handsome.”

“He is very handsome,” Elyse grinned.

“Very charming.”

“He’s a lovely man, Astra,” Sariel followed.

Cassian focused on the bard. “Astra?”

The bard was still looking to the ceiling. “Mhm?”

“Can you make eye contact with me?”

“I can.”

“...Will you?” the wizard grinned. “Right now?”

Astra flicked his eyes over Cassian’s before looking away.

Cassian stared back. “Astra? Look at me?”

Another fast glance.

“Astra…” Cassian used two fingers to point at his own eyes, and then the bard’s.

“Yes! Cassian. Cassian, what?” Astra forced himself to meet the wizard’s gaze for a few seconds before peeling away again.

“Just wondering if you like him,” Vanden grinned.

“I’ve been wondering something, with you, as well,” Astra deflected. “I wanted to ask about… Um, Melora! Actually. Because you know about her.”

Vanden was sufficiently distracted by that. “Oh, okay… Sure?” Astra took off the necklace he had been wearing, passing it to the prince. Vanden recognized it instantly as one of the sigils of Melora. “Yeah, it’s a holy symbol.”

“Where did you get that from?” Sariel asked.

Elyse turned to the bard with the same question. “Where’d you get that?”

“I got given it, in the woods,” Astra explained. “When you dropped me off.”

Vanden blinked. “You got given it in the woods… when I dropped you off.”

“Yes.”

“By whom?” Boblem wondered.

“Um, a man called Mareth.”

“Making friends everywhere, I guess,” Elyse chuckled.

“If anyone would,” Vanden smiled, “It would be Astra.”

“He said he was going home to Arborea,” Astra recalled. “It was a lovely conversation.”

Vanden had heard of Arborea. The Wildmother’s heavenly plane, where people who worship her go when they die. “Going home to… Arborea?”

“Mhm.”

“So... he was dying.”

Astra turned to him in confusion. “What?”

“What’s Arborea?” Sariel asked.

“It’s…” Vanden shook his head. “The heavenly plane of Melora.”

Cassian raised his brows. “Ah.”

“What?” Boblem pressed.

“Well, you know, when…” Vanden shifted in his seat, trying to explain. “When we die, we go to the plane most appropriate to us.” There were a few blank faces. “No? Is this new to everybody?” Sariel shook her head. “Not you,” Vanden nodded. “Good.”

Elyse wasn’t massively religious, though she knew of the concept of the heavens and the hells. “No, never really think about it.”

Cassian shook his head.

“He said he’d been travelling awhile,” Astra smiled at the memory. “Him and his goat.”

“His goat?” Sariel grinned.

“He rode this giant goat called Ivy, that was covered in moss.”

“I left you for one hour...” Vanden mumbled.

Commonly associated with Melora were many stories of her followers, one of the most notable being the Green Knight. A religious figure of myth, tales of him or her or them spanned thousands of years. They were responsible for protecting the wilds, ensuring that the dead weren’t disrespected and kept in their rightful place, and that holy places of nature were kept pure and sacred. From time to time, the Green Knight passed on their duties to another before ascending to the beyond.

“I… I leave you alone for one hour,” Vanden repeated, “And you met the Green Knight?”

Astra chuckled. “I suppose that would be a good name for him.”

“And he gave you this?”

“Yes.”

Vanden let out a choking laugh, putting a hand over his mouth in shock.

“His armour was made out of bark,” Astra recalled. “Sounded like wind in the leaves.”

“What’s a Green Knight?” Boblem asked.

Vanden swallowed, looking for an explanation. “You know how… I explained what I do, as a Warden?”

“Yeah.”

“Like that, but… for nature. A protector of nature, the… defender of the natural order of things… It’s a title that passes, in… in stories of legend, from person to person. Through the ages.”

“Wait, so...” Elyse grinned. “That one… that guy passed it… to Astra? That seems very fitting.”

“To Astra?” Vanden shook his head, reeling. “I mean, I can’t say for sure, but that’s… sounds like it.”

Astra stared at the medallion, confused. “No, he just gave, he…”

“Is Astra a green knight now? Boblem wondered.

Cassian realized something, eying the bard. “Last night… you fell, instantly, and just got right back up again.”

“You did,” Sariel recalled.

Vanden looked across the group. “What?”

Boblem leaned over to him. “The fight.”

“RIght,” the prince nodded.

“Yes…” Astra remembered. “And the… necklace… burned.”

“Melora was protecting you,” Vanden smiled. He stared at the bard with wide eyes. “Astra, that’s incredible. Most people go their entire lives without feeling anything like this from the Gods.”

“And she wanted you to live,” Sariel concluded.

Astra’s face broke into a soft smile. “I’d like to know more about her.”

“Here, take it,” Vanden passed back the medallion. “Keep it safe.”

“I will.”

“I can tell you all about her, I… Wow,” he leaned back in his seat. “Well then, you must be… very special. Seems you have… a mission now. To protect nature.”

“I mean, he did that anyway,” Elyse grinned. “No wonder she chose him.”

“And we always knew Astra to be special,” Sariel finished.

“Can't imagine anybody more fitting, really,” Boblem agreed.

VAnden shook his head. “To be chosen for such a purpose…”

Astra looked like he might cry, smiling to himself. “Wow...”

“You told me you didn’t know what you were looking for. Maybe it found you.”

“Maybe it did.”

“Funny that,” Boblem grinned. “I feel like life has a way of doing that.”

“Well, we all found each other,” Vanden replied. “Didn’t we?”

“I told you I was supposed to be around you,” Astra glanced around the table. “All of you.”

The silence outside was broken by the peal of a bell and a yelling voice in the street. “Platinum Guard march on the Halls of the Governor! Councilors brought in for questioning!”

_ Ding ding, ding ding, ding ding! _


	39. Into The Wolf's Den, Episode Thirty-Six

Elyse spoke to Rana, telling her to fly out to the second tier gate, and instructing her to return if she saw anything suspicious.

“Do we want to have more scouts out?” Sariel offered.

“We can do, we don’t know how long it’s going to be, for yours…” Elyse looked between the druids, “But you can do it multiple times, right?”

“Yeah,” Boblem agreed.

“If we want to send them to the other locations,” Vanden considered, “They’re probably busy.”

“I can do that.”

Sariel conjured the owl out of the mist as Zip appeared in Boblem’s hand. The hummingbird was now a gold green and blue color. The three birds twirreted around at each other for a moment before they flew out, eyes and ears over the city.

“Does anyone else feel like a proud parent?” Sariel grinned. A few of them laughed, Vanden making a strange face.

Over the course of the night, the birds kept watch. Though Elyse was less certain, the druids were confident that the Kranwells did not come through. With the keen eyes of the birds tracking all who walked by, no one matched the description.

“No sign of anyone,” Sariel reported after a bit of time had passed.

“Perhaps we’re wasting our time, then,” Vanden frowned.

“Potentially,” Astra considered, “Because of all the hubbub going on anyway, with the councilors… no one else is going to be making any moves tonight.”

“That’s a good point.”

“There are lots of guards about, I’d presume,” Sariel agreed.

“I guess if they took out a hit on somebody,” Boblem thought, “They’re not gonna bring more attention to themselves this way.”

“Also a good point,” Vanden nodded. “Perhaps we should just go back to the barracks. Relax tonight, get some rest.”

“I’d like that,” Astra smiled.

“Apparently we had a… heavy night last night.”

There was agreement all around at that. It was about 3:00am as they headed back up through the tiers. Elyse raised her arm, and Rana landed, taking her arm a bit with the momentum. The other spirits returned to the druids. Bleary eyed and tired, they made their way back through the quiet streets, to the barracks with the sun on the door. The gates creaked open, and they were free to rest. Vanden headed upstairs, crashing in the war room.

  
  


Morning came to them all, as did rest.

Boblem made breakfast, eggs and homemade bread with sunflower seeds. There was a bit of flour on his face. Most of them gathered at the table, but Vanden wasn’t downstairs yet. Elyse climbed in through the window, sitting down to eat. Rana flew in a moment after.

Astra made his way into the kitchen. “Something smells really good.”

“Thank you!” Boblem grinned.

Cassian looked over the table. “Usually does.”

“Thanks, I’ve decided to make some sunflower seed bread, and some eggs!”

“It looks amazing Boblem,” Sariel smiled.

“Thank you!”

“Thank you,” Elyse followed. “Maybe one of these days… you should take a rest and have someone cook for you?”

“Oh! Do any of y’all know how to cook?” Boblem glanced around.

Cassian and Astra shook their heads.

“I can a bit,” Elyse offered. “Not nearly as good as you.”

“Kind offer,” the boy shrugged.

“I never cooked,” Astra followed.

“I can teach you guys, if any of you would be interested?”

“Yeah, I would.”

“I’d like to,” Sariel agreed.

Boblem smiled. “That’d be nice.”

Astra glanced out the window to the garden. “Maybe we can start to bring some vegetables from the little patch outside?”

“Yeah, we can!”

Elyse dug into her food. “That’d be really nice.”

“Maybe Vanden will eat them this time,” Boblem teased.

“He ate them yesterday,” Astra recalled.

“I know, that was strange…”

Elyse tilted her head. “He did, didn’t he…”

Cassian frowned. “Very strange.”

“Speaking of Vanden,” Sariel cleared her throat.

“Yes.”

“Yes,” Astra looked down.

“...I wonder if it’s a good idea to address the elephant in the room,” Sariel posed.

“I… I think that’s a good idea,” Boblem voted.

Cassian put an elbow on the table, resting his head against his fist. “The wings, or the death?”

“The death is definitely upsetting me.”

“Me too,” Sariel agreed.

Elyse leaned on the table. “He’s clearly not going to remember… the thing with the wings. But, I don’t know…”

“He needs to know, at least,” Boblem decided.

“Yeah, he should know. Even if he’s not going to believe it.”

“I’d like to know if I’d died…”

“Wonder if there’s any part of the evening he remembers,” Sariel considered.

“We can find out,” Astra reminded them. “Just ask.”

“I have an idea…”

“I wonder how much it is that he’s not remembering,” Boblem worried.

Cassian shrugged. “Guess it’s hard to remember.”

“He also said he didn’t remember the Weeping Eye fight as well,” Elyse worried. “Do you think there’s other… stuff he’s forgotten?”

“He wouldn’t know,” Astra reasoned.

“But if there’s gaps in his memory,” Sariel contemplated, “Maybe we can narrow it down to… what’s causing his memory loss.”

Astra glanced across the table to Cassian. “You said there were markings on his back?”

“Yes,” he replied. “Arcane in nature.”

“Do you know what they were?”

“Can’t really figure out what they do. Would have to study it.”

“Right. And I don’t think he’d be open for that.”

“But… I think if I got the right book, I could maybe have a read,” Cassian thought.

They heard Vanden coming down the stairs. He passed by the table, heading to the courtyard with Kahnym’s sword.

“Breakfast,” Cassian sang over to him.

Vanden glanced at the table. “Hm?”

“Breakfast,” Astra repeated. “Boblem’s cooked.”

“Right, um…”

“Would you please join us?” Boblem asked.

Warily, he made his way to the table. “Yes…”

Sariel spoke in Celestial. “Good morning, Vanden.”

Vanden blinked. “Excuse me?”

There was no recognition. Sariel looked genuinely upset.

“What language was that?” Vanden continued.

“I don’t know, I’d hoped that… you’d recognize it,” Sariel faltered.

“No. I mean, I think I heard the priest in the cathedral speak something similar.”

“Did you understand what she said?” Boblem pressed.

Vanden chuckled. “No? I don’t speak that language. I only speak Common and Orcish.”

There was a bit of silence.

“Here’s your breakfast for you, anyway,” Astra passed over a plate. “Sit down.”

“Thank you? What’s…” he looked across the table, noticing something was off. “What’s going on?”

With a flick of his hand, Astra closed the door across the room.

Vanden watched the exit seal itself. “Uhhh…”

“We just… we wanted to talk to you about that night that you don’t remember,” Elyse began. “At the ball?”

“Okay…? Go for it.”

Cassian rested his fist on the lower half of his face, still leaning on the table with his elbow. “You died, Vanden.”

“...What?”

Astra kept his eyes down. “You got run through, and thrown off a balcony.”

“She stabbed you,” Elyse persisted. “And threw you off the balcony.”

“You collapsed,” Cassian followed.

“We saw you go down,” Boblem gulped. “And it was horrifying.”

Vanden gave a small, nervous laugh. “I surely… I didn’t die, I’m here. I’ve taken blows before.”

Elyse kept her eyes on him. “Vanden, we’re all saying it.”

Vanden felt a sharp pain in his gut. He put a hand over his chest.

“Last night, for example,” Cassian angled, “We discussed how Astra, you were cut down, and… bloody  _ Melora _ brought you back. You can get cut down and come back.”

“Well maybe Bahamut did the same for me,” Vanden countered.

“Don’t know if it was Bahamut,” Sariel replied.

Cassian gave a slow shake of his head. “No.”

“But you’re here,” Astra concluded. “And that’s important. And… just thought you should know that. What happened, to you.”

Vanden looked down. “...Right. Um… was that all?”

“You had a lot of blood all over your back.”

He nodded. “Well, I’m sorry you all had to witness that.”

“Don’t be.”

“It’s not your fault,” Elyse agreed.

Cassian nodded. “Really, it’s better we were there.”

“Exactly. And, yeah. We just want to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Sariel’s eyes were watering, her voice breaking. “Because Vanden, we can’t lose you again.”

Cassian reached out, taking Sariel’s hand.

“Or anyone here,” Elyse followed. “Right?”

“Right,” Astra nodded.

“Yeah…” Boblem mumbled.

Vanden looked around the room of solemn, somber faces. “Uh… understood.” He pushed his plate away. “Sorry, I’m not feeling particularly hungry….” He glanced up again. Astra was still frowning. Sariel had leaned her head into Cassian’s shoulder. “Fine,” he repeated, growing uncomfortable and angry. “I mean, I didn’t plan on… dying!”

“We’re not upset with you,” Boblem countered.

Elyse sighed. “I guess it’s just compounded with the fact that you don’t remember what happened. It’s confusing, and…”

“I’ve told you before,” Vanden shot back. “I’ve had this problem my entire life- ”

“I know- ”

“Is there… anything else?” Cassian worried. “From travelling together? Aside from the Weeping Eye fight?”

Vanden paused.

“Are there any gaps since you’ve been travelling with us, other than that?” Elyse prompted.

Vanden tensed. “Small moments, but, I haven’t… I’ve not missed any significant time. I… I mean, it’s hard to say! To walk down the line, you don’t remember every second of every day, do you?”

“Yeah…”

“But any other significant gaps like that,” Sariel pressed. She had straightened, but she was still holding Cassian’s hand.

“...Not that I can think of.”

“Was there a particular moment in the Weeping Eye fight?” Boblem asked. “That you stopped remembering from?”

He thought. “I was looking at that… giant gnoll. In the dark. Um… and I don’t know. Scared me a bit.”

“The gnoll, or?”

“Reminded me of the siege. So, I don’t know. I’m, I figured…”

Elyse sighed. “Maybe it’s your body, trying to protect you a bit.”

“Exactly. You said to me before, Sariel. Minds do this. As a kindness. To make you forget things.”

Sariel took a heavy breath. “Something they also do, is when you’re ready to face those memories, they start bringing them back to you.” 

Vanden looked away. “Well I… I don’t know what to say.”

“We’re not trying to attack you with this, Vanden,” Astra consoled. “We just… wanted to talk to you, and let you know- ”

“I’m talking, aren’t I?!”

Astra kept his voice steady. “We’re trying to help you. Please don’t snap at me.”

“Sorry.”

“You’re our friend, and we care for you. A lot.”

“And I’m sure everyone here would agree,” Elyse added, “That we would hate it if there were certain things you’d forgotten about all our time together.”

Vanden shook his head, growing a bit unsteady, and a bit louder. “Well I’m telling you that I remember, okay? I just don’t remember that fight, and I don’t remember…” he trailed off, sighing.

“I’m not trying to attack, like Astra said, we’re not trying to attack you. We just wanted to let you know that… like you said to me, right? You do remember that, right? When we spoke?”

“Yes. I do.”

“That we need to support one another. And that we’re better together.”

“I remember. I remember that. Don’t worry.”

“We just want to know how best to help you,” Sariel sniffed.

“And if, going forward,” Boblem suggested, “You could let us know, I don’t really remember how we got here or how this happened, then we can keep an eye out? We can try and help, or just be there, to fill in the gaps for you. Because it must be confusing to try to keep track of this all on your own.”

“Yeah,” Elyse agreed. “I know it’s not the same, but I know what it’s like to have a gap in your memory, and be scared of what you did. In that time.”

“Me too,” Sariel whispered.

Vanden’s voice was growing scratchy. “Yeah, I… I hate it. Do you have any idea how stupid I feel?”

“We’re not calling you stupid.”

“You’re not doing it at will,” Boblem agreed.

Vanden plowed on. “How ashamed I am of this?”

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Sariel countered.

“You might feel differently…” Vanden shook his head, raising his face to meet their eyes. “There’s so much of my life that I can’t remember. I… there’s so many things I’ve done that I can’t remember, and…” he grit his teeth. “I’m sure you can understand that it’s not particularly easy to talk about.”

“I understand that,” Elyse nodded.

“Of course,” Boblem replied. “But I think, that the things we speak about… when we acknowledge them, we have power over them. But if we don’t speak about them, they have power over us. We’d rather be able to help you.”

Vanden tensed again. “Well it’s obvious to me that you’ve come from a place where you can say whatever you want. You don’t have to watch what you’re saying.”

“...Yeah, I guess.”

“That doesn’t make his words any less true,” Astra followed. “But you’re around friends, now.”

Cassian had been staring down at the table, but at that, he lifted his eyes to Vanden. “No one else here makes your choices for you.”

“I can’t help where I grew up,” Boblem agreed. “Neither can you. But we can… help. How we decide to.”

Vanden shook his head. “What would you do? What would you suggest? I don’t know, I… if this could be fixed, then surely someone would have done it for me, at some point in my life so far.”

“We don’t know, because we don’t know enough about it,” Elyse admitted. “But maybe there’s things we can try. There’s so many people here with different abilities. You never know.”

“If you’ll let us,” Sariel added.

Vanden let out a deep sigh.

“And if not, then… we can just be there for you,” Elyse finished.

“Because ultimately, Vanden, we’re saying this…” Sariel trailed off, eyes still red. “Coming from a place of love. Because so many of us have lost so many people, we can’t bear to lose any more.”

Elyse watched Vanden with a careful eye. “You said to me, the five of us were all you had left, right?”

He nodded. “You are.”

“... I think there might be a lot of people here who feel a similar way. We’re just trying to support each other, alright?”

“...I’d let you help me, if I had any idea.”

“Well it’s… something to think about.”

“You should try and get some food in you, at least,” Astra offered, trying to lighten the mood. “You were so hungry yesterday.”

Vanden froze for an imperceptible moment before responding. “I’m not hungry now.”

“You don’t need to be ashamed around us,” Elyse concluded.

“...I’ll try.”

Another beat of silence.

“Right, well,” Astra stood. “I’ve got a garden to attend to.” He hurried out.

“I’ll have to clean up the kitchen,” Boblem stood, gathering dishes.

“Do you need some help Boblem?” Sariel offered.

“If you want to, I’d appreciate it.”

Cassian let go of Sariel’s hand. “I’d like to go read,” he stood, excusing himself.

Vanden watched the group disperse. “...Need to go work a few things out.” He stood, picking up the sword again, heading outside to hit some things.

  
  


Astra and Vanden were on opposite ends of the courtyard, the bard over by the little flowerbed, Vanden on the other side by the dummies, about 60 feet away.

Elyse got up, sending Rana out the window to perch on the wall. She followed the bard out to the garden.

“The garden’s really nice,” she looked down at the plants.

The bard didn’t look up. “Thank you.”

“Astra…”

“Yes?”

“...Don’t think I haven’t noticed, you’ve been off with me. And only me? Um… is everything okay? Did I do something?”

From his semi-squat position, Astra sat down, leaning back on his hands to look up at the sorcerer. “Yes.”

“What did I do?”

“It just upset me… a lot. The other night. When you were making a joke out of throwing all the stuff out of the bag everywhere.”

Elyse blinked in surprise. “Was that what it was?”

“...Yes.”

“Okay?”

“And… I know it seems ridiculous,” he admitted. “But it genuinely upset me.”

“Um… Then I’m sorry, I didn’t, I didn’t realize. But that’s not an excuse, um, sorry.”

“I know, I know you didn't realize.”

“Back home, that would have just been, like, the funniest thing ever,” she chuckled a bit, before turning serious. “I’m so sorry. I guess I’m still getting used to being around different people. I thought I was doing better, but.”

“I think we all need to get used to each other still.”

“Maybe.”

Astra’s tail tapped her foot, and she smiled a bit. “I’m not angry,” he explained. “It just upset me, and I didn’t know how to deal with that.”

“That's fine. Then, I won't do it again.”

“Appreciate it.”

She sat down next to him. “Look, I… spoke to Vanden the other day. About a lot of things, but partly… I have been finding it very difficult. Adjusting to this, and everything that’s happened. And, I’m not used to… you’re just a very… open and trusting person, and that's kind of the opposite of what I’m used to.”

He nodded. “I had a feeling about that.”

“I’ve always had… I’ve always been an outsider, to an extent, almost everywhere. And there was only one place and one group of people where I wasn't that. And even within there… it was complicated, but. Even though we’re so different from each other, I feel like you were the first person in this group I actually connected with, and I couldn’t stand the thought that you were angry with me.”

Astra took in the words. “I was on my own for a year, you know. Before I ran into you lot.”

“Really? Why? Just travelling on your own, or?”

‘Travelling. Felt like I had a reason to be with you though. All of you. So I stuck with it.”

“I kind of felt like it was forced upon me. Not that I didn’t like you guys, it was just…”

“Oh I know, you tried plenty of times to get rid of us,” he grinned.

“It wasn’t because I didn’t like you. I had my reasons.” 

“I know. Everyone’s got reasons for everything.”

“I… I was so certain I would find that airship,” she admitted. “Just there. Not destroyed, complete. With everyone in it. And just be able to leave. I think I just convinced myself, because I wanted it to be true. Even though obviously…”

“There’s no obvious about it.”

“I woke up with broken splinters of wood around me, why would I have thought that…”

“Hope?”

She sighed. “I guess.”

“Well, no one knows the people you travelled with before. But in the here and now, I’ve always had your back. I always will.”

“You’ve done so much for me. Even when you didn't really know what it meant, staying with me in the temple and messaging Khalev.”

“I’m sorry that didn’t get through.”

Elyse put her head in her hands for a moment. “It’s okay. I mean, Arakhis is a city with the most prestigious mage college. Obviously, if they have a prisoner who is a powerful mage, they’re going to prevent someone from sending him messages. But I also was so worried that he didn't want a message from me. Or via someone else, from me.”

“I don’t think he’d be able to block it just from that. He’d have to at least listen to it, he just wouldn’t respond. Is he family?”

She looked down. “Um… he’s my… I’m like his protege. And so much more, but. Him and the captain, his wife… trained me, and raised me, and… taught me to be just like them. Which I thought I was. But now I doubt that.”

“You’re still young. You're allowed to make mistakes, it's how you learn.”

“I don’t think he’d see it that way.”

“Then maybe he should make a few.”

“He’s made plenty.”

He shrugged. “There you go. And from those, he learned.”

There were tears stinging at the corners of her eyes, though Elyse was trying very hard for the bard to not notice. “I just… I can’t stand it. I can’t stand that it was my fault.”

“The airship?”

“The airship, and maybe more… this whole thing with Vanden’s memory keeps making me think about it. It’s obviously not the same, it's just one event. Like maybe a few days? Fractures and fragments, here and there, but. I remember being outside of the room that I knew the arcane focus was in, with Zander and the captain on guard. And then I heard someone calling for me to come in, and I thought it was Khalev, so I went in, and then I don’t remember anything. And then I remember being on the airship, and Kenrah trying to kill me, and something hitting my back and burning my skin, and then seeing Khalev in front of me, the same thing hit him in the chest, and I thought he was dead. There were dragonborn surrounding me.”

Astra put an arm out, giving her the option of a hug. She hesitated, but gradually sunk into the arm.

“I really thought I saw him die,” she continued. “And I never… I would never be able to forgive myself. I don’t think I can anyway.”

“He’s not dead, there’s nothing to hold against yourself.”

“The airship’s still gone though. My home is still gone.”

“Sometimes home is people.”

“Yes, but they're not here either.”

“No,” he admitted.

“But you guys are. And I’m starting to see that, more and more. Not maybe... made peace with it, but... understand it a bit.”

“We’re there for you, okay? Trust that, and trust us.”

Elyse leaned into the bard’s shoulder, and Astra gave her a little kiss on the top of her head. It would have been a sweet moment, if not for Vanden absolutely mullering a training dummy on the other side of the courtyard.

  
  


A few days passed.

At one point, Vanden made his way into the common room. “I would like to go to the bookshop,” he announced.

The sorceress perked up immediately. “Bookshop?!”

“I actually have cause to go to a bookshop, so,” Cassian accepted.

“Alright,” Sariel agreed.

Elyse was nodding with enthusiasm. “Always want to go to a bookshop.”

“Astra,” Vanden looked over to the bard. “You said you’ve only read one book, right?”

“Mhm,” he replied.

“We’ll get you another book.”

“Oh! Okay,” Astra smiled.

“Boblem?” Vanden offered.

The boy seemed surprised to be addressed. “Um, I think I’ll stay with the garden.”

“Are you sure? You should come to the bookshop,” Vanden encouraged.

“Why not?” Elyse pressed.

“...Okay,” Boblem amended. “I’ll go to the bookshop then.”

“Oh, that reminds me,” Elyse pulled out the poetry book from her pouch, handing it back to Vanden. “I’ve read it like twenty five times now, it’s very good. But dear God, please take it back. I’m going to buy something new. I really enjoyed it, thank you.”

Vanden flicked through the pages, checking to see if Elyse had scribbled in it. She hadn’t. He put it aside.

Elyse leaned over with a teasing whisper. “I liked the love poems too.”

Vanden went pink. “Shut up,” he mumbled.

She grinned. “No!”

Vanden turned to address the others, removing himself from the other conversation. “Shall we go?”

“Yeah, let’s go,” Elyse agreed, still grinning.

They found their way to the Song and Scroll, tucked in a small alleyway between two buildings. They would have missed the entrance if not for the hand painted sign over the arched doorway, and the sounds of music and singing inside. Astra’s ears instantly pricked up. They pushed the door, creaking it open. Everything was clean, dusted, and well kept. Inside was a maze of books, scrolls, and maps from floor to ceiling. There was a thin little walkway to guide them around the shop. On one of the corners, by the window, was a small and cozy reading nook, with space for a few people to sit on a few very old and tattered puffs of cushions and chairs. There was music coming from the back of the shop, but because of the maze of books, they couldn’t see the source just yet.

Rounding the corner of the maze, they saw a half-orc gentleman with long black hair and a thick beard, a full tattoo up his arm and dimples in his cheeks. He was bellowing out and singing in a mixture of Common and Orcish, dipping between the two.

“Hello there!” he noticed them enter. “Welcome, welcome. You’re my first customers today.”

“Hello!” Astra grinned. “You sound amazing.”

“Yeah, wonderful song,” Vanden agreed.

“Thank you, thank you,” he replied. “I get a lot of time to practice. And the books absorb some of the echoes. You looking for anything in particular?”

“So many things,” Elyse gazed at the piles.

Sariel heard Cassian’s voice in her head.  _ "We should find something on schools of magic. What they can do. But… be quiet about it.” _

Sariel caught the wizard’s eye, following him off to have a surreptitious look around the shop.

Elyse approached the man, spieling off a list of research topics. “Do you have anything on magic? On airships? On arcane foci? On primordial languages? On arcane artifacts? Anything about Ospeia?”

The man raised his brows. “That’s a big list… yeah, sure, I’ve got something on Ospeian geography, let me check. I’ve got a couple of old textbooks, maybe, from some of the Arakhian colleges I can dig up. If you like?”

“Anything, I want to look at all of it.”

“Great, I’ll get that. Airships, foci… I dunno about that, but I’ll do my best. And the rest of you?”

“I’m just going to take a look around,” Vanden decided.

“Of course.”

Astra tilted his head. “Do you got anything on Melora?”

“Of course, of course. I’ve got a few things… the Tale of the Green Knight, and- ”

“Yes, please, that one!”

“Oh, sure, sure.” He disappeared, winding through the maze as the rest of them dispersed.

Vanden looked to the half-elf boy. “Boblem, what kind of books do you like to read?”

“Um… I dunno. Didn’t really think about coming here to begin with,” he admitted. “Anything on… potions and plants?” he called through the shop.

“I’ll do my best!” The bookkeeper replied from somewhere further back. “We’ve got something on herbology!”

Vanden shook his head. “I mean like, fiction. What fiction books do you like to read?”

“I don’t think I’ve read many… besides the ones my grandparents read to me. About princes and princesses.”

“What was that book?” Elyse wondered.

He shrugged. “Just… adventures? You know?”

“Well then,” Vanden decided, “We definitely need to get you some reading material.”

“Which ones do you like?”

“I could reel off probably 300 books right now,” he grinned.

Boblem seemed a bit overwhelmed. “That’s a lot.”

“Maybe… I don’t know. Maybe if you haven't read much, some shorter stories, or something.”

“Okay…”

“There’s actually… I’ll take a look around. We’ll find you something.”

“Okay. I’ll trust your judgement on that.”

Vanden walked around, taking out old books and smelling them as he searched.

Cassian and Sariel rounded a corner and came face to face with the bookkeep. “Oh! Nearly got you there, nearly got you,” the man chuckled, holding a big stack of things in his hands.

“Sorry,” Sariel apologized.

He bustled past, clearly having found what Elyse was requesting. The books in this area were all 20 to 100 year old textbooks, bound in uniform red leather with cracked spines and dog eared with notes. A few were series, though missing a fair couple. There were sources on many schools of magic, each spine with an arcane sigil emblazoned on it. Cassian pulled out Enchantment and Transmutation. They were both an inch thick in total, the pages a bit dry and brittle, but not yet falling out. They were mostly in Common, with annotations in several other languages, seemingly passed down from generation to generation.

“Didn’t you see a third school as well?” Sariel reminded him.

“There is, but… Illusion is pretty self-explanatory. These are the two that interest me.”

“Okay,” the two sat to look through them for a bit.

Vanden went through on his own search. He found  _ The Bandit of the West, _ and  _ Lords and Serpents. _ The latter was a collection of short stories, the former a pulp novel. Vanden took both from the shelf. Next, he searched for the section on languages. It was easy enough to find, with basic guides and walkthroughs on how to learn most common languages; Draconic, Sylvan, Elvish, Undercommon, Dwarven. He didn’t see anything on Abyssal or Goblinoid, but he took the book on Undercommon.

As the others were searching around, Boblem approached the bookshop owner, leaning in to whisper. “Do you have… any books on people with wings?”

The man nodded. “Sure, um…”

“Do you know what those are called?”

“Well sure, there’s the aarakocra from down south, there’s- ”

“But humanoid looking, human looking.”

“Well, they’re funny looking folk, sure, but… bird faces and talons. But yeah, there’s stories of angels and suchlike. Would you like something like that?”

“Yes, of… angels. And suchlike.”

“I think I’ve got something,” the man considered. “There’s a sort of trashy novel. It’s called  _ Demons and Angels." _

“Is there anything that’s kind of factual? Rather than fiction?”

“Let’s take a look in the religious section. I’m finding something on Melora for your friend, so.”

“If you could please be discreet about it?”

“Of course, of course.” He led Boblem through to a huge stack of old religious texts. “These… here, there’s a couple things. Take that, and that, and that’ll be…” He handed over a book with a few scrolls tied on. “A couple of good accounts of angels and descendants, planatars. Those sorts of things. Might warriors of myth and legend.”

“Fascinating. How much is it for this?”

“Well, we’ll see how much everything is altogether when we get back, if that's easier.”

“Okay, thank you.”

The man brought a couple things out, putting a stack of books on the table. “Here we got  _ The Tale of the Green Knight, _ _ The Book of A Thousand Suns, _ _ The Bandit of the West _ … I think this will get everything you need.”

“Thank you,” Astra smiled.

“Thank you,” Boblem followed.

“Please,” the man nodded. “My pleasure.”

Elyse leaned over the counter. “Did you say  _ The Book of A Thousand Suns?" _

“Yeah, it’s a bit dog-eared, it’s…” Elyse held out her hand for it. “Sure,” he laughed, handing it over.

Elyse stared at it. It had different artwork on the cover, very nicely inked, but flipping it open, she recognized some of the stories inside. “This is my favorite book!”

Vanden peeked over her shoulder. “Is that what I think it is?  _ Ospeian Nights?" _

She shook her head. “ _ The Book of A Thousand Suns. _ What’s  _ Ospeian Nights?" _

“Oh. Okay, nevermind, not what I thought it was.”

“What’s that?” Boblem peeked over.

“Well,” the bookkeeper explained, “Actually, if you’re interested, they’re the same book. Published under different editions with different names.”

Elyse frowned. “Why?”

“Different audiences, I suppose.”

“I suppose  _ Ospeian Nights _ sounds more exotic to a Calderan audience,” Cassian surmised.

“He’s a smart one,” the bookkeeper chuckled, nodding to the wizard.

Elyse grimaced.

“What is it?” Sariel asked.

“It’s a book of Ospeian folktales,” Vanden explained.

“Yeah, it’s… it was like, all these stories that used to be told orally, all throughout Ospeia,” Elyse expanded. “And then this author called Aisha Nasir compiled them all together, and added a bunch of new ones.”

“I’ve read it like fifteen times,” Vanden nodded.

Elyse smirked. “I read it like a million times.”

“Okay,” Vanden rolled his eyes, grinning.

Cassian tilted his head. “Would I be able to borrow that, at some point?”

“If you want,” Elyse shrugged.

“My mother is from Ospeia, but she was always skimpy on the details.”

“Oh. I didn’t realize.”

He shrugged.

“I just had a thought,” Sariel suggested. “It might be a bit silly, but… why don’t we get together in the evenings and read some of them?”

“Yeah,” Elyse grinned.

“That sounds lovely!” Boblem smiled.

“I’d love that,” Astra nodded.

The bookkeeper smiled wide. “Delightful.”

Elyse looked back down to the book. “I used to have them read to me, when I was a kid. That’s how they were meant to be told. How much is this one?” she turned back to the man.

“Well, I can tally it up all together,” he offered. “Or individually, if you’d like.”

“These as well,” Cassian added his books to the pile.

“And this,” Vanden added his.

“All that together,” the man looked over the stack of books. “That’s a lot. Let’s say… 25 pieces of gold?”

“Here, take it,” Cassian passed over the coins. “I’ve got it.”

“Oh, boy oh boy,” the man chuckled. “You sure are generous.”

“Thank you,” Boblem smiled.

“Thank you Cassian,” Sariel followed.

The wizard shrugged. “It’s just books.”

“The gift of reading is one that gives and gives and gives,” the man approved.

“Speaking of,” Vanden leaned over on the counter. “Do you know where to source a book on… Abyssal?”

The man retreated a bit, clearing his throat. “Um, no… I wouldn’t stock such a thing. I keep my hands clean of things like that, sorry.”

“Okay, that’s fine. It’s just a scholarly curiosity.”

“Sure, I… I suppose going to one of the colleges or temples perhaps, but these are mostly secondhand, and stuff like that usually gets snatched up by mages for study, or tied into something.”

“I understand, I understand.”

“But thanks for your purchase. You’ve made my day.”

“Thank you,” Sariel, Elyse, and Boblem chorused.

Vanden nodded. “Wonderful shop.”

“What was your name?” Sariel asked.

“Throdak,” he replied.

“Throdak, thank you for your help.”

“I’m Verdant Astra,” the bard smiled. “It’s lovely to meet you.”

“Lovely to meet you,” he returned. “All of you. I’ll be here most times. If you fancy just sitting and reading, the nook is over there,” he pointed.

“I’m sure I’ll be back when I’ve burned through all of these,” Elyse grinned, holding her stack of books.

“Please, enjoy, enjoy.”

Cassian passed Sariel the book on Enchantment, tucking the one on Transmutation into his own bag as Sariel hid hers. Vanden was paying no attention, already looking through the Undercommon book.

Sariel gave a brief glance to the other elf. “Later?”

“Later,” Cassian confirmed.

As they headed out, the first few notes of music began playing on a harp, or lute, or lyre. Astra made note of the sound. They left the Song and Scroll.

Vanden handed over the two fiction books to Boblem. “Oh!”

“Should be fun,” Vanden encouraged.

“Thank you! Thank you for taking the time to look for them.”

“That’s fine. We have a big library back at home, I could recommend… a hundred books out there in an instant, but.”

“Did you read all of them?”

“I’ve read a lot of books, yes.”

“Wow…”

They returned to the barracks. Astra had his book open right away, face in it even as they walked.

“I think we all have some reading to do,” Vanden observed.

Elyse had tucked most of the books in her bag, but she was holding  _ The Book of A Thousand Suns _ tightly to her chest. When they returned, Elyse headed up to the roof, legs dangling over with Rana next to her. She was so excited that she allowed herself to read one of the stories from  _ The Book of A Thousand Suns _ first before setting it aside to dive into the book on Primordial languages.

  
  


As the days passed, Sariel went back to collect her sword. It was a silver scimitar, an incredible, beautiful blade with a gentle but wicked curve. It had no crossguard, but the hilt itself was wrapped in beautiful white leather, with an opalescent pommel at the end. The entirety of it shimmered a bright white silver, but holding it in the light, it sparkled with the green and pink and blue of the unicorn horn, mirrored in the opal pommel. It was incredibly light.

“I’ve got a perfect name for this,” she announced. “Helios.”

  
  


The group went about their business. Privately in his room, Vanden began flicking through the Undercommon book that he accidentally stole from the Zauviirs. He felt very bad about doing that. Painstakingly, he began to translate it word by word onto pieces of parchment, making very slow progress.

All of their downtime, they spent reading their books. Cassian read with Sariel, comparing notes. One evening, Cassian gave a knock on Vanden’s door. He knew the prince would be in his own room when he wasn’t trying to sleep.

Vanden hurried away the papers he had stolen from the Zauviirs. “Come in!”

“Evening,” Cassian greeted. “Sorry if I’m interrupting anything.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Well…,” Cassian’s head began to swivel around on his shoulders. “I... thought. That, because…” he trailed off, letting out one or two breaths of air as false starts, failing to find the words.

“Out with it?”

“You don’t remember the ball, but…” he trailed off again, clasping and unclasping his hands in front of him. “It means you don’t remember any of the festivities. Bad stuff aside, you don’t remember the fun parts of it. And… I… wanted to ask you, if you would have a dance with me. We didn’t get to.”

“Oh… um, okay… in silence?” Vanden prompted. “I mean, I don’t mind- ”

“I,” Cassian stopped him, “I have it handled.”

The wizard took out a seashell, putting it down nearby. Flicking his wrist at it, a haunting melody echoed out, and a light dust of glittering sand dissipated into the air. Cassian closed his eyes for a moment, basking in the sound. Just in the corner of Vanden’s ear, he could hear the beautiful, soft melody. A woman’s voice. Madame Nostrada.

“Huh… okay,” Vanden rubbed his ear.

“Just a little enchantment from home.”

“Hm. Sure, you can… we can… um,” the prince went a bit red. Cellos and violins seeped in, but just the undertones. “We can dance.”

Cassian led. Vanden stiffly put a hand on the other man’s shoulder, a bit awkward about it. Cassian danced with the prince for a while, looking quite pleased with himself. After a bit, his expression furrowed, growing lost in thought over time until he wasn’t doing the steps right anymore.

Vanden stopped moving, still holding onto the wizard. “You still in there?”

Cassian blinked out of his thoughts. “Mm. Yes, just… I have a lot to think about. How to put this...” he took one hand off his partner, rubbing his forehead. “I have lived a very long life already, Vanden. And… I have…  _ never _ … had to think about… my actions. And… what may come of them. Being around all of you, standing in the light of that big sun, outside... I turn around and I see how very large my shadow is.”

Vanden stared back at him. “I’ll be honest, I don’t understand how you can just stand aside when we’re helping people.”

Cassian gave a silent laugh, looking to the floor. “It doesn’t feel… right. Not, not that I…” he frowned. “Not that I disagree with what you’re doing, but… something about who I am… who I have been…?” he trailed off once more, unable to finish.

“What do you believe in, Cassian?” Vanden examined the man in front of him. “Anything?”

The wizard’s voice was quiet. “I don’t know. There… Lothmuir,” he offered, voice steadying again. “We spoke to him, at the ball. And… he had some,” he shook his head, “ _ Severe _ views about what to do with the poor on the lower tiers. And, to play along, and to gain his ear, I agreed with him. I knew I was manipulating him, that I was faking it… But I can’t hide the fact that… a month ago? That would have been genuine agreement.” He grimaced at himself, lifting his eyes to meet Vanden’s. “There is a version of me that would  _ thrive _ in this city. And I hate him now.”

“...Well he’s gone. That’s not you now.”

“But in so many ways, it is.” Cassian’s free hand raked through his hair, a few locks springing out to frazzle the perfect styling. He brought the arm down to rub his forehead again, the other hand gripping tighter where he was holding Vanden.

“Cassian?”

“Vanden.”

“This is… uncomfortable. You can easily change your shadow. By just, moving on.”

The wizard glowered at the floor. “It’s hard to deal with guilt when you’ve never felt it before. It’s difficult to see everyone shine so brightly. It’s been on my mind since we got here.”

Vanden watched at the man as the seconds ticked past. “Look at me.”

Cassian slowly raised his eyes, looking up at the prince.

“Every day is another opportunity to be a better person. Including starting right now. Stop standing aside, and be the person that I know you can be.”

Cassian’s expression changed, eyes swimming with something different as he shook his head, staring back at Vanden. With a bit of a sad chuckle, he replied. “You have such a strange way of expressing faith.”

He leaned in to give the prince a kiss on the cheek, and turned to leave.

Vanden grabbed his wrist.

Cassian stopped, facing the door. “Yes?”

“...Don’t go? ...Please?”

Cassian’s voice was on the verge of breaking. “What would you have me do?”

“I don’t know. It was easier when you didn’t like me.”

“I agree.”

Vanden gave a small laugh. “We could just… yell at each other sometimes. Might be easier.”

“I’m sure it would get out a lot of anger on both sides.”

Vanden laughed a bit more at that.

Cassian was still facing away. “I have to admit, I don’t think it was ever truly… hatred.”

“Oh?” Vanden grinned.

“I don’t know. I don’t have the words for it.”

“Then what?” Vanden positioned himself carefully between Cassian and the door. “Try and say it,” he crossed his arms, giving the man an expectant look.

The wizard gave a nervous chuckle. “What do you want me to say?”

“I don’t know,” Vande replied, innocent.

Cassian swiveled his head around on his neck again, crossing his own arms. “Oh, don’t act all careless all of a sudden, now that you’ve got me like this.” He swallowed, looking to the floor. “I don’t like to be vulnerable.”

“I know.”

“Great,” he rolled his eyes. “I… don’t talk about these things a lot. It’s like… being able to recognize something of yourself in someone else. And, you’re not sure how you feel about it.”

“I see it too,” the prince returned. “When I first met you, you represented everything that I hated about Mirrortail.”

Cassian pursed his lips, frowning to himself. “That’s fair. It is pretty fucked up, isn’t it. I guess I just never… thought to look down.”

“I feel like you did plenty of looking down.”

“In a way,” he admitted. “There’s a fair few people back there, if they really knew my face, I’m sure they would be allowed to kill me.”

“...Well, as far as I see it, you should never look down on anyone, unless you’re helping them up.”

Cassian gave a small grin. “Very noble sentiment.”

Vanden took the elf’s hand, turning up the palm as Cassian watched. The prince stared down at the hand, his voice a bit softer. “You scare the hell out of me.”

“...What?”

“And I don’t know why.”

Very gently, Vanden kissed the palm.

Cassian sighed, looking at his hand before squinting at the prince. “It’s infuriating that I don’t understand this.”

With that, he grabbed Vanden’s cheeks and kissed him against the door. The prince kissed back straight away this time.

Cassian would stay for as long as Vanden asked him to.

  
  


Over the next few days, the city was in turmoil. Governor Berit Zha, the Vice Governor, Overseer General Lady Ashani, and Lord Councilor Yewell Lothmuir were all brought to the Temple of Bahamut for interrogation and questioning. Nobody knew what was happening, and everything was up in the air. From what they learned from people out in the street, neighbors, tavern owners, and those in the markets, it was all confusion. Words like  _ corruption _ and  _ infiltration _ were thrown around, but all of the interrogations were behind locked doors.

It was three days before they were able to hear from Haituis Valentinian, as he had been so caught up with everything. After a few days, the group received a missive from him that he would like to see them.

“We should see him,” Vanden decided.

“Things are tense,” Boblem nodded, worried.

They arrived, and the judicial offices were a frenzy, people running around delivering papers and having arguments in offices. There were a number of the priests of Bahamut there, though Sonya was nowhere to be seen. They had to wait a bit, but they were eventually shown up to Valentinian.

The dwarf welcomed them in, looking exhausted. Papers were everywhere, with all sorts of things stuck to the sides of the walls. One of the priests was in the room, waiting with him.

“Come in, come in…”

“You look exhausted,” Vanden observed.

The councilor sighed. “Aye, I’ve barely slept, and at my age that’s not good.”

Sariel sat herself in one of the chairs as the others followed. “Quite the talk about town.”

“Quite.”

“There’s an awful lot of commotion,” Cassian agreed.

“I’m sure you know that… Zha, Lothmuir… have been brought in for questioning. We’re joined today by a priest of Bahamut, who will be sitting with us, given the circumstances.”

Elyse looked very uncomfortable.

“Hello,” Boblem waved to the priest.

“Greetings,” they replied, inclining their head.

“Given the circumstances,” Valentinian continued, “The corruption rife in the upper echelons of the government… it’s necessary they sit in with us.”

“Of course,” Astra nodded.

“Understandable,” Boblem followed.

“There’s not so much I can disclose to you,” Valentinian glanced to the priest, “...Right now. Doors are still closed. It has moved beyond an interrogation. A trial is ongoing. The election is up in the air. Currently, a deputy to the vice Lady Ashani is monitoring things from an administrative perspective, until the trial is over. But, what happens further remains to be seen. My seat and candidacy remains, but… everyone, as you see, is under investigation. The Temple of Bahamut, the seekers of truth and justice, are taking this rather seriously. As they should. Now, I fear I have not been able to devote any energy to the Kranwells, and their connection to, well, if possible, to the murders on the lower tiers.”

“Understandable,” Sariel nodded.

“I have had a missive dispatched, and should it be required, if anything is proven… the forces of Ursa Volantis will be at the disposal of the city. Three riders, should they be needed. But I hope it doesn’t come to that. Have you been able to gather any evidence in the past few days?”

“I’m afraid not,” Vanden replied. “We spent some time down in the lower tiers, but nothing, unfortunately. I mean, it’s for the best nothing has happened…”

“We didn’t want to interrupt with whatever search you might have been conducting,” Boblem explained. “We thought our time could be better spent handing out food, meanwhile. Keeping a watch on the people down there.”

“I’m sure that provided great assistance,” Haitius nodded. “Well, I’m pleased to report that the city has decided to give you sanction to investigate, should you wish.”

“Thank you!”

Vanden straightened in his seat. “Wow, that’s… greatly appreciated.”

The priest stepped forward. “Considering your involvement in the exposure of evidence regarding matters discussed, and matters at trial… this liberty has been authorized. This has been kept in closed circles so that suspects have not been alerted. We wish for this to remain that way. You have sanction to investigate. Should any evidence be brought forth, you can bring that forth to us. This is not a permit to go burning and ransacking around the city.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“You’re expected to abide by the city’s laws. Investigate. Of course, if you are set upon, put in a deadly situation, you’re of course expected to defend yourselves. But, willful violence and destruction is not the name of the game. Should the evidence come together, we want to bring these people to justice. The people of Shadebourne deserve justice.”

Elyse eyed the priest. “They do.”

“Three children of finer tiers dead does nothing. We need a confession of guilt. Understand what I’m saying? We need them alive.”

“We can do that,” Vanden agreed.

“We can be pretty persuasive too,” the sorcerer followed.

“This does not need to happen all at once,” they continued. “Investigate, research, be discreet. Of course, if situations change, you are set upon, ensure the safety of yourself or civilians around. Preferably, the survival of the suspects. How would you wish to go about this?”

“I guess finding that contract.”

“That’d prove something,” Vanden nodded.

Haituis considered. “That would certainly tie something in. I don’t know how we’d have proof of lycanthropy, or… but, whatever you can find.”

“Would it be an idea to… for us to patrol the first tier? See if we can catch them in the act at some point, maybe?” Boblem offered.

“I’ve upped the number of guards, you may have seen. Moved them down from the higher tiers. The attacks have always happened under the moon. Reports we’ve gathered indicate that… on the moon, there tends to be more than one. On days off the moon, it seems to be a lone figure.”

“So we could be dealing with more than one of them,” Vanden realized.

“I suppose.”

“A whole family of wolves,” Cassian sighed.

“Is it potentially worth bringing people up from those tiers?” Astra brainstormed. “You said it yourself when you came to visit our ho- where we’re staying. There’s room there for a hundred.”

“And there’s plenty more barracks like that, aren’t there,” Elyse recalled.

“A mass exodus,” Valentinian frowned, “Thousands. We couldn’t move fifteen thousand people so quickly.”

“I guess also they would know something was up, wouldn’t they…”

“If we alert the suspects as to our intentions, they may board up. They strike by night.”

“We’ll just have to be as quick and efficient as possible. Avoid any more people dying.”

“We know what we’re doing,” Vanden nodded, looking over to rally the team. “We just need to find that information. We don’t know where it is yet, but I know that between us we’re capable of… extracting and finding information. If we’re subtle about it, we look for information, and then we can make a solid plan. We know what we’re doing here.”

“Do what you can,” the dwarf agreed. “Investigate. I’ve been around, I know what a mage looks like, and what someone capable looks like. I’ve no doubt you can be subtle. Bring me back the evidence.”

“We will.”

“Bring me back a confession if you can.” 

“We’ll do our best,” Elyse nodded.

“Thank you.”

“In your opinion,” Cassian wondered, “If the house has a copy of the contract, and the mercenaries have a copy of the contract, what would be the safer option to try and infiltrate, retrieve one? Mercenaries, yes they have the numbers, but… do they have the loyalty?”

“If I were a gambling man... and I am not, my dear husband is,” Valentinian scratched his head. “I am sure that he would put money on the house being the safer bet.”

“Sounds reasonable.”

The priset nodded. “The city and the temple are aware of these proceedings. Should you not wish to go forward with this, there are other routes we are considering undertaking. Although, a forceful search and extraction is not the route we wish to go down.”

“I believe we are interested in undertaking this,” Vanden assured them.

“We did bring it to you, so,” Elyse shrugged.

Sariel looked to the others. “Would be nice to see it through to the end.”

“Yes,” Cassian nodded.

“Well then,” Valentinian clapped his hands. “Do the city proud.”

“We’ll try,” Boblem agreed.

“That, I know you will.”

“We’ll speak to you again,” Vanden stood. “Hopefully, with information.”

Boblem stood to follow. “Thank you for your time.”

“Thank you,” the councilor replied.

“And get some rest if you can,” Sariel advised.

“Oh, that’s not happening,” he grinned. “Hopefully I’ll be in better spirits next time.”

He poured himself a tea, taking a deep sniff. Elyse said goodbye in Dwarven again, and the group left.

  
  


Returning to the war room, Vanden laid out three blank pieces of paper, ready to make notes. They were all quite used to this by now.

“I think I have an idea,” he announced.

Elyse looked up.“Yeah?”

“Oh?” Boblem tilted his head.

Vanden put a hand to his chin in thought. “These Kranwells…”

“Yes?” Cassian prompted.

“Rivals of the Zauviirs. The Zauviirs seemed reasonably happy to be hosting me. We get ourselves an invitation straight in their front door.”

“Yeah,” Elyse nodded. “I mean, it seems like in the city, your name carries a lot of weight. You should take advantage of that.”

“An invitation to the Kranwells door?” Boblem repeated.

“Yes, straight inside their house,” Vanden decided.

“How are we going to get this?”

“Simply ask,” Cassian shrugged.

“I simply write them a letter,” Vanden agreed. “See if they’ll dine with us.”

“Should it be all of us?” Elyse worried. “Do we want them to see all of our faces?”

“There doesn’t have to be, but it would be the easiest way to get everybody inside.”

“Wouldn’t want you to go on your own,” Boblem warned.

“Oh, I’m not suggesting he go on his own,” Elyse assured the boy. “But some of us could be in disguise.”

“I don’t know,” Cassian frowned. “I think they should know what we look like.”

“They potentially saw us all together anyway, at the ball,” Astra recalled.

“Exactly.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Elyse relented.

“We were there with the Zauviirs,” Vanden repeated. “We have a few things to discuss with them. Put the Zauiviirs in their place.”

‘I’m sure they’ll go for that.”

“Oh, that rivalry angle,” Boblem nodded.

“And once we’re inside, well, we already have the upper hand,” Vanden affirmed. “We can seek information, you can turn invisible, we can use the familiars, we’ve done this.”

“Do you have any more of your shells left over?” Sariel asked, turning to Cassian.

The wizard nodded. “I always have some.”

“Any that we could leave behind?”

“Of course.”

Astra raised a brow. “Leaving shells behind?”

He nodded. “I should go get more at some point…”

“What do they do?” Boblem wondered.

Cassian shrugged. “Just ears.”

“Shells are ears?”

“These ones are,” Sariel smiled.

Vanden gave a look to the bard’s necklace. “Like… Astra’s?”

“Not Astra’s,” Cassian assured them. “But some shells.” He put a hand to his ear. “You can hear the ocean in them. Sometimes, the ocean hears back.”

Vanden stared at him. “Thank you, I hate that.”

Most of the table laughed, Cassian returning the stare with a slight grin.

“It’s amazing,” Elyse declared.

“Thats cool,” Boblem agreed.

“I mean, there's also forms of magic that can persuade people to tell the truth. Or to follow you, go straight to Valentinian. But we might have to get them isolated in order to make that work.”

“We’ll use everything in our arsenal,” Vanden replied.

Astra looked at the table, squinting. “I might be able to listen to their thoughts.”

Boblem’s eyes widened. “That would be something. It wouldn’t alert them, would it? If we charm people, they would know when it ran out, or if it didn’t work on them.”

“If we could find any physical evidence as well,” Sariel planned, “That would tie it much better to them, rather than just hearsay. It’s our word against theirs.”

“That’s the main thing,” Cassian insisted. “We need that contract.”

“We do.”

“Which will surely be inside their house,” Vanden concluded.

“Exactly,” Cassian agreed.

“And if not, you can simply... persuade them with magic to tell you where it is. And then we obtain it.”

“There’s so many different options,” Elyse assured them. “Might it be worth, before we attend this formal dinner, doing a little bit of scouting with our familiars so we know the layout? First?”

Cassian crossed his arms. “I feel they may grow suspicious if they see… creatures flying around.”

“And we have no idea what kind of senses these… people have,” Vanden concurred.

She frowned. “I just don’t like going straight into their house, unknowing of anything.”

“Once we’re inside, we can send a couple of familiars around to get the layout.”

“Take a risk once in a while,” Cassian followed.

Vanden reached for a blank piece of paper. “I’ll get drafting up a letter then, shall I?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah,” Elyse shrugged.

Vanden began to write. Using formal language, he invited himself to their house, insinuating that he wanted to discuss trade and the alcohol business. He vaguely mentioned the Zauviirs, suggesting they might have dirt to dish. He asked if they could set a date for the next night or so, if they would be accomodating. Which of course, he was sure they would be. After all, they seemed like wonderful people…

He sealed it with wax, stamping in his signet ring and signing his name.

  
  


In the two days they waited to receive a letter back, Cassian and Sariel continued to read in private. Boblem researched his own books, as did Elyse.

At one point, Astra came to knock on Boblem’s door.

“Come in!”

“Hello,” Astra smiled.

“Hello!”

The bard made his way into Boblem’s room. “So, I mentioned that I might be able to do that spell? To see people’s thoughts? I’ve been sort of thinking about it for awhile, but I’ve never done it, and I wanted to make sure that it… would work.”

“Oh, okay?”

“And I don’t want to just do it on people, so… would you mind if I… do it to you?”

“No,” Boblem shrugged, grinning. “I’m an open book, man.”

“Okay,” Astra chuckled. “Just means that then you can tell me if you know that I’m doing it or not.”

“Yeah.”

“Okay?”

“Okay, let’s go,” he agreed.

Astra began the spell, listening in on the boys’ surface thoughts.

_ "Hm. Wonder what I’m making for dinner tonight…” _

Astra dug deeper, but the spell couldn’t penetrate any further.

Boblem felt notes of music in the corner of his mind, getting closer and closer, sort of like a warm blanket over his thoughts before he got the feeling that something wasn’t quite right. Concentrating, it dissipated.

“Well, definitely felt that,” Boblem apologized.

“Oh,” Astra rolled back his head in disappointment, frowning. “Okay.”

“Good try though.”

“Mm. I think you should make bread for tonight as well, by the way. That would be good.”

Boblem blinked in surprise. “Oh! Yeah, yeah, I will. Forgot you could hear that.”

“Okay, well, at least we know now that they can feel it, there’s no point in me trying that on them.”

“Yeah. Good thing you tried it though.”

“Yeah.”

“Really smart of you.”

Astra shrugged. “Never done it before, so I just wanted to see. Thank you for letting me do that.”

“Oh, you’re welcome,” Boblem smiled.

Astra bumbled off, and Boblem went down to make bread.

  
  


Later on, Cassian received a knock on his own door while he was reading.

“Come in,” he called.

Elyse stood in the doorway with her arms folded. “So Cassian,” she grinned.

“So Elyse?”

“No focus?”

Cassian seemed confused. He pointed to his desk. “I’m focused on the book right now…”

“Oh my god,” she rolled her eyes. “I noticed you haven't been using your wand,” she clarified. “In battle.”

“...Right. Yes, I threw it off the ship after the dragon attacked us.”

“Uhuh. I saw the magic come out of your… henna. During the battle.”

Cassian looked at his arms. “...Yes.”

“I’m just curious. You know me.”

Cassian shut the book, putting it down. “It’s always really been through the… the paste, I suppose. The symbols, on my hands.”

“Can I see them?”

Cassian spread out his arms. “It’s why I do them in the shape. Ah, you have… Conjuration and Evocation,” he pointed.

“I recognize part of that.”

He pointed to the other arm. “Abjuration and Necromancy.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know those ones.”

He shrugged. “Well, the wand was just… a test, I suppose. Magic didn’t really flow through it, as well as it should have. So,” he wiggled his fingers. “Back to hands.”

“Interesting. So… were you trying to make yourself more powerful with the wand, or…?”

He thought. “Something like that? I don’t know. Just… most people cast through something physical.”

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t want to give any… reasons to be outwardly distrusting.”

“Why would that be untrustworthy?”

He frowned. “Lot of strange magic users in this world.”

“Yeah,” Elyse grinned, pointing at herself and to the wizard.

“Don’t know, I just… thought it seemed more friendly.”

She chuckled. “I can see that.”

He examined his hands again. “This is better though. Feels more… me.”

“It seems like you’re more powerful like this.”

“It’s a good… connection to things.” With a new thought, he leaned over towards her in his seat. “Do you know where the designs come from?”

“Do you mean the… arcane symbols?”

“No, the henna itself.”

She didn’t. It was pretty niche to a certain area. Though by now it was fairly widespread, seen across a few cultures, she didn’t know where they originated. “I did used to see some people back home with them, I never really thought about it as being a specific thing. I don’t know where it comes from, particularly.”

He nodded. “Where my father is from, Aufinne… They cannot see the moon. So, sailors tracked courses by the stars. And it was easy enough to hold up a hand, chart a course down your arm.”

She smiled. “That’s amazing.”

“And then, they started to do it in ornate designs, give it a bit of personality. When it spread back to the mainland, the locals thought,  _ that’s interesting, I’ll give it a go. _ And it just became…”

“A trend?”

“A trend, it became… a culture. Became something that was taught to me when I was younger.”

She smiled. “Well they look beautiful, I don’t think I’ve ever said that to you.”

“Thank you.”

“Um, so your father is from this Aufinne? And your mother is from Ospeia?”

“Yes. They met in Ferrelstadt.”

Elyse had heard of Aufinne, another one of the continents. She knew of Caldera, Tessaboel, Aufinne, and Ospeia. Apparently, there was another continent on the other side of the globe, but it was so far that it was impossible to reach, even by airship. “Well I guess I’m not the only one who’s technically from far away,” she teased.

“I mean, I was born here,” Cassian reminded her. “Just have a… rich history, I suppose.”

“It's interesting. People from two different worlds, coming together.”

“Yes. They… certainly built a nice life for themselves.”

Elyse nodded, looking to the floor. “When we left Mirrortail, you seemed… I don’t know. Not so happy?”

Cassian looked back at her. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

She retreated a bit. “Maybe that was the wrong way to begin it… I’m trying to say, that… I can see how you’ve changed. While we’ve all been on the road. It’s a good thing.”

Cassian turned his head away. “Seems to be a theme at the moment. Not sure how I feel about everything.”

“Me neither.”

“Isn’t it fun?” Cassian turned back with a sarcastic smile. “Just not knowing anything?”

She grinned. “I hate it so much!”

_ "I _ hate it, Elyse!”

She laughed.

“It’s  _ exciting _ ,” he admitted. “But… the uncertainty is... frightening.”

Elyse turned serious again. “Terrifying.”

“Yes. But, as a group, we have survived strange things.”

“That we have.” 

“And I’m sure you survived strange things long ago too.”

“Oh, yup,” she grinned. “Been doing this for a long time. That might not mean much to someone like you,” she amended.

“No.”

“But, magic, and adventuring… have been part of my life for… forever. For me.”

“That sounds nice.”

“When were you first able to cast magic?”

Cassian thought back. “Some… twenty years or so back?”

That surprised her. “Really? Only that short?”

“Aside from… I knew one spell,” he threaded a finger into the air, “I knew one spell for a very long time. Perks of being an elf, I suppose. Only really decided to pick magic up recently.”

“...You know when you said, to be careful?”

“Yes?”

“And I said I know what I’m doing?”

“Yes?”

She nodded. “I wanted to say, I’ve been doing this for a long time, and then I immediately realized, he’s a fucking elf Elyse, it’s not going to mean anything to him. Um, but… I’ve been able to cast magic in some form since before I could even speak. I know this.”

“It’s in your blood. It’s not that focus that you carry around with you, as impressive as it is. It’s you.”

“You know how you asked me… you said something about it being violent, and destructive.”

“Sometimes, yes.”

“It never feels like that to me. I know that’s the result in the Outerworld, but… it’s just, I said it was understanding, but it's more than that. I feel so  _ happy _ when I’m casting.”

“I’m not going to tell you you’re wrong. To each their own. I like being at the bottom of the sea,” he shrugged. “People are different, magic is different. You can... be proud of who you are?” he finished, a bit unsure.

“I’m really happy to have met a caster like you. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who casts like you before.”

Cassian looked to his hand. “I would hope I’m the only one. And… I’m sure you’re pretty unique yourself.”

She shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Maybe.”

She looked down. “There used to be a lot more like me.”

“Maybe there still are.”

There was a beat of silence as Elyse shook her head.

“...Then I am sorry,” he returned.

“It is what it is, I guess. But I,” she shook herself. “I’ve always enjoyed learning more about other people's magic, and the way different people cast. So if you ever wanted to… practice together, or anything…”

Cassian shrugged. “Not opposed to it.”

Elyse remained in the doorway, looking at him.

He sighed. “Yes Elyse, we can practice spells together.”

The sorceress chuckled. “Cool. Okay. I’ll leave you to your… whatever.”

She left.

  
  


Later, Vanden found his way to Sariel, somewhere private.

“Hello you,” she glanced up at him.

“Hi. Um, I’m just going to get straight to it…” he rolled his shoulders nervously. “When I woke up the morning after the ball, I was wearing my signet ring and you weren’t, and all of your scars were exposed. And I don’t know what happened, and I’m already sorry.”

“It’s alright. You needed it more than I did,” she replied.

“You’re okay with everyone… knowing?”

“It was bound to come out at sometime.”

“Right. Are you okay?”

There was heartbreak in her eyes. “Are  _ you _ okay?”

“...Confused,” he admitted.

“I’m sure.”

“And a little bit afraid, but. No more than I am of what we’re about to try and do, with potentially three werewolves. And the fact that we’re shaking up an entire city. You know, everything. Everything that we do is a bit out there.”

“We’ve killed a dragon. We’ve wiped out two thirds of a military barracks.”

“No, no,” Vanden waved her off. “Of course, we would never do that,” he grinned. “And yeah, I guess… you haven’t seemed yourself, since the ball. So I thought I’d check in on you, because… we’re friends, and…”

“I know you don’t remember what we’ve been through together as a group, but…”

“It is quite isolating, actually.”

“...I genuinely thought that we lost you that night. I saw the light leave your eyes. And that’s a sight I never wanted to see again.”

“...I’m sorry that you had to. I’m kind of glad I don't remember dying.”

“I’m glad you don’t either. I can’t think what that would do to a person. Just know that if there is anything I can do for you, I want to help you.”

“I would like to understand,” he began. “But I don’t know how.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

“If there’s anything… magic… that you want to do to me…” he took a breath, steeling himself. “I would take it.”

“I have a few ideas, but… I think I need to look into things a bit more before I try anything. I don’t want to hurt you.”

He nodded. “Either way, I can handle it, so…”

“Well, if this is your giving me permission?”

“...Yes?”

“Good, I’ll remember that. But know, if we do end up trying anything, we’ll make sure you’re fully aware of what's going on.”

“Thank you,” he nodded. “That’s all. If you need this again at any point,” he held up the hand with the ring, “You just tell me, okay?”

She considered the offer. “In a way, it’s somewhat of a relief. That I don’t need to hide anymore.”

He nodded.

“But thank you, meant a lot that night. I’m not sure if I could have walked down those stairs without it.”

“Anytime.”

Sariel bumped him with her shoulder. Vanden flinched away quite hard. “Sorry, sorry,” she apologized.

He cleared his throat. “It’s okay.”

Sariel studied him. “How’s your back feeling?”

Vanden tensed. His back hurt. “It’s… it's sore but… Why? Why would you ask that?”

“Just things I need to consider. Is it hurting more than usual?”

Vanden gave her a wary look, shaking his head as he retreated. “Why are you asking me this?”

“... No reason.”

“No, no, why are you asking me this?” he pressed.

“Because I want to help you.”

He stared at her. “...I’ve never mentioned being in any kind of pain before.”

“I’m sorry I brought it up. You took quite the hit, that night,” she covered.

He seemed to buy it. “Right. Well there’s some things I should be doing anyway, so um… Yes, we can talk about this some other time.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, um, I'll talk to you later.”

Patting her quickly on the shoulder, he escaped the room. Sariel remained, meditating with her scrying eye for a while.

  
  


Downtime finished, plans were set in motion. Cassian tidied up what remained of their formalwear. Vanden’s shirt was burnt, but there were other shirts. Astra approached the tailor with his ruined outfit.

“Can you help with that?”

“Yes,” Cassian agreed.

“Thank you.”

Boblem brought his own clothes over. “Sorry….”

Cassian set about sewing.

The group went over ideas, heading to the war room when they received the letter back.

  
  


_ Prince Regent Vanden du’Argentfort, _

_ We would be most delighted to welcome you, at our humblest of abodes. _

_ We would love to have you for dinner. _

_ Belladonna Kranwell _

  
  


“So, we have our in,” Vanden declared.

“We do,” Elyse nodded. “That was impressively fast.”

“Vaguely threatening language.”

“Yeah, not sure how I feel about that.”

“Did they say it was alright for you to bring all of us?” Boblem worried.

“Oh, I included that in the first letter,” Vanden assured them.

“Okay.”

“Good,” Cassian nodded. “So…”

“Plan of attack,” Elyse supplied.

Vanden scratched his head. “The big bag, the magic…”

“The Bag of Holding?” she grinned.

“Yes. Everything we need in there. We’re going to need rope, we’re going to need- ”

“Got plenty of that.”

“Our potions, our equipment…”

“This time,” Cassian advised, “Armour under formalwear.”

“I won’t,” Vanden frowned. “I don’t think I can get away with that subtly.”

“I can’t either,” Astra worried.

Elyse raised a hand. “Literally a crop top.”

“I can wear my leather armour under what I’m wearing,” Boblem thought.

“Hide mine underneath my layers,” Cassian followed.

“Wear what you can, obviously defend yourselves,” Vanden agreed. “Shield in the bag, weapons in the bag.”

“How about the staff?” Boblem asked.

“In the bag,” Vanden replied, the two elves echoing.

Elyse tilted her head in thought. “I can try and shrink my focus again.”

“I mean, if you feel like you need to, or just have a pouch with you,” Vanden shrugged. “It’s not quite going to be the ball.”

“Yeah, I don’t think it matters as much for this. Um, I was thinking if we want spies around while we’re eating dinner, if you guys send your familiars throughout the house I can have Rana circling overhead. And if there’s any danger, either she can tell me, or if it’s something inside the house I can tell her and tell her to fly and go get Valentinian or someone.”

Cassian nodded. “We should let the authorities know that if that bird comes flying, they go to the Kranwell house.”

“Exactly.”

“And yes, in fact,” Vanden strategized, “We should let Valentinian know we are going tonight in case anything happens. Perhaps have some form of backup vaguely situated.”

“And our distraction is…” Cassian frowned. “Talking about the Zauviirs? And business?”

“I think we can talk about what’s happening in the city, and say let’s not get to business straightaway. I want to hear their opinions on everything.”

“Sure.”

“See what makes them sweat. In that case, your familiars… I suppose, as we did before, in the swills, we need to get a scope of the house. If they have an office or a safe, somewhere they would keep something like that contract.”

“I can bring the spider,” Boblem offered.

“That would be perfect.”

“I call him Legs.”

A few of them laughed. “That’s adorable,” Elyse approved.

“I imagine they wouldn’t notice a little spider crawling out of a shoe.”

“I can send something out as well,” Sariel volunteered.

“What else do we have…” Vanden looked through his notes. “Disguises. Cassian, I’m sure they’ll have house staff or something. If you needed to slip away…”

“Easy enough,” he agreed.

“I can be invisible,” Elyse reminded them.

“If you need to get away, excuse yourself,” Vanden nodded.

“I have something prepared that would… cause a distraction,” Cassian offered. “People would be unable to accurately perceive anyone but myself.”

“Interesting,” Elyse approved.

Sariel smiled at the wizard. “All eyes on you.”

“Yes,” he grinned. “As it should be.”

“As it should be," she smiled.

Vanden echoed the statement as well, soundlessly forming the words as he grinned at the table. 

Elyse leaned back in her chair. “I can also, when we go in their house, try and detect any magical items or objects in there. Which might give your familiars an idea of where to go, maybe something. Just to see if there’s anything else going on.”

“That could be good,” Vanden agreed.

“If, in the unlikely situation things get violent over dinner...” Cassian surveyed the group. “We just attack, yes?”

“Yes, but don’t kill.”

“Non lethal,” Sariel confirmed.

“Yes,” Cassian nodded. “In any case, we should get moving.”

“We can do that,” Boblem agreed.

Vanden stood. “Dress up nice, everyone.”

“Again,” the boy sighed.

They dressed up, geared up, and prepared themselves. They headed to Valentinians, explaining their plan to the dwarf and introducing him to Rana. The councilor told them he would send three members of Ursa Volantis to wait on ready a block away. The mercenaries had prepared enormous wagons that could fit a rider, disguised to look like timber delivery, parked nearby. Bears and riders would wait inside with a scout on top. Should they receive a signal, if things went south, they could ride out and close the gap.

A priest blessed a jug of water for them. It took about an hour as they did many rituals and prayers over it. Elyse stood quite far back from the process as they waited. Holy water secured, Boblem put a lid on the jar.

  
  


They walked up the long city road before they saw the gate, the entrance to the Kranwell residence. They pushed through and walked up a winding path, flanked with trees on both sides. Already dark, it completely enshrouded them. They walked up a slight slope and around to the estate before them, a two tiered black and white majesty of dwarven architecture. With two pillars out front, it seemed a kind of art deco style, decorated with softly glowing wall panels illuminated from behind, and intricate bar patterns of crisscrossing and interlacing steel or copper.

A figure they didn’t recognize waited outside. It was a dwarf in heavy copper plate armour, burnished and gleaming against the candlelight to their sides. 

“Good evening,” Vanden greeted.

“You must be Argentfort and company.”

“That’s right,” Elyse smiled.

“You are being awaited.”

They entered the estate. Stepping in on black and white marble tiles, their feet clicked on the floor. Rana was circling overhead, reporting back to Elyse on entrances, exits, windows, and guards. The manor was an L shaped building, and they headed in on the far side at the tip. Surrounding it was a long rock garden spreading down the length of it, with a courtyard and an orchard on the other side. There were no other guards posted outside, save for the one who had greeted them and invited them in. Rana noticed an entrance to the orchid on one side, and a door to the garden on the other.

The figure of Belladonna Kranwell appeared in front of them. Tall with high cheekbones and beautiful hair falling to her shoulders, she had traces of dwarven and elvish lineage. She wore a blood red velvet dress, the fabric falling to the floor. “I saw you at the ball, but… I’ve got to say, I was disappointed that you didn’t come and say hello.”

“It was very disappointing that we didn’t get to make introductions,” Cassian replied. “Unfortunately at the time we had desired to approach you, we were whisked away.”

“Most unfortunate. Please, welcome to our house.”

“Good evening.”

“A pleasure to meet you at last,” Vanden nodded.

She looked over the group. “Likewise, all of you.”

Introductions went around. On the other side of the room was an enormous mirror, gilded and covered in beautiful swirls and designs. Hanging above it were several heads of creatures. A wolf, a boar, and a lion were all stuffed and mounted, hanging by a large ornate fireplace. There were heavy wooden doors on either side of the hall. Just around the corner from where they stood in the main entrance, stairs led up beyond, with a heavy wooden trapdoor suggesting a cellar below. In front of them was a corridor, leading further down into the house.

“What a beautiful home you have,” Vanden offered.

“Thank you. It’s been in the family for generations.”

“We’d be delighted to see more of it.”

“I’d be happy to show you. Show you the reclining room, the conservatory…”

“Sounds lovely,” Elyse smiled.

“A tour?” Boblem asked.

“Of course,” she agreed. “Why not?”

“That’s very generous of you, to have us here,” Cassian nodded.

“Eustacius and Maculata will be joining us for dinner,” she explained. “Regretfully, our parents are not with us right now. They are elsewhere, on business. Please, let me show you...” she took them through the door on the left.

As they walked around, Elyse sent out a subtle spell to detect any magic around. The various magical objects nearby lit up for her eyes only. There were three pings of light from between Vandens shoulder blades. His signet ring began to glow, along with the various weapons and enchanted armour on the group. The Bag of Holding glowed, as did Astra’s own bag. Cassian’s book lit up, as well as his shells, including the one around Astra’s neck.

She got a ping from Belladonna Kranwell, her entire form lighting up. As she stepped into the other room, two two large suits of armour lit up.

The group headed into the long reclining room. It felt as though many eyes were on them, with paintings all around the room. One was of an older, tall, gaunt, and pale half-elf with black hair tied back in a ponytail, likely in their 70s. There was a female half dwarf painted beside the other, open hair coming to her collar, with a very calm and deliberate expression. Names were written underneath, along with paintings of Eustacius Kranwell Junior, Maculata, and Belladonna. The two older were labelled Eustacius Senior and Zavis.

One long wall of the room was completely lined with bookshelves, with dozens of old and dusty tomes racked on. The far wall was actually a curved window looking out to the garden. Sofas and chaise longues were all around, providing a reclining nook. In the center, a table was stocked with various fine ports, rums, and whiskeys. There was a globe cracked open to reveal more bottles of drink inside.

“The reclining room. We keep much of our family history here,” she explained. “We keep an interesting history, politics, geography, all manner of things. If you’d like to spend some time, we can have a drink, if you so wish.”

“We’d be very interested in hearing your family history,” Cassian probed.

“Indeed,” Vanden followed.

“The Zauviirs had much to say, but I’m sure you know how they can be.”

Belladonna frowned. “I’m sure you can keep that name out of our walls.”

Cassian nodded. “Ah, yes. Rather pompous lot. Apologies.”

“All talk and no substance,” Sariel agreed.

“Precisely,” Belladonna echoed. “Well, we’ve been in liquor for several generations. Wherever there are people, they’ll want a drink. Shadebourne, we’ve been in for… let’s see… six generations. Bought the house, set up, expanded the business. We’ve travelled far and wide before. Time in Fang, time in Riven. That’s about as far back as the family goes.”

“Wonderful,” Vanden offered.

The armoured dwarf was in the back of the room, near the door, waiting.

“You said something about politics?” Boblem pressed.

Belladonna nodded. “Well, we’ve always had a hand… a relation in politics. But no professional involvement, I’d say. We like to supply various politicians with tokens of our gratitude, and we’d be happy to provide tokens of our gratitude should you wish to... strike up a deal. Or no,” she tilted her head. “We find that the various mercenary companies around town are particularly fond of a beverage from time to time. Being in their good books is always helpful.”

“Were you supplying Lord Valentinian the other night?” Cassian wondered. “Or was that simply…?”

“Not in a professional capacity. We graced him with our presence, but no. He had his own suppliers for that.”

“Fair enough.”

Sariel looked up at the imposing woman. “Current political situation notwithstanding, would he have your vote? Or would someone else?”

Belladonna seemed a bit surprised by the question, but she covered and deflected with practiced ease. “Well, given that we don’t know how the candidacy stands right now… I’m not authorized to say on the situation. I’m not educated enough. Please, let me show you the rest of the house.”

“Please do.”

“Please,” Vanden followed.

She led them though, passing into the main room. She didn’t lead them into the door on the right, but she explained that it would lead to the dining room. She brought them into the corridor and along a sort of resting room, through an open kitchen. It was a fairly uncommon sight, as kitchens were usually separate in houses such as these. They followed the L around and into a conservatory, where the walls and ceiling were made of beautiful smoked glass. They could see past the long garden beyond it, out to the orchid to the other side.

She gave them the spiel. There were lots of cushions and soft chairs around, with two scimitars hanging over the fireplace. Elyse didn’t get a ping from them, but the poker lying next to the fire lit up. Belladonna offered to take them around the garden later, but she concluded the tour of the house there, explaining that the personal chambers of the family were above.

“Of course,” Astra nodded.

“Understandable,” Cassian followed.

“Your house is very beautiful.”

She inclined her head. “Thank you.”

“Marvellous,” Vanden agreed. “And unusual, I’d love to know the history of it.”

“Well, I’d love to have you over sometime more, we can talk details on it. Shall we take a seat for dinner? I’m sure the others are starving.”

“That would be lovely,” Cassian accepted.

She led them back to the entrance hall, passing the stairs and the trapdoor with the heavy hinges leading below. They moved to enter the door on the right.

Elyse stopped before the door. “Do you have a bathroom, or something I could use quickly?”

“Of course, of course,” Belldonna gestured down to the privy.

Elyse excused herself, hiding in the small room. Shutting the door, she messaged everybody one by one, explaining all of the magical items she had found in the house. She emphasized that the entirety of Belladonna had lit up, and she had felt two more pings waiting for her beyond the door to the dining hall. She waited a few more seconds in the privy before heading back out.

“Cannot wait to sample some of your drinks,” Vanden smiled at the older sister.

“Let’s,” she agreed.

Belladonna opened the door.

  
  


Inside was a long table, and a fireplace burning with another painting over the top. All five figures of the family were in it, striking a serious, grim looking pose. Two staff members awaited them with steaming platters of food. Maculata was done up to the nines. Eustacius wore a black jacket with a fluffy white cravat, though the fabric was seemingly a bit ratty.

Belladonna wore something similar, a suit cropper slightly shorter, fitting more to her form. “The twins,” she introduced.

Eustacius leaned over the table, his raspy voice echoing down the room. “We’ve been waiting for ages.”

“Sorry to have kept you waiting,” Sariel apologized.

“It’s wonderful to meet you,” Vanden offered.

Eustacius didn’t look up. “The food will be going cold.”

“We simply wanted to see the lovely home,” Boblem explained.

“Thought you were here for business,” Maculata eyed them. “Come on,” she gestured towards the table.

“That too,” Vanden agreed.

“Take a seat.”

The three Kranwells sat on one side of the long table, the six guests taking a seat on the other. Cassian was at the far end near the door, followed by Sariel, Boblem, Astra, Elyse, and Vanden at the other end. It felt like some kind of strange job interview, Belladonna in front of the elves, Maculata in the center, and Eustacius on the other side staring into Vanden and Elyse. As they sat, glasses were placed in front of them. A variety of options were presented, wine in red and white, drinks sparkling or non sparkling, liquors, beers, juices, cordials, iced waters. They were given whatever they wished.

Vanden saw Eustacius grab his glass. Pulling out a coin purse, he dropped a small copper penny into his cup before accepting a server’s offer to pour in wine. He swirled the glass around.

Vanden tapped Elyse on the leg, staring at Eustacius. Elyse looked over, noticing. They had all heard the clink of the metal on the glass. Eustacius looked up, meeting Boblem’s eye with a derisive stare. Boblem looked away.

“Strange tradition,” Vanden commented.

“Personal taste,” the man shrugged. “Come on, let’s eat,” he glared at the staff.

Attendants rushed forward, steam washing out from trays and trays of beautifully steamed and buttered vegetables, and an entire rack of boar with possibly sixty racks of rib on it alone. Nearly the whole pig was placed down, the table bowing under the weight. Iced plates were brought out with cuttings of cold, smoked fish. All sorts of mashed foods and sauces and accompaniments were pressed forward.

Belladonna waved a hand to the display. “Before business, please.”

“Very generous, thank you,” Astra smiled.

“Of course,” Cassian nodded.

Boblem shifted a bit, feeling uncomfortable already. “Thank you.”

“Looks amazing,” Elyse offered.

“Thank you. Had it made specially,” she replied.

“Oh, very grateful, then.”

The Kranwells began tucking in. The attendants served them, and they began to eat. Vanden did his best to make polite conversation with the siblings. “How do you feel about what’s going on in your city at the moment? It’s strange, this is my first visit here, and I wasn’t expecting any of this. I’d heard such good things about Shadebourne.”

Belladonna frowned. “...And what, these are bad things, that you’ve heard?”

“Well, what’s going on with the government, and I’ve heard something about a string of murders lower down. People slaughtered.”

“People are murdered in every city,” Eustacius rasped.

“Not at this capacity. Certainly not in my city.”

“Yes, fifty people in two months seems quite excessive,” Cassian agreed.

“You’d be surprised,” Eustacius shrugged. “These things happen all the time.”

“Here?” Boblem asked.

“Everywhere you go. You heard of the Underdark? They kill each other left and right. Fang is a shithole. I doubt Mirrortail is much better. Perhaps at hiding it, but… I was down two days, and I saw a body washed up on the docks.”

“When were you in Mirrortail?” Sariel wondered.

“A few years ago. Unfortunately. For business. Sailors like their rum.”

Vanden twitched a bit. “They do.”

“How are you finding the food?”

“Wonderful, thank you,” Astra nodded.

“Delicious,” the druids chorused.

Eustacius wiped the back of his arm across his face in a long motion, smacking his lips.

Belladonna glowered at him. “Don’t eat like a pig, Eustacius.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” he countered, cracking his neck. He picked a bit at his patchy facial hair, frowning at the heavy oak table. “So who are you? What’s your interest in… our spirits?”

“Well, my father is the head of the East Caldera Company,” Vanden explained.

“So this is in a professional capacity?”

“I was interested… as you’ve said, we’ve done business before.”

“Very well.”

Vanden leaned back in his chair giving a friendly smile. “But come on, business can be after dinner.”

While they ate, Sariel conjured a mouse familiar on the floor, sending it upstairs. It skittered off, and no one seemed to notice. Rana had perched up in a tree by the orchard, alternating positions with the manor’s chimney. Boblem conjured the spider, and Legs crawled off to the basement.

The Kranwell’s eyes were bored into them, flicking between the pair of guests sitting in front of each sibling. Maculata and Belladonna made very precise movements, barely moving their upper bodies at all. Eustacius was slumped forward, thudding his elbows on the table as he leaned over, tearing apart the meat, picking it out from under his nails and spitting into the fire. Astra looked away, uncomfortable, and Eustacius noticed. He kept his eyes on the tiefling, grinning and licking his teeth. Elyse kept the front of a charming smile the entire time.

Pleasant conversation went past.

  
  


The mouse followed the curve up around the stairs. It found itself in thick red carpet bolted into the wood of the stairs. It took a few minutes to climb all the way up, until it came to a wide open landing with five doors around, three on the left and two on the right. One of the doors was open, clearly leading to another privy.

Sariel’s mouse began to search the rooms. On the left, there was a very fancy bedroom, plush and ornately decorated, with a lot of silks everywhere. There was too much detail to take in, and nothing stood out immediately. The second bedroom was much the same situation.

The third bedroom was torn to shit, absolutely ravaged. There were huge marks along the walls, curtains torn down. The bed was simply a mess of wood and feathers. She didn’t see any chests or cabinets, though one of the walls looked rather untouched and bare. The master bedroom had a separate room just off it. There were chains attached to the wall, manacles mounted high on them. The door to that hidden room looked new, heavy, and metal, with the capability to be barred from the outside.

Sariel flinched a bit at the table, disguising it as a cough. 

Boblem’s spider headed down the stairs. On one side, he saw a rack of bottles, odds and ends, little boxes, and treats. Going down, he saw ten barrels, each about the size of a person. The spider crawled up and down, investigating. There were labels on them all, whiskies and spirits fermenting, but the fourth barrel to the right had the label scratched off.

It took about ten minutes for him to climb to the top of it. Looking over the vantage, he saw they all had large plugs in them, keeping them airtight. On the scratched barrel, the plug was ever so slightly cracked. The spider leaned over, staring into the abyss. There was something inside, but it wasn’t liquid. It was a dark shape.

He would need to go inside to investigate, but given that it was enormous and likely smooth on the inside, it would be hard to get out.

After the first course was finished, the Kranwells seemed to be getting a bit irritable. It became apparent that their guests didn’t know much about the alcohol trade. The Kranwells kept trying to bring the conversation back to business, but it became clear they were talking out of their ass a bit. They put on a good front, and the Kranwells were listening to what was said, but they kept trying to gently bring it back to trade.

Boblem had Legs spin a web, dropping down. As the spider eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, he dropped down to the surface, the enormous, cavernous expanse of the barrel reaching up and around.

The shape was most certainly a body.

Signs of decay suggested it had been there for a while. The face was shrunken in. There were several furs around it, with a decorative wolf’s head near the hood, also in decay.

At the table, Boblem paled a bit, trying to drink something.

Cassian’s voice came into the boy’s head.  _ “Tap your knife two times if you’ve seen something bad.” _

Boblem picked up his knife, cutting into a potato before tapping it twice. Cassian took a slow breath in.

The spider crawled back up. It searched a bit more, but there was nothing else of note in the basement. Boblem dismissed the spirit, and it spiraled away and out.

“So I was hoping we could talk business with you parents,” Vanden began. “Where are they?”

“Away, unfortunately,” Belladonna replied. “Out on business, near Lakeside. They decided to get out of the city for awhile.”

“How long ago did they go to Lakeside?” Cassian asked. “We were just there.”

“Three weeks, perhaps.”

“We must have missed them,” Astra nodded. “It’s a shame.”

“Or passed by them in town, but didn’t know,” Cassian suggested.

“Ships in the night,” Belladonna smiled.

“Quite.”

Eustacius finished his meal, dead eyeing Vanden and Elyse.

“Okay, okay,” Vanden relented. “We can talk business now.” He glanced to the others, giving them a bit of a look before he went into a speil on business, discussing trade with them as Cassian aided. The family understood what they were saying, but they didn’t seem very receptive to it.

Eustacius rolled his shoulders as they ran out of words. “There’s something we could send you, perhaps. Let’s see… an hour and a half, three courses… could bill you at, let’s say… 12,000 pieces of gold for wasting our time?”

Vanden stared back at him. “...That’s very funny.”

“I’m not joking.”

Maculata turned to her brother. “Eustacius. Calm yourself.”

“They’re obviously not interested in business,” he scowled.

The friendly disguise faltered a bit as Vanden grew incensed. “I’m very interested in business, do you know who you’re speaking to?”

“I’m not talking to you.”

“Excuse me?” Vanden kicked Elyse’s foot under the table.

Eustacius slammed down on the table, standing up.

Acting like he was scared by the sudden movement, Boblem tried to sneakily cut his finger with his knife. Belladonna definitely saw the move, looking at the boy as she slowly stood as well.

She looked across the table at the group. “What is the meaning of this? The Zauviirs send you, to buy us out? Undermine us?”

“No, we sent ourselves,” Cassian replied.

“You can’t be that stupid.”

The wizard tilted his head, staring daggers into her as the faux smile grew.

Vanden tried one more time. “I am simply here to discuss trade. You’re well aware of exactly what my father’s company is.”

Belladonna shook her head, looking over to the dwarf. She gave him a little nod, and the dwarf left the room.

“We can be on our way, though,” Astra offered, standing.

“Yeah,” Boblem agreed. The blood didn’t seem to have had any type of effect on the Kranwells, but Belladonna was still looking at him.

“You seem to have hurt yourself,” she observed. “Master Boblem.”

“Foolish,” he agreed.

Sariel gave him a napkin, helping him wipe off the blood.

“Your interest in the status of the city,” Eustacius growled, “Is perturbing. Doesn’t seem conducive to trade, to business… what are you really here for?”

“Not sure how we could put it any plainer,” Sariel tried.

“We were just making conversation over dinner,” Astra followed.

“I’m a Regent,” Vanden reasoned. “Why would I not be interested in the state of the city?”

Eustacius sat back down. He put his feet on the table, knocking Vanden’s plate completely to the floor.

Belladonna rubbed her face. “Don’t make this worse,” she chided her brother.

“Why?” he replied. “I’ve not done anything. I’m in my own house.”

“You should be careful who you’re speaking to,” Sariel warned.

Vanden did his best to spell out B-A-G on Elyse’s leg under the table. Elyse felt something… B-O-G?

She waited for someone to speak again, and whispered under her breath, coughing as she sent her voice into Boblem’s mind.  _ “Bag!” _

Sariel heard Cassian’s voice in her own mind.  _ “Do you have any reason to believe these people are truly lycanthropes? Knock on the table for yes.” _

Sariel knocked on the table.

The dwarf reappeared, opening the door. He gave a nod to Belladonna.

“Like I said, we should probably be heading off now,” Astra repeated.

Boblem shook his head up and down with fervor. “Yeah.”

“We’ve clearly outstayed our welcome.”

“We should go,” Boblem stood, Cassian, Sariel, and Elyse following as the Kranwells rose.

“On your way then,” Eustacius snarled.

Astra looked back down to the prince. “Vanden?”

Vanden slowly made his way to his feet. “Of course.”

The two sides of the table stood, frozen for a moment as they stared at each other.

Cassian walked behind his allies and around past Vanden, offering a polite handshake to Eustacius. The man didn’t take it. “It was very nice to meet you,” Cassian touched him on the shoulder, sending out a spell for removing curses.

_ BOOM! _

A flash of purple light soared out, blinding all of them for a second as Eustacius was slammed back into the wall. Boblem, being prepared, threw out the staffs and equipment once more. Belladonna and Maculata jumped, looks of rage and panic on their faces. The guard at the door shouted something back, an arcane command word. Heavy footsteps echoed beyond the door as he pulled out a longsword.

Vanden moved around to where Eustacius was thrown back. He levied Kahnym’s sword to his throat, turning to the other Kranwells. “You should probably give this up very quickly.”

Maculata and Belladonna growled, opening their mouths as their eyes turned yellow.

Cassian vaulted over and onto the table, running palm first to Maculata. Another light flashed off as he cast the same spell, shattering the glassware on the table. Something flew out the back of her head, smoke dissipating as it coiled and disappeared. The wizard gave Belladonna a disdainful look, activating the enchantment on Undertow as he held the newly human Maculata by the throat. The younger sister was frenzied, thrashing against him, her yellow eyes reverting to normal, bloodshot ones.

Astra backed up as far as he could from the guard, tucking away into a corner. Biting his finger, he sent out a spell to suppress the four enemies in the room. A sickening green mist coiled around their throats, weaving between Cassian’s fingers on Maculata. The bard sent an extra boost Cassian’s way as he noticed a number of fancy instruments around the room.

The thudding, clanking footsteps grew closer. Belladonna continued to howl. Her jaw split and cracked, her muzzle lengthening. Her shoulder blades popped through as her spine crested up on her back. Her dress was shredded as an auburn colored werewolf appeared before them, overshadowing them. Belladonna jumped up on the table, the wood cracking and breaking under the weight.

The guard pulled out a two handed greatsword, slashing towards Sariel. Despite the green mist suppressing him, the first slash cut deep into the elf, the blade stabbing into her a second time before a boot came to her shoulder, kicking her back as the guard yelled.

Sariel stumbled back. Ignoring the guard, she reached out to the sky. “Sehanine, level this playing field!”

She pulled down a moonbeam onto the werewolf. Usually a pale and silvery light, it burst into bright violet, flames licking around her target with a frosting she had never seen before. Sariel felt an instant connection with something outside of this place, something tying her and Sehanine and these creatures together in that single second. The power of the moonbeam forced the Kranwell sibling back into her human form for the moment, but she was still cursed.

Maculata glared at Cassian as he held her. “You come into our home!?” she spat. Picking up a dinner knife from the table, she tried to hit the wizard. The combination of Astra’s magic and the blurring illusion of water rushing over the elf caused her dagger to spear into the air as she missed her mark. She pushed out of his grasp, making a run for it. As she ran to flee, Cassian lashed out with his sword, catching her on the back of the leg. She stumbled and fell, blood pouring from her wound as she screamed. Holding her hands up in front of her, she realized that her lycanthropy had been lifted. “No! No, no!” she cried.

Eustacius began tearing at himself with his own nails, coming to the same realization as he wailed and howled. Vanden swung down the pommel of the sword, hitting him straight on the head. As Eustacius fell, unconscious, a strange feeling came over Vanden.

Still gripping Kahnym’s sword, staring down at the body, he felt an uncontrollable compulsion to just sink his nails into the unresponsive body and tear it apart. To eat him, right then and there. He could imagine nothing more than the blood of Eustacius, still warm, dripping down his throat.

They were only seconds into the battle. Elyse messaged Rana to rouse Ursa Volantis, and she ran beside Sariel to let out a thunderwave through the doorway. The two suits of armour had appeared, making their way towards them as the guard moved to make another attack. Boblem hurried to Elyse, casting out a second thunderwave. Together, they knocked back the armour, blowing chunks off of it as the tiles were destroyed. The guard was pushed away, gasping.

Boblem backed away. “We don’t mean for anybody to die tonight!”

Vanden stared down at the body, heavily dropping Kahnym’s sword to the floor. The metal rang out as it clattered to the ground. His eyes flooded solid blue, as they had when he had fallen from balcony before. With a bone-chilling smile, he got down, and began to claw at the man’s stomach.

He heard a howling in the back of his ears, a terrible laughing and snarling. Vanden began to laugh as well, tearing a chunk of belly fat off with his teeth. Belladonna and Maculata screamed in terror.

Suddenly, something broke away. Vanden came to his senses with a gobbet of flesh in his mouth. He spat it out, the two inch chunk rolling to the floor. Desperately, he backed away, staring at the man on the floor. He moved all the way back to the wall next to Astra, breathing fast and heavy. There was a cracking sound as the room exploded in coppery light, shattering the painting behind the fireplace and destroying half the things in the room. Everyone inside was immediately enshrouded by the immense pair of wings.

Belladonna and Maculata went white, their faces dropping, at a loss for words.

“Give up!” Vanden shouted. It came out in Celestial.

Cassian, having witnessed the horrific event, elbowed up to whack Belladonna with the flat of his blade. She went staggering back, a bit dazed. Belladonna took a slash at him, missing as the wizard ran over to wipe the blood from the prince’s face.

“Vanden…”

The prince looked him dead in the eye this time, trembling.

Cassian stared back. “...Please.”

Astra turned his eyes on Belladonna, forcing sound into her thoughts, the music from the ball ringing discordant and broken in her mind. A small drip of blood came from her nose.

A suit of armour shuffled towards Sariel. It raised a heavy arm, striking her twice. She kept up her hand, forcing herself to continue the moonbeam. Belladonna ran to the door, purple fire burning the back of her clothes and singing her hair. Sariel pulled out Helios, swinging the opalescent blade at the back of her legs as the woman ran past. Tripping her up with her weapon, Belladonna fell.

Sariel held her blade up to her neck, her voice shaking with rage. “You’re not going anywhere.”

The werewolf dropped out of consciousness, though still alive. The guard ran for it. Rana saw the copper armoured figure drop its weapon, hurrying away as the bird flew off to rouse their backup. Sariel moved her moonbeam to the suit of armour, patches of it coating in the flame.

Maculata fled, sprinting out the door as the second suit of armour advanced. Elyse ran through Sariel and Boblem, flying past the armour. Slamming a fist into her palm, a thunderous explosion shook the house as she disappeared, reemerging outside by Maculata. The wave of energy shattered most of the armour, the magical guardians barely standing by now.

The sorcerer appeared in front of the runaway, her veins glowing underneath her face, eyes pulsing with lightning. “You’re not going anywhere.”

Rana was about halfway there, bolting down the block.

Boblem sent out his own spell, dispelling the enchantment on a suit of armour. Placing his palm on it, the metal clattered to the ground, shutting down. The boy ran over to Eustacius.

Vanden was still breathing heavily, looking back at the wizard and speaking in Celestial. “We’re not out of this yet.”

With that, he flew down towards Sariel. Clapping a hand on her shoulder, a bit of divine healing flowed into the elf as the prince positioned himself between her and the remaining suit of armour. Cassian followed, pulling Belladonna through his allies and into the room, tying her up and looking very concerned.

Astra followed with his own bit of healing towards Sariel. The bard’s body shimmered as he focused, sending out a boost of energy to Vanden and Cassian. Invigorated by the magic, the two ran forward to chase after Maculata. Sariel gave Vanden a very sad look as he left before she made to attack the armour. Her fingers turned to claws, and she raked across the armour, her acid burning into the metal. It was beginning to bubble away. Satisfied, she took a misty step to follow the others out of the house as Maculata dashed forward down the path.

The final suit of armour swung at Cassian, who easily dodged as he pursued the final Kranwell. Vanden and Elyse kept pace with Maculata as she fled. Inside, Boblem stabilized Eustacius, working to staunch the bleeding in his chest.

The armour took another swing at the wizard, slamming into him. Undeterred by the blow, Cassian disappeared in a cloud of mist, reappearing further down the chase as he tried to whack the escapee on the head. With a bonk, she unceremoniously hit the floor. Elyse immediately crouched down, tying her up as those inside the house dispatched the final suit of armour with ease.

In the distance, they heard the roaring of bears. Paws pounded up the road, skidding around the corner. They were greeted with the incredible sight of the red leather warriors in full face masks, ornate ceremonial wings coming up over the top of their helmets. Each bear howled and scraped on the side, clad in thick armour as they roared.

Boske grinned down at them. “You called?”

“Looks like you missed all the action, unfortunately,” Cassian replied.

“Yeah, we got them too quick,” Elyse chuckled.

Boske gave an amused laugh, half disappointed. “Aw, you’re kidding!” She slammed the base of her weapon on the ground, sparks flying off the pavement. “No worries, we’ll do a circuit. See if there’s anything else you missed that we need to clear up.”

“Thanks.”

The enormous bears charged past them, kicking through the gate. They vaulted over the fence to the rock garden, taking a wide circle around. Following them was the clank of armour, several members of the city guard marching to the house. The officer immediately saw the adventurous, barking orders to his soldiers to take the unconscious Kranwells away. The guards stared up at the huge wings on Vanden, noticing how most of the group was covered in blood, torn up, tattered, sweaty, their weapons and gear out as Elyse glowed.

One of the guards gaped at them, turning to the others. “They’ve done it! By the Gods, they’ve done it!”

“Excuse me sir,” Boblem approached them. “Um, we have reason to believe there’s a body in the basement? Inside one of the barrels? One with the name scratched out?”

Sariel raised her eyebrows at the other druid. “What?”

“Thank you, we’ll check that out,” the guard replied, turning back to the rest of the troops. “Move in! Search the whole house! Leave no stone unturned!”

They pushed past, a few guards remaining to offer medical attention to the adventurers, offering them water and urging them to sit. Elyse turned it all down, feeling fine. Vanden flew up into the air, circling the house and watching the area. The guards stared at the sight of all the adventurers, weapons out, divine magic sparking from a few, green smoke coiling, electricity cracking, and wings flapping, in absolute awe. There was a resounding chatter through the remaining guards. “They found them!” “It was them…” “The killings will stop!” “They did it!”

Peace fell. They were escorted back to the barracks, and quiet came upon them. They were left alone, brought back safely. The threat, as best as they knew, of the murders in Shadebourne, was dealt with. A very well deserved rest came to them all that evening.

  
  


Two days went by, and an envoy dressed in the official robes of the city knocked on the barracks with the sun on the door. They asked for the group to follow them, looking pleased. The six followed.

They were brought through in a fairly simple carriage compared to some of the more lavish ones they had seen. But it was an official carriage, slowly moving through the busy city streets. They were brought to one of the judicial offices, a similar office to Valentinian’s, on the third tier. It took a long time to get through, the crowd almost overflowing.

Given everything that had happened, they had been pretty out of it for two days, and not fully aware of what had been going on in the city. They were taken to the offices and greeted by Valentinian. He looked slightly more rested.

“I have a lot to thank you for, it would seem. As would this city…” he sighed, smiling. “Come, come with me. Stay in the office, I’ve got something to say. I’m not sure if you know, but there was a quick election held, due to the circumstances.”

“Oh?” Boblem pressed.

“I am happy to report that… you’re looking at the new governor.”

Boblem squealed, immediately going in for a hug. Haitius dried his eyes as the rest of the group offered an overlapping chorus of congratulations.

The dwarf nodded. “This… truly… could not have been done without the six of you. I said it before, I’ll say it again. The achievements here are not mine that we’re celebrating, but what you’ve done for the city. Now, if you don’t mind… I have a crowd to address. Please, stay here.”

He pushed out the door to the office, walking out onto a balcony as cheers came from below. He lifted a hand, and the cheers swelled for a few seconds before dimming, allowing him to speak.

“People of Shadebourne! For too long, the struggles of inequality have been felt by you. For too long, these walls have not protected us. They have divided us. These gates and these walls, built by my family, have kept the hard working desperate while allowing only those born of privilege to prosper. Well I say no more! No more will the tier gates remain closed, barring entry on a whim! No more will the circumstances of one’s birth prevent them from rising up and achieving their true potential! No more will these walls shelter the corrupt, the greedy, and the wicked, who made a game of hunting you, and dragging you down deeper into the mud. From today, a new dawn, a brighter dawn, for the people of Shadebourne!”

The crowd cheered.

“Please, please, do not thank me. I am here to lead you and help you from this point forward, but everything we are achieving is because of six people…” he turned, beckoning the adventurers forward.

The group stepped onto the balcony. Looking out over a square in the third tier, it was packed with people from every tier. A good chunk of the city was there, and as far as they could see the streets swelled full. Valentinians voice echoed, magnified by some arcane means to the streets and tiers below and above.

“Six strangers to the city, who out of their own volition and effort, exposed the killers conducting these horrifics acts to you, and brought them to justice! Not only did they do this, they brought to light the corruption in the upper tiers, revealing sinister acts happening to our neighbors, brothers, and sisters, down below in Ketz. Much needed change in this city is thanks to them, and I dread to think what would have happened had they not come along. These six have truly brought us a new dawn. And we’ll commend them as such, heroes of the city, and the Dawnbringers of Shadebourne!”

Cheers erupted.


	40. Sunrise, Chapter Thirty-Seven

“These six have truly brought us a new dawn. And we’ll commend them as such, heroes of the city, and the Dawnbringers of Shadebourne!”

Cheers erupted.

They were brought forward, clasps fitted to the clothing on their chests, in the sigil of a rising sun.

  
  


_ Two days earlier, at the Kranwell manor… _

  
  


Vanden took to the sky. He didn’t see any more threats as he soared over the rock garden, the orchard, and the greenhouse. It seemed that Ursa Volantis had handed over the escaped bodyguard, grabbing him by the scruff of the neck to catch him as he ran out.

Elyse watched him very carefully. The sorceress glanced over to Cassian. “There’s definitely something not right with that sword.”

“Oh yes, I had a front row seat for the whole event, so.”

“Yeah… I feel bad, because, I know how he feels about magic, and I encouraged him to use it.”

“You weren’t to know, Elyse.”

She sighed. “Yeah, there’s no way to tell with that spell, but, I reckon the thing you used on the Kranwells?”

He nodded. “I intend to get it sorted tonight, don’t worry about it.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

The black and silver armed and armoured guard of Shadebourne marched up, fifteen of them led by a small gnome figure who began barking orders, tying up the Kranwells and looking for other threats. A few came over to the rest of the group, checking them over and offering medical attention. Sariel took a moment to sit down, accepting some water as the soldiers filtered into the house.

Boblem gulped, looking back to the others. “So… there was a body? That I saw through Legs’ eyes?”

“Where?” Sariel asked.

“It was down with a bunch of barrels. It was inside one of the barrels, it had like… a wolf’s hide on it? But it was a person…”

“Should we go take a look?”

“We should probably check that out,” Astra agreed.

Boblem turned to the other druid. “What did you see, Sariel?”

She shook her head. “Oh, there’s a lot upstairs that we should probably look into. Scratches on the walls and wrecked bedrooms… Maybe we should just go and take a look.”

A few of them filed into the house. Elyse cast her spell to detect any magical items on the other floors, but found nothing.

Cassian remained outside, meditating by himself for a while. After a short bit, Vanden landed somewhere near the wizard. As the wings went limp and useless, he stood in the street, completely shaken. Many of the guards around were staring wide eyed at the sight. Vanden reached back, touching the blood on his back before sitting down in the street, shaking. Someone tentatively came over with some water. He accepted it, thanking them, but it came out in Celestial. The guards gave him a wide berth as Cassian sat vaguely near the prince in silent support.

Vanden had slightly better control of the wings now, up and arched in a resting position around him rather than dragging him down, but the weight of them still strained at his shoulders, burning. The thought of taking to the sky again was completely out of the question. He curled in on himself, sipping his water.

Astra looked around the house. “If you wouldn’t mind leading the way, Boblem?”

“Yeah, I’ll lead you all…” he brought them to the barrel in the basement. Standing still, he went a bit pale. “It’s in there. I don’t… really want to touch that barrel.”

“It’s okay Boblem,” Sariel consoled.

The barrels were each about a meter and a half wide, and three meters long. It wasn’t a distillery, but it was perhaps where the family had stored a few of their own fine vintages. The label had been scratched and pulled off of one, the beams of the barrel bulging out.

Mercenaries and guards were circling the building and walking through the house, but they were alone in the basement. There was a small crack in the barrel, and afaint hissing noise escaping from it. They smelled something awful coming from the barrel, the seal broken to allow some gas to spill out.

“I don’t mind being the one to take the first look,” Elyse offered.

“If you don’t mind,” Boblem stepped back.

“Try not to touch anything,” Sariel warned.

Elyse climbed on top of the gigantic barrel, poking an eye through the small hole. It seemed to be what Boblem had described, a corpse wearing a wolf’s head and hide clothing, though it wasn’t anything she recognized. She didn’t believe the barrel was trapped or rigged in any way, either. “Yeah, what Boblem described… like a wolf’s head? A fur mantel kind of thing? It doesn’t seem to be trapped or rigged to do anything if someone opens it, but I still want to be careful because… The Kranwells are hella creepy. So we want to try and open it?”

Sariel offered a dagger to Elyse. “Pry it open with that?”

She took it, jimmying the front panel off for five minutes. As most of the gas had escaped already, there wasn’t a wave of more smell when it opened, but the contents sloughed out as the front came off. In the remnants of the barrel were near-skeletal remains. On the top of the misshaped pile were robes, resembling hunter’s wear. “Anyone ever seen anything like this before?”

Sariel and Astra recognized the body as a priest or priestess of Sehanine. Congregating in high numbers around the city of Riven, many people worshipped the deity, garbing themselves in half robes and half hunter/gatherer gear. They were often wearing a wolf’s head or jaguar’s head hood as part of their religious robes. Much of this robe was soiled beyond recognition, but the hood was easy to see, though matted and decayed. It was clearly once an ornate ceremonial piece worn on top of the outfit. There were glints of silver in the pile as well, from what appeared to be a necklace depicting the phases of the moon.

Sariel went pale. “What are you doing here…”

“You recognize this kind of clothing?” Elyse prompted.

“It’s from Riven,” Astra explained. The style wasn’t exclusive to Riven, though Riven was one of few cities where they only officially worshipped a singular deity in city limits. People were allowed to worship others privately in their own homes, but there was only one temple there, and it was dedicated to Sehanine.

“Did you know them?” Boblem asked.

“Not personally,” Sariel replied. “It’s a priest of Sehanine.”

“Oh… Wonder how they got caught up with the Kranwells?”

“I’m sure there’s any number of ways it could have happened,” Elyse frowned.

Sariel shook her head. “Why would they keep them here?”

“I don’t know.”

It was so decayed, the only bits left were bone. It had likely been there for a few months. Nothing else in the room stood out. There were about twelve barrels in the long basement going down the wall, and a shelf with various knickknacks and assortments, but there was nothing else of note.

Elyse peeked in the other barrels, but they were only filled with strong liquor. “Doesn’t seem to be anything like this in any of the other ones, as far as I can tell.”

“Thank the Gods,” Boblem sighed in relief.

“That’s one thing,” Astra followed. “We should go and alert the guard there’s a body down here then.”

“Yeah, definitely,” Elyse nodded. “And we still need to look upstairs as well. Should we head up there and tell them about this first?”

“Yeah,” Boblem frowned.

“Sariel?” Astra looked to the elf.

“You okay?” Elyse prompted.

Sariel was shaken from her thoughts. “Hm? Yeah.”

“Do you want to walk with me for a bit?” Astra offered.

“Yeah. Please.”

As they came up to the ground floor, they passed Sergeant Braxis, who introduced herself to them. “The city will thank you for your service. You’ve done right here.”

“Just doing what anyone would,” Astra replied. “There’s a… there’s a body downstairs, by the way. In a barrel.”

“Looks like it’s been there for quite a while,” Elyse explained. “It’s quite decayed.”

The sergeant frowned. “Thank you.” With a whistle, she beckoned two guards to go down. They held their noses, disappearing into the darkness of the basement. They heard a retching sound shortly after.

Astra glanced at the others. “Should we go upstairs?”

“I’ll show you the way,” Sariel agreed.

“Sure.”

She brought them through each room upstairs. There was a large landing with plush carpet, with paintings and artwork all around, very clearly positioning the manor as a place of money. She guided them to the master bedroom, where she had seen the chains and the metal door. There was an ornate four poster bed, a few dressers, some wardrobes, and beautiful furniture of stained oak. They could smell the history and wealth in the room. To the side, there was what probably had been a privy at some point, but the door stood out of place. It was heavy wrought black iron, with a mechanism on the front to turn and lock the door.

After investigating for a while, the guards poking in and out, they determined this was Belladonna’s room. On the walls, some areas were more faded, as if paintings had been taken out and new ones had been put in. It seemed this hadn’t always been Belladonna’s room, but it was now. Presumably, it had been the parents room. Elyse checked around for any evidence of where the parents might be now, but came up empty.

They opened the metal door, turning the large mechanism. It took a bit of strength, but they managed it. It was a very small 5x10 foot room. Where there were previously facilities inside, they had been taken out and boarded up. It was a plain room to fit one person, with manacles attached to points in the wall that dangled down, and nothing else. The door could not be opened from the inside. There was no dried blood anywhere, but there were claw marks near the manacles and on the floor.

“You reckon they kept themselves in here?” Boblem guessed.

“Maybe Eustacius,” Elyse considered. “If he’s more… wild.”

“There’s other rooms here as well that…” Sariel frowned. “You’ll see.”

“Lead the way,” Astra nodded.

The first two bedrooms were appropriately fancy, plush, and luxurious. The third bedroom was torn to shit, completely ravaged. Huge claw marks ran through the wallpaper, the curtains, the bed, and the floor.

Sariel gestured inside. “Three guesses who this room belonged to.”

Astra gave a small grin. “I think we’ve guessed.”

One wall was relatively untouched. There were a few claw marks, but there was a fairly large patch that was clear.

“Unusual,” Elyse observed.

The four of them investigated, discovering a suspicious panel in the wall. Pushing it, the wall creaked around, swinging open to reveal a safe.

Elyse looked at the locking mechanism, inspecting it for traps. It seemed fine, but as she attempted to open it, the metal burned her hand. Red hot, the safe seared the palm of her hand in a shockingly powerful blow of fire. The arcane glyph trap inside had been protected from discovery by the thick safe door.

“Are you alright?” Astra worried.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she shook her hand. “The glyph was on the other side, so my spell didn’t pick it up. But I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

“You okay?” Boblem pressed.

Her hand was red and blistered. It would come out bad, but it would heal. “I’ll take a look at it later. Let’s get this thing open.”

She pushed out her unlocking spell towards the safe. The booming sound of the magic echoed through, very loud. A few guards poked in, looking, but she waved them off.

The door to the safe opened, revealing sheets and sheets of paper inside. There didn’t seem to be any money or loot.

Looking through, they found the contract that implicated the Kranwells with the Silver Host. They didn’t find anything about where the parents were, but they found notes from the three children explaining that the parents had disappeared a few weeks back, with no idea where they had gone, mysteriously disappearing. There were pages of journal entries, records of the children paying people to find out where the parents had gone. There were letters to banks, trying to get hold of their fortune, but no one would give in because their parents were still accessing the money from other places.

Elyse looked over the papers. “Okay…”

“So maybe they didn’t kill their parents,” Boblem concluded.

Astra looked over to the boy with wide eyes. “You thought they’d killed their parents?”

“I mean,” Elyse shrugged, “That was what I was assuming too. We should probably turn this over to the guards as well, I guess.”

“Yes, everything.”

Sariel looked over the contract. “I’m sure Boske would want to see that.”

“Yes,” Elyse nodded. The contract wasn’t specifically written with the order to kill Boske, but it did ask the Silver Host to find out her location. Perhaps Eustacius had wanted to do the job himself. The page was worded very carefully as to not implicate either party in any crime, as if the clients were simply interested in the location of someone. “Was there anything else up here, Sariel?”

“No. Nothing in particular, anyway.”

“We should head back down and tell them then,” Astra urged.

Elyse began to walk out of the room. “Yes.”

As they moved downstairs, Elyse handed over the notes, going to investigate the fire poker. She took some time with it, learning that it was indeed magical, enhanced with the ability to reinvigorate a dying fire. She took it.

The guard made their way out of the house, having taken away the Kranwells. Two members of Ursa Volantis had dismounted from their bears, taking a few bits of armour off. They recognized the form of Boske, looking over to them with a grin, with an older male near her. Boblem waved to the half-orc half-elf man, and he waved a big hand in response.

Sariel approached. “Thought you might like to see this.”

Boske took the contract. “Well, well. Everyone wants a piece of this I suppose,” she grinned. “As much as I’d like to keep it… probably should hand it over to the authorities.”

“Probably.”

“But I appreciate it.”

“Figured I would let you see it before we handed it over.”

Boske handed back the scroll. “It’s nice to know I’m wanted.”

Cassian glanced up as the other filed out of the house. “You find much interesting stuff inside?”

“Corpse,” Sariel replied.

“Ah. Corpse. Delightful.”

“Cells inside a room,” Boblem continued. “With manacles on the walls.”

“They’ve been trying to find their parents,” Astra furthered. “Can’t get any access to money, apparently been looking for their mom and dad for a while.”

“Hmm,” Cassian frowned. “Curious.”

“Wonder where they would have run off to,” Boblem thought. “That they would just leave their children like that.”

Sariel gave the boy a look. “Have you met them?”

“I mean…” Boblem chuckled. “Yeah, but. If they’re that way… I don’t know.”

“Doesn’t sit right,” Astra concluded.

“Yeah.”

Cassian stood. “We should perhaps think about heading home soon.”

Astra looked over to the huge figure in the street. “How you handling, Vanden?”

They could hear his voice breaking even through the Celestial. “I don’t know what’s happening.”

Sariel translated for the others before responding. “It’s okay. I promise it’s going to be okay.”

He nodded, looking to the ground. “Okay,” he sniffed.

“Should we go home?”

The sergeant offered them a lift home on the wagon. Boske waved goodbye. “You’ll see me again soon, I’m sure.”

“Hope so,” Boblem and Elyse replied in tandem.

A bear snuffled. Astra, Boblem, Elyse, and Sariel moved forward, tentatively reaching their hands forward. The bear slumped its shoulders, lifting a wiggly ear as they pet it. It was enormous, encased in incredible armour, something between war machine and beast. The size of its claws were each as large as a dagger, clicking on the cobblestone with paws bigger than their heads. A bulk of muscle and fur, Astra nuzzled his face into the bear. “You’re just a big softie, aren’t you?” he cooed.

Boske pulled out a pouch, and the bear turned. Scooping out a chunk of honeycomb, the long tongue of the bear curved out, slobbering over it. The teeth were enourmous, one of them replaced with gold. Boske gave the enourmous head a scratch.

“Boske, he’s beautiful,” Astra beamed.

“Love to see him in battle,” Elyse grinned.

Boske gave a proud nod. “He’s a good boy.”

Sariel looked up to the mercenary. “What’s his name?”

“...Well, we… we sort of give them their own nicknames, we…”

The man beside her gave her a look. “Don’t. It’s not funny, Boske.”

“What?” Boblem prompted.

Boske grinned. “We call him Bearske.”

The other mercenary massaged his temples as the rest of them laughed.

“I think it’s incredibly funny,” Elyse grinned.

“That’s a great name,” Boblem smiled.

Cassian watched from the wagon. “Boske and Bearske.”

The man sighed. “Don’t encourage her. Come on, we best be getting back. I know you’re disappointed,” he gave the bear a pat. “We’ll run some drills for you. Good work here, all.”

“You too,” Sariel and Elyse replied.

The pair saddled up onto the bears, thudding down and off. The Sergeant took them back in the enclosed wagon, bringing them through the city at night. A short time passed, and they were left outside their barracks, hurrying inside.

  
  


Astra excused himself right away, heading to bed. Boblem took a look at Elyse’s hand, bangading it up. There were nasty blisters, but with the plants and salts Boblem had added to the wrappings, it would heal soon enough.

Elyse looked at her hand. “You can’t win ‘em all.”

“Just keep it on for a few days,” he advised. “That should be alright.”

“Thanks, Boblem.”

“You’re welcome.”

Elyse busied herself, writing down more notes. She gave a poke to their fire with the new item, and the flame burst back into life. As she touched an old, charred log, the wood somehow reconstituted as char fell off, burning more and more. “Boblem, look,” she grinned.

“Oh… wow! Very good find!”

“I think so, yeah,” she grinned.

“Good souvenir.”

She held it over her shoulder like a weapon, posing.

  
  


Cassian took Vanden to the war room. It was a bit of a mission, getting through the doors with the wings. In the war room, Vanden was able to spread them out a bit, and they fluttered out behind him with a stretch.

Cassian folded his arms. “I know you can’t answer properly right now, so… Just nod or shake your head? But…” He grimaced, slowly rocking his upper body back and forth. “Wasn’t a fan. Of what you did back there.”

Vanden shook his head.

“So… Would you allow me to… Fix it? Potentially?”

Vanden turned to a piece of paper, writing.  _ What was it? Do you know? _

Cassian read the page, nodding. “One can only assume… especially based on what Elyse has said to me… that the gnoll sword is cursed.”

Vanden took a moment to react to that before writing his response.  _ Great. _

“And I can fix that,” Cassian offered. “I can’t uncurse the sword, but I can… uncurse you.”

Vanden found himself unwilling to let anyone take the sword from him, but the thought of breaking the curse didn’t displease him any more than the use of magic usually did.

He returned to the piece of paper.  _ Is it a spell? _

“Yes it is a spell. And I have to touch you to do it.”

Vanden grimaced.

“But it will…” Cassian’s eyes glanced over to the strong, protective grip Vanden had on the sword. “Maybe help you control yourself, if you want to continue wielding that.”

Vanden scrawled a response.  _ I feel like I’m gonna throw up. _

“Maybe have a seat,” he advised. The wizard’s voice grew softer. “It’ll be over in a second, I promise.”

Vanden turned, placing the six foot sword on the table behind him with a heavy clunk. Turning from the table, he braced himself for the spell, kneeling on the floor.

Cassian gave him a look. “What are you doing?”

Vanden gestured for him to get on with it.

Cassian rolled his eyes. “Sometimes…” he trailed off, crouching down to Vanden’s level. “You don’t have to brace yourself in such a strange way.”

They kneeled, facing each other.

“Vanden…” Cassian offered a hand.

Vanden took it. Grabbing the hand, Cassian used the motion to pull the prince slightly closer, nestling his other hand up through the red hair to cast the spell. Vanden felt as if he had been wearing a helmet that had been much too tight, one that he hadn’t realized was on. An immense pressure, like a cloud suddenly lifting off, snapped and dissipated from him. He no longer felt the connection to the sword.

Vanden dropped his head, breathing heavily. Cassian held him there for a second. He leaned in, gently tapping Vanden’s forehead with his own for a moment before standing. “Right, you’re going to be awfully tired now, so I am going to take this sword away.”

Vanden looked up at him from the floor, nodding. “Mhm.”

“Thank you.”

Cassian picked up the sword, heading to the storage room. He locked and barricaded the door, setting a heavy deadbolt in place.

Vanden sat back at the table, lying facedown on the surface of the wood with the wings behind him. Completely confused, and pretty terrified, he remained there to sleep. Sariel came in a bit later, placing a blanket over him.

Vanden took it, tucking it around the wings. “Thank you.”

“It’s okay. Sleep now.”

He put his head in his arms. “I’m gonna try and do that.”

  
  


Astra received a knock on his door. The bard answered to find Cassian on the other side. “Evening.”

“Hello.”

“Mind if I come in and sit for a bit?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you,” Cassian made his way in, taking a seat on the floor while Astra sat on his bed.

The bard regarded him for a moment. “You alright?”

“Are  _ you _ alright?”

“...Not really.”

“Yes, I know,” Cassian sighed. “I figured we might as well… sit and stew in it together.”

Astra chuckled. “I appreciate you, Cassian.”

“...Thank… you… ?”

“You’re a good friend.”

“...Right, well,” He shrugged. “Just noticed you like it more when other people are around you. So, if you have anything that you wanted to get off your chest, there’s a lot that’s… happened. That I understand is… trying. And different.”

Astra swallowed. “I hurt someone.”

“When you went down?”

“Mhm.”

“Astra, I believe that was an act of pure instinct. No one wants to die that quickly. And… whatever power brought you back up so fast… wanted to make sure that you didn’t go down again.”

“I don’t want to hurt anyone, though.”

“It’s better them than you.”

“No. I appreciate that all of you fight, and… are fine with that, but… I don’t want to change who I am as a person.”

Cassian gave a bitter shake of his head. “It’s a noble sentiment Astra, but sometimes you find the world changes you.”

“True,” Astra shrugged, offering a small smile. “But also you should try and change the world sometimes.”

“... Maybe we will.”

Astra turned the conversation back around. “How about you?”

“This is just … different, like I said. A lot of things to be considered that I never even thought of before. It’s strange, travelling with you lot. Kindness comes so easily to all of you.”

“I guess I haven’t really thought about that. You do kind things too, though.”

Cassian pursued his lips. “Hm. When one can trace most actions back to personal gain in one way or the other, I would not consider that kind.”

“If it’s kind to other people,” Astra reasoned. “Just because you don’t think that your own movement is kind, or your generosity is from a good place, doesn’t mean it’s not seen like that. And if you do enough kindness, then eventually, you’ll do kindness to yourself.”

Cassian paused for a moment, taking in the words. “You have strange worldviews, Verdant Astra.”

He chuckled. “Just different. From yours.”

“Quite.” He noticed a few of the instruments in the room. “We should do some more singing together sometime.”

“I’d like that. You can teach me more of your songs.”

“And you can play yours.”

“Eventually,” Astra grinned.

“You’ll get there. Every great musician starts somewhere. Goodnight, Astra.”

“Goodnight.”

He stood, heading to the door. “Sleep well.”

“Thank you, again.”

Cassian didn’t answer.

Sleep came to them all, although restless for many of them. For Vanden, fits of dreams that he couldn’t place, and familiar memories. For Sariel, visions of purple flame and the moon, bloody hands washed clean.

  
  


Morning came, and the day was theirs.

Boblem made breakfast, pancakes with caramelized apples and peaches. Vanden came downstairs, wings gone, with fragments of memories, looking a little pale.

Elyse looked up from the table where the rest of them were seated. “How are you doing?”

“Morning,” Astra greeted.

Vanden rubbed his eyes. “Morning.”

“Boblem made pancakes.”

He smiled a bit. “Thank you, Boblem.”

“Caramelized apples and peaches if you want, as well,” the boy offered.

“That sounds good.”

“Great!”

Vanden slid into his chair. “I’m… that chat we had the other day, you asked me about my memories, and… I got a little,” he crossed his arms, fidgeting. “Frustrated with all of you. Um… it’s happened again. I can’t remember last night very well.”

“Yeah,” Elyse nodded. “Okay.”

“Very well, or at all?” Sariel asked.

“Fragments,” he explained. “I remember when we were eating with the Kranwells. Some sort of fight, flash of purple light. I think I did something… awful.”

“It’s fixed now,” Cassian replied.

“Yeah, you don’t have to worry about it anymore,” Elyse agreed.

She heard Cassian’s voice in her head.  _ “The sword is in the storage room. I’ve locked it. No one’s going in there.” _

She gave him a glance.

“You fixed it?” Boblem wondered.

Cassian carefully worded his reply. “The… weapon that was afflicting him is no longer afflicting him.”

“That’s good,” Astra nodded.

Vanden looked up. “The sword did that?”

“...Yes,” Cassian admitted.

“I couldn’t tell, with the spell I cast on it,” Elyse apologized.

“It’s fine. It’s done now. And at least you didn’t swallow that junk.”

“Uh…” Vanden paled a bit more. “Oh? Okay…”

“Anyway Boblem worked really hard on these pancakes,” Astra stared at the wizard.

“And they’re delicious,” Elyse agreed.

“We’re gonna eat them, instead of talking about that.”

Sariel smiled at the other druid. “They look delicious, Boblem.”

“Yes, they smell divine,” Cassian followed. 

They smelled of cinnamon and demerara sugar, with something implacable nostalgic about them.

“Thank you!” the boy smiled.

They tucked in.

“So, everything went well, I take it?” Vanden surveyed.

“As well as it could have done,” Sariel replied.

“Yeah,” Elyse agreed.

Cassian wasn’t as sure. “I suppose so.”

“Well, at the end of the fight, we got all the evidence we needed, and Ursa Volantis and the guard showed up, and- ”

Vanden noticed her burnt palm. “Your hand.”

“Oh, there was a trap on the safe upstairs that I couldn’t detect with my spell. It just burned me a bit, it’s fine.”

Vanden held out a hand. Giving him a look, Elyse took it with hers. A bit of divine healing energy flowed into the wound. The burns looked about three days old now, still a bit white, but the pain was gone. She rubbed her hands together. “...Thank you.”

“It’s okay. Is everyone else okay?”

“Yeah,” Boblem smiled.

Vanden nodded. Shaking his hand a bit, he tucked them back into his chest as he crossed his arms. Astra was beaming at him. “Don’t look at me like that,” Vanden grinned.

Astra turned his face to his plate. “You’re just good at it. Helping others.”

“...I try my best.”

He cleared his throat. “Right, well, I’ve got reading to do today.”

“Yeah, I do too,” Elyse echoed.

“I’m all for a relaxed day,” Sariel followed.

“I’m going to finally take a look at that map you gave me,” Elyse grinned over to the prince.

“Good, you can come to me with any questions,” he returned. “I’m just going to be going over the contracts we took from the Weeping Eye. I’ve got some reading to do of my own. Astra, when you brought our stuff back from the Zauviirs…”

“Yes?” he glanced over.

“...You brought back a book that wasn’t mine.”

Astra’s eyes went wide. “What?”

“It’s okay, I’ll return it at some point.”

“I can, I can take it back if you want!”

“Well they’re not there anymore, are they?”

Astra turned his face to the table, mouth agape and eye bulging.

“What’s the book?” Boblem asked.

“Oh my god, you’re a wanted criminal, just like me,” Elyse teased the bard. “Can’t believe it.”

Astra put his head in his hands. “No, I’m not! I already owe my book back from Mirrortail!”

Cassian rolled his eyes as the table laughed. “Oh, don’t upset him like this.”

“It’s too early to be so upset,” Boblem agreed, smiling.

“It’s fine,” Vanden shrugged. “It’s written in Undercommon so I can’t read it, but I picked up the translation book at the bookshop, so. I don’t know, it’s a project. Just something to keep myself busy.” Noticing the bard’s demeanour hadn’t changed, he tried again, grinning. “Don’t worry about it, Astra. I’m sure they won’t miss it.”

“It’s fine,” Elyse chuckled. “You won’t get arrested for accidentally taking a book from someone’s house.”

“I’m sure we’ll see them again anyway, and I can give it back to them.”

Astra fidgeted. “Okay…”

“Don’t panic. I was just, in case anyone else ended up with something that wasn’t theirs.”

“Why am I always accidentally taking books? First the one in Mirrortail, and now here!”

“Astra, there’s far worse crimes than overdue book fines,” Sariel smiled.

“As the Regent Prince of Mirrortail,” Vanden proclaimed, “I’m not going to hold it against you.”

“You’re going to have to give that in writing to the library,” Boblem teased.

“I will,” he laughed.

Cassian grinned across the table. “Astra’s royal pardon.”

Sariel feigned writing. “I, Prince Vanden, absolve this man…”

Astra was beginning to chuckle along with the table.

“So don’t worry, you’re not going to be in trouble,” Vanden concluded. “And I’m sure if you return it, when we get back to Mirrortail one day, they’ll still give you your two copper back.”

“I don’t really care about the money,” he explained. “I just feel bad.”

“Was the book good at least?” Sariel asked.

“It’s Draconic.”

“Well now you can read it,” Boblem grinned.

He was getting there, studying a bit each night. The group had been together for over a month now, about six weeks.

Vanden ate his breakfast, piling fruit onto his plate with enthusiasm.

“This is how we do it,” Astra stage whispered to Boblem, teasing.

“This is how we get him healthy!” the boy agreed.

“We cover them in sugar!”

“I like fruit!” Vanden protested.

Boblem looked at the caramelized, candied chunks on the table. “It is not that healthy…”

“A tomato is technically a fruit,” Elyse grinned, turning to Vanden. “Would you eat a tomato?”

Vanden shrugged. “Yes!”

“Okay, so that’s one thing.”

“Peppers are a fruit, technically,” Boblem followed.

Vanden thought for a moment. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a pepper.”

“Well, we can change that!”

“They’re delicious, they’re very sweet,” Elyse encouraged.

“Let’s start with the fruit,” Vanden hushed her.

“Right,” Cassian clapped his hands together. “As riveting as this conversation on fruits and vegetables is, Sariel and I have some research to be doing.”

The pair of elves excused themselves from the table. Sariel pulled a bunch of pillows out from the many bedrooms, making a large pillow pile for them. Peeking into Vanden’s room, they saw he had already hoarded a pile of pillows in a corner, about fifteen of them by a stack of his own books. Elyse’s bedding wasn’t even in her room. Sariel searched the other empty rooms instead, bringing a fair amount of cushions back.

The two set to work, looking into the schools of magic over the course of the day.

  
  


The school of Transmutation was the school of changing one thing to another. It could be used for turning water to wine, iron to gold, or to shift and contort matter and flesh on a whim, developing new physical attributes like wings, claws, horns, or vice versa, suppressing existing ones.

Enchantment was the school of mental control, binding someone’s will to someone else’s. It could be used to wipe memories, implant new ones, or force someone to carry out the whims of another. There were varying lengths and powers and levels of the magic, from simply suggesting a course of action up to physically binding someone's spirit to the point where disobedience would harm them.

Magical glyphs, patterns, and charms could last for an immeasurably long time unless actively dispelled. Not all magic would stay forever, but if one casted the same spell on the same space or the same thing multiple times, the power would be reinforced, embedding itself into whatever surface.

Sariel looked down at the pages. “This is grim.”

“If what you have in that book is anything like what I’m learning in this one…”

“Mhm. I think someone was doing this to him. Constantly, consistently, over and over.”

“If it’s… something that’s not fully human… They were trying to, I don’t know, fix it? Repress it?” Cassian shook his head. “That’s  _ ghastly." _

“Do you think because they didn’t want people to know?”

“I suppose there are very different views on whether or not your prince should sprout wings.”

“I wonder if his brothers… showed anything like this. Or either of his parents.”

“I don’t know…” Cassian put a hand to his head. “Can you dispel magic, Sariel?”

“Yes actually, I can.”

“So can I.”

She nodded. “I think we need to set something up. Just the spell alone might not… as this was being done for such a long time, I think we need to put a bit more behind this.”

“It could be volatile.”

“I mean, we don’t know…”

“It’s on his  _ skin." _

“...I know. I don’t know if we can get rid of the physical brand, but maybe the magic attached to it.”

“Perhaps,” Cassian dropped the hand to his lap. “Is he willing? Do you know?”

“He said to me that he’d be… willing to let us help him get his memories back.”

“Right.”

“Do you think this will do it?”

“Well, if what… if Enchantment can suppress?”

“Suppress, mold memories…”

“Then yes,” he agreed. “Surely. But we should… get the others involved.”

“Yes, I agree.”

“Ask if there’s anything they can do to… bolster the magic.”

“Mhm. And as well,” she warned, “It would be good to have them around, in case something goes wrong.”

“Yes. Yes, I agree.”

“We need to tell him.”

Cassian glanced over to the smaller elf. “I think you might be able to break that to him a little bit easier.”

“...I’ll have a go. Last time I spoke to him about it, he… didn’t take it all that well. But I’ll have a go.”

“Choose your words carefully. I can rally the rest of the group in the meantime.”

“Okay.”

Cassian squeezed her hand.

  
  


As they planned, Boblem had spent the day researching his own book on angelic creatures. Between the book and two scrolls, he read up on divine beings and their descendants.

From his research, he learned that angels, also known as celestial beings, came in many forms. However, they were often beholden to a divine entity. Their appearances varied, as did their duties, but they appeared in four primary physical forms. Angels were always a manifestation of their deity’s will, enacting it with a portion of their power on the mortal realm. However, angels were capable of free will, and could act on their own volition as well, some choosing to live independent lives in the far realms, some disguised as mortals, and a few even falling from grace.

The deva were the divine messengers of the Gods, white winged with green skin in their true form. They could change their shape, taking any form they wished, often living in mortal disguises for incredibly long times before delivering divine messages. They could wait for a hundred years, or a thousand, cementing themselves into society just to deliver one of their deity’s divine words at the right time.

The planetar were representations of their deity’s might and anger. They were holy weapons, formed of the deity’s wrath, and sent to the realms to strike and smite down unholy enemies, demons, or devils which threatened the safety of the planes.

The solar were quite limited in number. The old texts suggested that only twenty four existed, each tied to a specific deity. Some of them were unknown. The solar were stewards of their deity’s will, enacting it in the mortal realm in whatever ways they could. Their appearances bore elements of the deities tied to them, but they all shared similar burning coppery wings. That bit stood out to Boblem.

The imperial, finally, were not strictly angels, but by all definitions celestial beings. They were directly children of the Gods, insurmountable demigods. There were no references of them crossing over into the mortal realms, though perhaps in ancient legend, but they didn’t usually walk through into the mortal plane at will.

When the deva and the solar assumed mortal forms, it wasn’t uncommon for a mortal to become fully entranced by them, even falling in love. Occasionally, children were sired between the two, and those descendants were known as the aasimar. These were mortals blessed with divine gifts such as flight, holy sight, prophetic visions, and radiance. The aasimar also shared some physical traits of their celestial ancestors. These gifts could lay dormant for generations, emerging from a descendant when fate had determined the world might need them. Even without realizing, aasimar with latent gifts could be inexplicably drawn to each other over the course of their lifetimes.

  
  


Astra sat out in the garden with his book on the Green Knight. The book was made of cracked green leather, with a smell of old pine. The first page depicted a beautiful illustration of a knight in emerald green armour and an antlered helmet, the figure of a woman behind it with wild hair, smiling.

He read.

A long time ago, Melora walked the worlds, with life in greenery springing up from where she stepped. When she left the mortal world to remain in Arborea, she left behind many guardians of nature to enact her will and govern the natural order for her. This circle of guardians, not quite plant, not quite person, wandered the natural world before the first seed of civilization sprouted, resting here and there, creating beautiful groves wherever they stopped. These groves became places of power, which attracted all manner of flora and fauna to them.

Eventually, the guardians grew tired, and sought to put down roots for a longer time, to simply watch the world go by. But civilization had sprung, and people were encroaching on the natural world, damaging it, and taking it for their own. The circle of guardians could not leave the world to its own devices yet, as it would be defenseless and vulnerable. The guardians searched the lands far and wide for a person who possessed the strength and empathy to take up their mantle, but were left wanting.

That is, until a child was left in their grove. The guardians hid from the child, as they were want to do when gazed upon by mortals, appearing as mighty bowers of oak, sickamore, and pine. But they noticed how the child shared their last piece of fruit with a young doe, and saw their future laid out. The guardians revealed themselves to the child and raised them with all the spirits of nature. When the time came and the child was grown, the guardians shed their physical forms, offering themselves to the mortal as a living suit of armour to be with them always. The mortal took to the Outerworlds, roaming the lands. Passing from grove to grove, he kept them clear from corruption, spreading the wild touch of nature and protecting it in turn.

The mortal fought back the forces of the dead, releasing them from wicked controlling bonds, with the wrath of nature untamed. He ascended into legend, known only as a Knight of Green. They lived, fought, and protected in the name of Melora, with her by their side.

Time came for the mortal, as does to all. They chose a successor, another of great strength and empathy, handed down their armour, gifts, and their duties. When this was done, they passed through, and joined Melora in the heavenly plans of Arboria.

The story of the Green Knight continued, and the cycle of nature ran on.

  
  


Elyse took herself off to the library, doing her own research with Rana on her shoulder. She took out the map of Caldera Vanden had given her, studying it and trying to memorize the geography, picking out important cities to research. She looked more into Arakhis, learning about the pit, the pit’s defenses, the city, the military, the law enforcement, the leaders, the governments, and the legal system.

The old librarian was happy to sit with her and spew information. There was a fair bit about Arakhis, though not everything she wanted.

On Caldera, she learned that the climate ranged from tundra in the north to tropical down south. It was twice the size of Ospeia as a continent, roughly 3,000km from east to west. Composed primarily of large independent city states who governed the smaller towns in the immediate area around them, the legal systems did vary. Some places were ruled by a monarchy such as Mirrortail, though this was rare. Some were ruled by a theocracy, such as Riven, where a religious council oversaw the city. There was everything in between, including people who were elected, or who seized power militarily. Some areas of the country were like the Shaiste, a series of lakes that wasn’t officially ruled by anyone, but a baker’s dozen group of people known as the Lake Lords had been in power for a long time, controlling the area due to their sheer wealth. The first major cultures in Caldera had been the elves from Elenithil, the hobgoblins from Erran, and the dwarves emerging from the Underdark where Shadebourne now stood.

She zoned out a bit. She was trying to pay attention, but it was a lot.

Travel was made to other continents mainly by ships from Watchers Respite to Tessaboel, from Arakhis to Ospeia, and from the Southern Steps to Aufinne. By airship, rare journeys were made from Bronze Harbour to Elenithil, and Elenithil to Tessaboel. They were the only cities on the continent with the capability to accommodate airship travel, and the ones most in need of it with how far away they were from everything else. But they weren’t as common as nautical ships, sailing into the sky only once every couple of weeks, if not months.

Arakhis was the capital of magical learning on the continent, an island nation off the east of the mainland. Built on a volcanic island, the mountain was carved to resemble a sleeping dragon wound around its slopes. Arakhis was currently in political tension with the island of Starsone. Starstone had formed a blockade preventing some Arakhian ships from going north of their island, to Kassahn and Watchers Respite. The Arakhian wing patrolled the island on the backs of wyverns, but no blows had been struck.

It was a hub of draconic life, with many dragonborn, cobalt, and lizardfolk living there, though there were humans, gnomes, elves, dwarves, and all sorts as well. As it was a bit of a secluded area, it had beautiful natural wildlife. With a lot of sun bearing down, it was very suitable for draconic races. Arakhis was governed by the Claw, Tooth, and Scale, three official individuals. The Claw governed defense and oversaw the pit, a huge magical prison in the center of the island. It had defenses in place to prevent magical escape or communication, bearing in mind who they had within their walls.

As she read about the pit, she noticed her hands were clenched in tight fists, shaking a bit. She had to make the conscious decision to untense her hands and calm down. Something clicked into place about preventing magical communication. She realized now that her attempts with Astra had been fruitless, but she was still angry about it.

She headed back to the barracks.

  
  


Vanden spent a few hours of the morning on the other side of the courtyard from Astra, practicing with the two shortswords. Worn out from that, he threw them down to stick in the dirt, walking over to sit next to the bard.

“How you doing?”

Astra looked up from the book. “Alright, I think.”

“I like your garden.”

It had sprouted. “Thank you. Needed something bright, something a bit more… natural. In all this stone.”

“Yeah. Will it… survive… without us here?”

Astra frowned. “I don’t know. I hope so. Nature always finds a way to thrive. Boblem set up these handy upside down bottles which keep it watered, so. Why are you asking that, though? Think we should move on soon?”

“I just… there’s lots to do. It’s a big old world, and… we’ve done a fair amount for Shadebourne.”

“That’s true.”

“We pulled out these other contracts from the Weeping Eye base, and I just… I’m still looking them over, but… There’s things I feel we should move on to. I just wanted to give you warning, I know you love this garden.”

“I do, but, I’m happy to move on.”

“Okay. Just wanted to make sure.”

“I’ll be sad to go, but, at the end of the day, home is the people that you’re with. It’s nice to settle for a little bit, but. I’m used to travelling.”

“And I’m sure you’ll be happy to be out of these stone walls.”

“Yes.”

“And outside. With Melora.”

Astra smiled. “Yes, I think so. Looking forward to learning more about her. This book has been very… interesting.”

“Any questions, any time, okay?”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Vanden squeezed Astra’s shoulder, and went inside. In his room, he spent an hour or so going through the contracts again. The one on Frostguard stood out to him, but it would be a three or four week journey to get there. He wrote a few lists of what they might want to take with them, including some warmer clothing for Frostguard’s colder climate. Even though it was the peak of summer, it would be cold up there. Shadebourne was sort of protected from the worst of the winter by the enormous mountain range behind, but beyond was the Northern Ice Wastes and the Glittering Coast. Frostguard, being all the way out to the east, was quite exposed. He hadn’t been there before, but the plains and tundras would challenge them with bitter winds.

When he reached the point where he couldn’t plan any further without consulting the others, and he noticed everyone else had tucked themselves away for the day, he continued his work on translating the Undercommon book.

It took him awhile, as a completely new language, but he was able to go through and painstakingly pick out one word at a time, looking up its equivalent and noting the translation down.

_ Covenant of Twilight. Underdark. Kehrago. Tyrannical. Control. Dark Magic. Lolth Torog Zehir. Blood Magic. Colony Rulers. Tide. Mage Eye. Twilight Caves. Arcane Essence. Smoke. Essence. Twilight Quartz. Powers. Toppled. Purpose. Forgotten. Still Exists. Preserved. Induct. Covenant. _

From its position in various sentences,  _ Lolth Torog Zehir _ seemed like a name, or names. He continued flipping though, citing word by word for ages.

  
  


While Vanden was in his room, Boblem came to knock on his door.

“Come in?”

“Hi,” Boblem smiled, leaning in through the door.

Vanden had a lantern on the desk, but it wasn’t glowing with a flame. It seemed to have been lit with a touch of his hand, a beam of light emanating from the desk in the windowless room. Boblem gave it a look before going to sit on the very unused bed.

“What can I do for you?”

“So… I’ve been thinking… that talk we had, when you got kind of upset? I’m sorry the way things went.”

“It’s okay.”

Boblem kicked his feet off the side of the bed. “But, I also thought about what you said to me. That, clearly, I come from a place where I can just say what I want whenever I want? And I thought… I’ve been thinking about it. And, to be honest, maybe that was the case most of the time when I was growing up. But, I certainly didn’t feel that way when I was around my mother? She wasn’t really open… about anything, really. I could see that she was often upset and sad, but she wouldn’t really talk about it?”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Just… made me also become quite closed off? And not talk about my feelings? And I just… I don’t remember much from that period of time when I would just keep things to myself, besides just feeling very miserable. And lonely.”

Vanden sighed. “I come from a place where the only thing that matters is the outward appearance that you put on, so… it can be lonely. It’s just… expected of you, you know?”

“That’s a lot of pressure.”

“I’m sure you’ve seen it here, the higher up the tiers we’ve climbed, the more people have put on a front. Acted in a way you can tell instantly isn’t true to themselves.” He looked away for a moment, forming his thoughts. “I’m getting used to… not having to be like that. Around all of you. I just… It’s a very long time of having to do that. But I appreciate, I don’t, I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry if I upset you, basically. I realize I get very defensive sometimes.”

“It’s okay. I won’t judge you for what you say to me when you’re at your worst. That’s not really you.”

“Thank you.”

Boblem tilted his head. “I guess I talk so openly about my feelings ‘cuz I’m hoping… I had to learn how to do that at a young age. For my own wellbeing. Had to learn to let other people in so I wouldn’t feel so alone and miserable. And I really don’t want that for you, or any of the other people we care about. I think… we all deserve to feel seen. To feel heard. And to feel understood. You deserve that. Which is why I maybe get so nosey, when you just clam up. I don’t mean to be nosey, I just want to make sure you don’t feel alone.”

“It’s okay,” Vanden grinned. “I’m getting used to you being nosey, Boblem. In the beginning, it was very unnerving because I wasn’t used to anybody asking me about myself. But, I don’t know. Being around you five is the first time I’ve not been alone in my life.”

“Yeah,” Boblem smiled.

“And maybe I should be more nosey. You rarely talk about your mother.”

“...Yeah.”

“You talk about your grandparents a lot. Is she not around anymore?”

“Well, she wasn’t really around much, when I was growing up. She would come and visit every now and then. And then… at one point she just stopped.”

“Visit from where?”

“I don’t know, she’d never tell me. From all over the place, really. And since we were from all over the place I didn’t really question it too much.”

“I guess so. And, you don’t have to answer this if it’s too upsetting, but… your father?”

“Well… he died when I was young. Just, got really sick one day. And there wasn’t anything we could do to fix it.” Boblem looked down at his bare feet. “I remember my mother was really upset. She left the day right after he died.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. Just kinda… maybe she didn’t sign up for raising a kid on her own. Maybe it wasn’t worth staying if my father wasn’t there as well. Whatever the reason, it just wasn’t the same after he died.”

“Well, your grandparents did an amazing job.”

Boblem looked back up. “Thank you.”

“You’re one of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met. Little ray of sunshine, everywhere we go. And I hope you never change.”

“Awe!” He smiled, blushing a bit. “You’re one of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met as well. And I want you to know… that you are loved. You know that, right?”

Vanden swallowed, staring off to the wall as his voice grew scratchy. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. It’s important to me, that you know.”

Vanden got up from the desk, moving to where Boblem was seated on the bed. “Come here.”

The boy leaned over. “What?”

Vanden hugged him.

“Oh!” Boblem was very shocked, but pleased. He began to softly return the hug.

“Please don’t touch my back.”

“Oh, okay!” He pressed his arms against the sides of Vanden’s ribs instead.

“Thank you.”

“It’s okay.”

Feeling a bit awkward, Vanden pulled back.

“Thank you,” Boblem smiled. “I’ll let you get on with your… lot of reading.”

Vanden cleared his throat. “I’ve told Astra now, but um… I don’t know whether we’ll be staying here much longer.”

“Oh?”

“There’s,” he pointed to the mass of papers on his desk, “Lots of things to be getting on with. And I just feel like… maybe we’ll be put to better use exploring some of these other things. Obviously not everyone has to, but, I get the feeling we’re going to stick together now, no matter what.”

Boblem beamed. “Yeah we will.”

“I’ll talk to everyone about it later, I just, you know… if there’s anything you wanted to wrap up here, might be worth thinking about.”

“Yeah… maybe the food drives that we’ve been doing so far?”

“Yes, we should definitely arrange for that to keep going.”

“Yeah. You think Councilor Valentinian would be able to help us with that at some point.”

“We should speak to him at some point.”

“Yeah, good idea. Thank you Vanden. I’ll let you get on with it.”

“I appreciate it.”

  
  


As the elves in the other room finished their research and made their plan, Cassian gave Sariel a pat on the shoulder before going off to find Elyse, Astra, and Boblem.

He appeared rather ominously in Boblem’s doorway. “House meeting. Need to have a talk with you all, come on.”

Next, he stopped by the garden to collect Astra, posing rather dramatically out the window to lean over. “House meeting.”

Elyse was kicking her legs off the edge of the roof. Cassian looked up to her, sending his voice into her head.  _ “House meeting.” _

She hopped down and followed as the wizard took them all into the dining room, sitting them down.

He put his elbows on the table, folding his hands in front of him.

“Are we still waiting for the others?” Astra wondered.

“No, it’s just the four of us.”

“Okay.”

“Sariel is going to talk to Vanden, who is the topic of this conversation. Um… we may have picked up some books, about the schools of magic. We may have been doing some research into how to… help him with his memories.”

“That’s good.”

“That’s amazing,” Boblem agreed.

“Um, the…” Cassian grimaced. “The things that you can do with Transmutation and Enchantment in particular are… quite nasty in the wrong hands. And for someone to do that to someone else's flesh…”

“The things on his back?” Astra clarified.

“Doesn’t really bear speaking about, I’m afraid.”

Elyse leaned forward. “So you think there might be a way we can… undo it? In some way?”

“All glyphs can be dispelled, Elyse. Um, however, depends how powerful they are. And… Sariel and I can both make an attempt. But what we wanted to bring to you is that… is there any way you can bolster our magic? So that it might be more successful? And would you mind helping… perhaps if we did it in the war room, it’s familiar to all of us. If we set it up in a way that…” he shook his head. “We have no idea if these things are volatile. In a way that’s just going to be… as calm as possible.”

“Yeah,” Boblem agreed.

“Yeah, I can imbue others with my magic,” Elyse nodded. “Enhance their abilities for awhile.”

“I can do the same.”

Cassian glanced between the two. “That’s excellent. And, when you play music,” he looked over to Astra, “It always feels… inspiring.”

“Thank you,” Astra smiled. “I know Vanden finds it calming anyway, so maybe that would just help.”

“Yes. Um… Right, good. I don’t know if we’re going to get started right away, but. Elyse, there’s some sigils. If I show you, would you help me draw them?”

“Yeah, of course,” she agreed.

“Excellent.”” He looked back to the other two. “If you don’t mind gathering candles, anything that will… create an atmosphere.”

“Sure,” Boblem smiled.

“We can do that,” Astra followed.

“Before we go, I should let you know… I’ve also been doing some research.”

“Oh?” Cassian prompted.

Boblem shifted. “Well, I’ve never seen anybody with wings before, the way Jocelyn and Vanden had. So I asked for a book about it, when we were at the bookshop. And I’ve learned some things…” he began to relate what he had learned about the types of celestial beings.

“...Interesting.”

“Very interesting,” Elyse agreed. “I’ve seen winged people before, but not like that. Something very different.”

“The Transmutation magic, it can…” Cassian frowned. “You can use it to change your own physical attributes. Or, suppress them.”

“Oh…” Boblem grew quiet. “You reckon… they suppressed that from him?”

“That seems to be the case,” Elyse sighed.

“I would reason that makes sense,” the wizard followed. “Considering how painful it looks.”

“They tried to hide it? Or restrict his power? We have no way of knowing the motivation, but whatever it is, it’s horribly cruel.”

Cassian looked at the table. “Who can say what the royals want these days, Elyse.”

“It is cruel,” Boblem agreed. “Just thought I should share with you guys as well.”

“Thank you,” Astra replied.

“I’ll let him know as well, probably after we help with his memories?”

“Yes,” Cassian agreed. “I don’t think he would listen to it beforehand.”

“Yeah. And I wouldn’t want him to forget.”

“He wouldn’t remember anyway,” Elyse nodded.

“We’ll help.”

“Of course,” Astra followed.

“I just…” Cassian fidgeted where he sat. “Can’t have one of us… handicapped in that sort of sense.”

“Yeah, it’s not right, whatever has been done to him,” Elyse replied.

Boblem eyed the wizard. “You’re worried about him.”

Cassian avoided the boy’s gaze. “...I can be worried, Boblem.”

“I know. Just think it’s sweet.”

A strange look passed over the wizard’s face before he directed them back to business, clapping his hands together. “Right, Elyse, anyway. Abjuration sigils.”

Elyse pointedly chose to address Boblem first, grinning at the boy. “It is very sweet.” She turned back to Cassian. “And yes, let’s draw some sigils.”

“Come on,” he sighed. “Get some chalk.”

Astra and Boblem began gathering up supplies, borrowing some of Sariel’s surplus of incense. Cassian showed Elyse how to trace out a large Abjuration circle in the war room, moving the table to the side. Elyse picked up on it very quickly, noticing that one of the designs on the wizard’s left hand was definitely quite similar to what they were drawing on the floor.

  
  


Sariel went to Vanden’s room, knocking on the door.

He seemed a bit suprised to have another visitor. “Come in?”

Sariel slipped inside. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

“Do you have a minute?”

“Sure.”

Sariel slowly entered, a bit hesitant.

“What can I do for you?”

“Well,” she began, “It’s not so much a case of what you could do for me, as what I could hopefully do for you.”

He turned his chair around with a squeak, intrigued. “Oh, okay. You have my attention.”

“...What I’m going to say… I’d like you to try and listen with an open mind, if that’s alright.”

He nodded. “Understood.”

“I don’t know how much of last night or the night of the ball you remember, but… at some point within that time, you mentioned to me that you would be willing to let me try and help you retain your memories.”

“I remember that.”

“...I think there’s a lot that you’ve forgotten. For quite a long time.”

“There is,” he admitted. “It gets worse every year.”

She rubbed her arms, making herself smaller than she already was. “I know about the brands on your back, Vanden.”

His face fell.

“Again, I don’t know if you remember, but… On the night of the ball you lent me your signet ring.”

His voice was thick. “I remember lending it to you.”

“And… I’m very grateful for that. But by the end of the night, what with everything that occured… the back of your shirt was ripped open. And… we could see what had been hidden there when you had been wearing the signet ring previously.”

“Right…”

“I don’t want to embarrass you or upset you, but… just wanted to… I didn’t want to keep that from you anymore.”

“...Everyone saw?”

“Yes.”

Vanden sighed. “Fair enough, I suppose. Can’t keep that sort of thing hidden forever when you’re this… close with a group of people.”

“Well, Cassian and I have been looking into what those brands might mean.”

He glanced up at her. “Right…?”

“I told you, try and keep an open mind.”

“I’m listening.”

“...We think that whatever has been done to you has been to try and, either modify your memories, or make you forget things, or just… mold your mind to someone else’s will.”

Vanden shook his head. “Those… those brands are there for my protection, Sariel.”

Sariel’s expression dropped. “...No Vanden, I don’t think they are.”

A very distinct memory flashed through Vanden’s mind. Asking Lockwood to get rid of the memory of being out on open water, that it hurt him too much. And Lockwood had helped him. But that was all there was.

He took a breath. “I don’t know what you’re planning to do, but…”

“It’s a proposal of mine that we try and help you… gain some of those memories back. And to stop whatever it is that’s triggering it from making you forget, constantly. Because we don’t know how far it will go. What if you forget who you are? What if you forget us? If you forgot everything that you’ve done so far?”

Vanden leaned forward on his desk, a hand over his mouth as he thought.

“It’s just a proposal,” she finished. “We think that we can safely dispel that charm that’s on you, because- ”

“Those were put there when I was very young, I- ”

“And you consented to that?”

Vanden raked a hand through his hair.

“I think your free will has been taken away here,” she pressed.

He sighed. “I need time to think about this.”

“Of course. But just know that I would  _ never _ do anything to hurt you.”

“I believe you. I’m just… I’m not sure you entirely know what you’re dealing with.”

“Then enlighten me.”

Vanden shifted in his chair. “I don’t… I don’t have the answers either. I just… as far as I know, they were placed there because I was... dangerous. Or a danger to myself, or… it was so long ago.”

“You were a child.”

“...Yes.”

Sariel shook her head. “Anyone who does that to a child isn’t in their right mind. Their only intentions are for their own gain.”

Vanden shook his head. “Don’t say those things about my father.”

“Your father did this to you?”

He didn’t respond, quietly staring back at her.

Sariel’s voice shook in her reply. “A father… carved up his child’s back- ”

“He was a good man, Sariel!” Vanden shot her a warning glance, his own voice faltering.

“I’m not saying he wasn’t. I’m just questioning his choices.”

“... I need some time. I appreciate… what you’re trying to do for me.”

“Again, just know that I only want the best for you,” she whispered. “And I don’t want your free will taken away again. If you do decide to… let us help you. Cassian and I both have an idea on how we think we can get this to work.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll give you some time.”

She reached out a hand for his. He squeezed it. She squeezed back, turning to leave. Vanden didn’t come out of his room for the rest of the day.

  
  


Sariel returned to the war room, where the others were setting things up. “Well, I’ve spoken to him, but he needs some time. He hasn’t exactly said yes, but he hasn’t said no either.”

Cassian sighed. “Great.”

“I mean, it’s kind of understandable,” Elyse shrugged.

“Did he know anything about the brands on his back?” Boblem asked.

Sariel’s eyes stung. “His father did that to him. Whether it was personally or he had someone else do it I don’t know, but his father was responsible, ultimately.”

Cassian slowly lifted his head, his face contorting with quiet rage. “Oh…  _ Fantastic." _

“Why are they there though?” Astra pressed.

“They make him forget,” Sariel explained. “One of them does, at least. That’s why he has gaps in his memory.”

Boblem frowned. “What does the other one do?”

“Suppress physical attributes,” Cassian replied. “The third one hides things.”

“...So his father must have known, about his wings.”

“Trying to hide them from either Vanden himself, or other people?” Elyse guessed. “Or both?”

“All we can do is wait and give him time,” Astra decided.

“If he doesn’t come out in a few hours,” Cassian advised, “Perhaps… someone should go check.”

“I was going to maybe have another look in a bit later,” Sariel agreed.

He nodded. “For now we can sit and enjoy the incense, and the candles. Try not to think about…” he closed his eyes, “What is behind.”

“Or what’s ahead,” Sariel warned.

“What’s ahead can be very exciting,” he countered.

Boblem wrung his hands. “Just hope he lets us help.”

“He let me help him last night.”

“That’s a point,” Elyse nodded. “I’m sure he will.”

  
  


After three or four hours of absolute silence, as early evening set in, Vanden left his room. Hearing the voices and noticing the lights, he was led into the war room by the soporific incense. The palace in Mirrortail had always been filled with the smell of incense. He pushed the door open with curiosity.

The rest of the group was scattered across the room. Cassian was sitting on the upturned table, twiddling his thumbs. Sariel was still going through the books, Elyse accompanying her out of curiosity. Astra was fiddling with his bag again. There was a large Abjuration sigil in the middle of the room, candles and incense placed around it.

Vanden stood in the doorway, staring into the room. “...Right.”

Cassian greeted him first. “Evening.”

“Hello,” Astra smiled.

“Hello,” Boblem cautiously echoed.

Vanden examined the giant chalk sigil on the ground. “This looks vaguely terrifying.”

Sariel looked down. “Sorry.”

“It means protection,” Cassian explained.

“It’s gonna help you,” Elyse agreed.

Vanden took a few more deep breaths.

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Sariel reminded him.

“Exactly. And you’re surrounded by friends here,” Astra followed.

Elyse nodded. “So you should know that anything we want to do is something we think will help you. Not harm you.”

“There is a firm and resolute belief here that this will help,” Cassian declared.

Vanden shook his head. “I trust all of you, I just, I don’t… trust me.”

“Vanden?” Cassian caught the man’s eye. “ _ We _ trust you.”

“Implicitly,” Astra smiled.

“None of you know what’s gonna happen, though,” Vanden reasoned.

“Whatever happens,” Boblem shrugged, “We’ll deal with it.”

“Together,” Astra nodded.

“Yeah.”

Vanden looked to the ceiling. “I wish I could ask… what would happen first.”

“If this was a few years down the line, maybe I’d be able to tell you,” Sariel apologized.

Vanden took a deep breath. “Okay.”

“You ready?” Elyse prompted.

“You can try.”

“We will. If you’d be so kind…” Cassian gestured to the sigil.

Vanden glanced around at the people in the room. “You have to promise me that if anything bad happens you’ll… I don’t know. Act appropriately.”

“I promise,” Sariel nodded.

“When are we never appropriate?” Astra grinned.

A few of them chuckled, but Vanden was resolute. “I mean, if I’m dangerous or something…”

“I know what you mean.”

“It’s gonna be fine,” Elyse followed.

“...Okay.”

Vanden took off the signet ring and placed it heavily onto the table.

Cassian held out a hand expectantly. “Elyse?”

Elyse took out her arcane focus, drawing static electricity out of it. Placing her hand on Cassian’s, warm, crackling electricity flowed into the wizard’s veins. The dark hair on Cassian’s arms stood up with the static, the henna glowing blue for a moment before returning gold. He gave her a wink.

“Boblem?” Sariel turned to the boy.

“Just so you know, I have to touch you for this to work,” he warned. “Is that alright?” She nodded. He offered a hand, and she took it. “Thank you. For trusting me,” he smiled.

“I trust you.”

The glow went up her hand, spreading into her chest like a nice, warm cup of tea. Her hair wafted out a bit as the magic settled.

Astra took a seat, playing one of the songs he had heard on the Mirrortail docks with his lyre. The jaunty tune invigorated the pair of elves further as the smoke hung heady in the air, curling around as Vanden stepped into the circle.

Stripping off his shirt, the brands were revealed. He fiddled with his shark tooth necklace, a familiar sight to the others. Vanden kneeled down like he had the night before, bracing himself for magic.

“Just relax,” Sariel advised.

He rolled his shoulders, swallowing. “Don’t think I could possibly relax.”

Cassian walked around to stand behind him. “It’s all going to be fine. Sariel, if you would?”

Sariel took a breath, preparing herself. She kneeled down behind Vanden, taking the wizard’s hand and pulling him to sit by her. As the elves closed their eyes, Sariel began the incantation, Cassian echoing in verse behind.

_ “Moon Mother, may you guide my hand,” _

_ “And ocean bring me strength on land.” _

_ “We weave a charm to quell the bind,” _

_ “That plagues it’s toll on our friend’s mind.” _

_ “Memories lost behind the seal,” _

_ “Grant us might, so we may heal.” _

_ “Aid by song, and storm, and sun,” _

_ “May affliction’s snare be yet undone.” _

_ “By hands aligned,” _

_ “By hearts entwined,” _

_ “Grant freedom by our will combined!” _

As their voices joined on the final verse, they pressed their free hands forward onto Vanden’s back. Their hands began to glow and vibrate, and they felt the man’s shoulders start to shake. Vanden felt the magic swelling and coursing into him. His body began to move under the elves’ grasp, and they had to grip his shoulders to prevent him from shifting away. From their hands, inky red lines followed from where Vanden’s veins were, glowing as magic coursed through him, dissipating before plunging into his back.

Light began to swell out of the glyphs themselves, burning sickly pulsating red light that was wrong to look at, shooting out of the sigils. The old, old scars began to bubble and blister and swell before each of them burst, the excess skin fading off into dust. Pink lines remained where the old scars were, the light swelling and swelling and swelling until it was too bright to see. Vanden cried out in pain.

Suddenly imploding on itself, the light stopped.

Years of tension washed out of his muscles. Like a smack in the face, memories hit him. Falling from a window, soaring over a bay, a winged figure in a courtyard fending off dozens and dozens of figures, a similar figure in an abbey at his side reaching up and pulsing divine light into him. Fighting over the eastern terrace at Valentinian’s manor. The night prior, at the Kranwell manor. It all came back. His muscles unlocked.

The magic was dispelled.

Cassian slowly removed his hand from the skin. “Vanden?”

“Vanden?” Sariel followed, doing the same.

Gently, slowly, Vanden pushed out his wings. The skin didn’t split, tear, or bleed like it had before. They unfolded like they were stretching out for the first time in years. Sighing in relief, he turned to face the people behind him as the enormous wings enshrouded his friends.

Astra smiled up at them. “Wow…”

A few tears streamed down Vanden’s face. Sariel wiped them with her thumb.

“Thank you…” he whispered. “You did it. I don’t know what you’ve done, but you’ve done something.”

Elyse grinned. “We told you.”

“What’s… what’s happening to me?”

“It’s alright, it’s alright,” Sariel consoled him. “Just take it moment by moment for now.”

The freckles on Vanden’s face began to light up, igniting one by one until they were all glowing. On his shoulders, behind the wings, a dusting of feathers stuck out naturally from his skin. His eyes glowed a much brighter blue, and a few streaks of white appeared in his red hair.

“I think this is who you really are,” Elyse grinned.

“It’s beautiful,” Boblem smiled.

“It’s been hidden from you for a long time.”

Cassian took it all in, looking up at the prince in awe. “Vanden, you’re incredible…”

“Magnificent,” Sariel sniffed.

Vanden gave a nervous laugh, looking at the wings. “Thank you.”

“How do you feel?” Astra wondered.

He felt strong.

“Stronger,” he replied. He stood up from the floor. “Doesn’t feel so… unnatural. As it did at the ball, at the Kranwells.”

Cassian smiled up at him from the floor. “And you remember that now?”

“You remember that?” Elyse grinned.

Boblem beamed. “Your memories!”

“And Jocelyn?” Cassian pressed.

Vanden smiled. It was perfectly clear, down to every last feather. “I remember.”

Cassian sighed, leaning against Sariel. The two were still holding hands.

“I remember… escaping the dungeons at the palace,” he continued. “Through the air. Flying over the bay.”

“And Jocelyn,” Sariel chuckled.

“I never knew.”

“Not all this time?”

“During the siege… that must be why I forgot everything. She used her wings, and…” Vanden shook his head, trailing off.

“Now you remember,” Elyse encouraged.

“There’s a few other scattered memories. Um, I remember… reading about creatures. Like… winged creatures. When I was studying. I didn’t remember that before, but… Not everything.”

“Maybe in time. You need time to heal, and adjust.”

“And that’s a lot you’ve had to just remember,” Sariel agreed, rising to her feet with the other elf.

“Yeah.”

Vanden gave a desperate laugh. “Yeah. Kind of feels like I’ve just been punched in the face.”

“Perhaps… another sleepover in here, tonight,” Cassian proposed.

“Yeah,” Elyse smiled, turning to Vanden. “Do you want to hear a story? From  _ The Book of A Thousand Suns? _ Would that make you happy?”

Vanden was no longer looking at them. He was quiet, a hand on his face, staring away with pain in his eyes.

Cassian gently peered over, examining the man’s face. “...Vanden?”

Vanden slowly removed the hand from his face, swallowing hard.

“You okay?” Elyse worried.

Vanden choked, his voice breaking. “Why would they do this to me?”

“...I don’t know, but we’ve… fixed it. You don’t have to… be burdened by it anymore.”

“Sometimes when people don’t understand something, they try and lock it away,” Sariel explained.

“That’s true.”

“I’m sorry they did this to you,” Boblem offered.

Silent tears continued to fall down Vanden’s face. “So many hours, trying to burn these feathers out of my skin.”

“...You, yourself?” Elyse gently pressed. “Or other people?”

“No,” Vanden wrapped his arms around himself, holding his chest.

Elyse tentatively held out a hand. He grabbed it, placing it on his shoulder.

She met his eyes. “People can be cruel to things they don’t understand. People they don’t understand. But with us, you don’t have to hide it.”

He sniffed, nodding.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he agreed. He looked out to the rest of the room. “Thank you.”

“Told you we’d always have your back,” Astra replied.

Vanden smiled. “Come here.”

“All of us?” Boblem asked.

He nodded. “Please.”

“Okay.”

“I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

They gathered around him, huddled between the enormous coppery wings as he beckoned them all into a hug. The wings wrapped around them.

Sariel spoke to him in Celestial. “You’re safe now.”

“Thank you,” he returned in the same language. A bit of confusion passed by his face as he realized what he had done.

“I’m glad you can speak in Common as well now, with the wings out,” Astra grinned.

“Me too,” he agreed, switching back..

“That was going to be quite inconvenient,” Elyse chuckled.

Astra glanced back to Elyse. “I think that book would be a good idea.”

“I think…” Boblem pulled his own book out of his back pocket, handing it to Vanden. “I think this might be helpful? It talks about winged creatures, such as yourself.”

He accepted it. “Thank you.”

“You like research, after all. As Elyse.”

“I do,” he chuckled. “Thank you. But for now, I don’t think I can. I don’t have the energy.”

“That’s okay.”

“That’s understandable,” Elyse followed.

“We don’t have to do anything else tonight,” Sariel agreed.

Astra smiled. “I’ll go get the bedding.”

“Mine’s on the roof,” Elyse grinned.

Astra rolled his eyes.

Vanden pointed a thumb at the wings. “I can get it.”

They all laughed.

“You sit yourself down,” Cassian instructed. “Let’s put the room back together.”

It took a little while, but they were able to wipe the chalk from the floor. All the candles had been snuffed out when the pulse of red light shot through. After half an hour, everything was as cleared and ship shape as possible.

  
  


Even healed, Vanden’s physiology did tire with the wings out. He wasn’t able to keep them fully up after a minute or so, but he found he was able to dismiss them if he wished. While the others moved things around, he sat and stared into the fireplace. After some time, he allowed them to start burning up. The feathers smouldered away, and the skin behind knitted over where they came from. There was no blood streaking down, or scabs. There were just shoulderblades, a very faded brand down the middle of his back, and a few feathers remaining, scattered across his shoulders.

“They’re incredible,” Elyse smiled.

“...Yeah,” Vanden turned to look at her, still in disbelief. “They are. It’s going to take some adjusting.”

“Do they hurt now?” Boblem worried. “When they went away?”

“Not at all. No.”

“Thank Gods.”

“The memory of the pain from the other night is… excruciating. But no, that didn’t hurt at all.”

“You’re going to need some new clothes,” Sariel chuckled.

Cassian, who had been leaning over himself and looking to the floor, instantly snapped to attention. His face lit up into a wide smile as he straightened.

Vanden grinned at him. “Don’t look so delighted with yourself,” he teased.

“Oh come on,” Elyse grinned. “Let him.”

Cassian’s eyes danced with possibilities. “Oh, the potential though…”

“You got some ideas?” Boblem asked.

“Oh…” he rubbed his hands together, thinking. “I will have to do some sketching.”

“I guess I can’t be destroying any more shirts, can I?” Vanden relented. “Otherwise we’re going to be spending all our money on shirts.”

“Better that than rations,” Sariel smiled.

Vanden looked back to Elyse. “If you want to tell stories, I’d appreciate it. Don’t think I’ve had stories read to me since… my older brother used to. My oldest brother. When I was young.”

“Yeah,” she smiled. “Yeah, the Captain used to read this book to me.”

She took out  _ The Book of A Thousand Suns. _ Before reading, she explained that it was a collection of Ospeian folktales compiled by the Ghabarian author, Aisha Nasir. Many of the tales were adapted out of the long standing tradition of oral storytelling that had spanned across Ospeia for centuries.

The book had an essential framing narrative about a young woman named Shaziya, who wove wondrous tales in order to trick a cruel king into sparing her life. Each night, she told him a story, but the sun would conveniently rise before she could complete it. The king was so enraptured by her stories that he would agree to spare her life for one more night so he could hear the rest of the tale, but each night, Shaziya could never finish her story before the sun rose.

Most of the stories centered on themes of magic, adventure, cunning, trickery, and overcoming great adversity. Several contained stories within stories, becoming very convoluted

Elyse picked out one of her favorites,  _ The Fisherman and the Efreeti. _ It was the tale of a poor fisherman who cast his net into a lake. Instead of the fish he was hoping for, he retrieved a heavy jar with magic sigils upon it.

Upon opening the jar, he released the powerful Efreeti which had been imprisoned within it, and cast into the lake where the waters would render him completely powerless. The Efreeti explained that for the first hundred years of their imprisonment, they swore to bestow great material wealth upon the person who freed them, but nobody freed them. For the second century of their imprisonment, they swore to grant their liberator with great physical power, but again, nobody freed them. After another century, they swore to grant great magical ability to the person who freed them, yet nobody did. So, in the four hundred years of imprisonment, the Efreeti became enraged. He swore to grant the person who freed them a choice of deaths.

The fisherman pleaded for his life, but the Efreeti would not concede. The fisherman tricked the Efreeti, asking them how they managed to fit into the jar as they were so huge and mighty, and the jar was so small by comparison. The vain Efreetii, eager to show off their power, shrank and placed themselves back into the jar to demonstrate their incredible abilities. The fisherman quickly put the lid back on the jar and threatened to throw it back into the lake if the Efreeti didn’t vow to spare his life, and grant him the boons he had sworn to grant the liberated before.

The Efreeti, impressed by the mortal’s cunning, conceded, and the poor fisherman was granted great wealth and power.

Vanden grinned as she finished. “You should have left the end off and done it in the morning.”

“That would have been more traditional, you’re right,” she laughed.

They sat around, listening to her read a few more by the fireplace. Elyse clearly loved telling stories, very animated and excited as she spoke. At one point, she offered the book to Vanden for him to read. He flicked through, and found that his favorites weren’t in this edition. They were added later, when it became  _ Ospeian Nights. _

Elyse took it back. “These are the  _ traditional _ ones,” she teased. “And it’s called  _ The Book of A Thousand Suns. _ It’s not  _ Ospeian Nights." _

Vanden rolled his eyes. “Books can have different titles,” he defended.

“This is the correct one.”

Vanden chuckled, and then sighed. “I just have to thank all of you, so much, for… I don’t know, putting up with me.”

“Hey, it’s not putting up with,” Boblem countered.

Elyse grinned. “I think any of us here could say the same thing.”

“I know,” Vanden replied, chuckling again. “Not you Boblem, you’re perfect.”

“Except Boblem, obviously.”

The boy blushed. “Thank you! So are y’all!”

Elyse shook her head.

“Hey!” he defended. “Don’t talk about my friends like that.”

A bit of laughter rang around the room.

Vanden rubbed his face. “This is… overwhelming.”

“I’m sure it is,” Elyse consoled.

“I think I’m probably going to want to rest in tomorrow as well, but I don’t know.”

“Well, we have time now.”

“Exactly,” Astra smiled. “Everyone else is cleaning up the mess that we… kind of made? But also brought to light?”

“Yeah, Valentinian, the guard, the Ursa Volantis... They can deal with everything for now,” Elyse agreed.

“The Kranwells weren’t really our mess,” Boblem reasoned. “We were just sorting that for other people.”

“Yes, we  _ fixed _ that mess,” she grinned.

Vanden reflected on the time they had spent in Shadebourne. “We’ve done a lot.”

“We have. Helped people, together.”

“Boblem said earlier we should try and set up something constant with the food going down to the first tier. Maybe with Valentinian.”

“Yeah definitely, we did promise. I’m sure Valentinian will help with that. Might be good to go and talk to him again.”

“Yeah, see how he’s getting on with things,” Boblem agreed. “Oh God… forgot about that!”

“This has been, I guess, kind of pressing,” Vanden replied. “And there’s some things I wanted to talk to you all about what we do next. But I am exhausted.”

“We can all discuss that together,” Elyse assured him. “When we’re more rested.”

“Tomorrow,” Astra followed. “There’s no rush.”

Vanden nodded. “Thank you, again… You all mean the world to me.”

“Likewise,” Boblem smiled.

“I think it’s safe to say you’re my family now.”

Elyse put a hand on her heart in surprise at the admission.

Vanden pulled up more of the covers and cushions for himself, making a small nest. Cassian quietly suggested to Sariel that they take the night in shifts again.

“I’m happy with that,” she agreed.

“Seems appropriate.”

“Everyone get some sleep,” Sariel advised the others.

It was a comfy night, the smell of incense still lingering in the room. The light slowly dimmed, and they slept.

  
  


They were awoken by the sound of a crow on the roof, skipping around and cawing.

Cassian squinted up at the roof.

“Rana, go deal with that,” Elyse groaned.

There was a sputtering sound as the crow zoomed away, Rana in hot pursuit.

Cassian left to quietly check his room. It seemed to be fine. He returned to the war room.

Vanden rolled over. “Morning.”

“Morning,” the druids chorused.

“Morning,” Elyse grinned. “How are you feeling?”

He took a long stretch. “Well I’ve woken up with my memories, and that makes a change.”

“Good. Glad it’s stuck.”

“Y’all were amazing yesterday,” Boblem smiled at the elves.

“We couldn’t have done it without all of you,” Sariel humbly replied.

Cassian crossed his arms, leaning on the wall. “Well,  _ I’m _ willing so say thank you.”

Sariel smiled. “Thank you as well.”

“I’m going to try and make you all breakfast,” Vanden announced.

Boblem looked concerned. “Um…”

“Oh no,” Elyse grinned. “Can you  _ cook? _ Do princes have to…?”

“I have never cooked once in my life,” he replied.

“Okay, so, Boblem? Be on standby.”

“Yeah… can I help?” Boblem offered.

“...Yes,” Vanden agreed. “Yes, that would probably be a good idea.”

“Yeah.”

“You know, I just… want to do something for you!”

“What are you going to make?” Sariel asked.

“I don’t know. I have absolutely no idea how to make food.”

“I’m going to go outside for a bit,” Astra decided.

The group laughed. “I’ll join you, Astra,” Sariel followed.

“We could make a fruit salad,” Boblem suggested.

Vanden grinned. “Sure.”

“Let’s do that.”

“It’s easy,” Elyse assured him. “It’s cutting things. You’re good at that.”

“I am,” he grinned.

“No fire involved,” Boblem nodded.

They went off to the kitchen. Like a child, Vanden mostly let Boblem do the work, but he accepted the small tasks Boblem gave him.

As they prepared the food, Vanden realized they were fairly close to the place where coffee was brewed, Mons Aurum. It was an enormous mountain on the range Shadebourne was on, and probably just 80 to 100 miles away. The entire mountain looked gold in the morning light, earning its namesake. There was an order of monks who lived at the top, and developed a substance of ground black beans that imbued people with energy. Vanden told Boblem all about how they used to get it imported in massive barrels to Mirrortail, just for the palace.

“You really sound kind of addicted to this stuff,” Boblem worried.

“Helps me work for sixteen hours a day.”

“Hmm…. Should you?”

Vanden laughed.

Coffee was a fairly recent addition to the world, only invented in the past thirty years, but it was widespread enough that it was served in most major cities. It wasn’t yet as popular as tea. Vanden told Boblem how much better it was than tea.

Boblem shook his head. “I strongly disagree.”

They were able to make a nice breakfast of a variety of fruits. They had a small clay pot of yogurt, adding some honey they were able to find.

Vanden set the table with way too many forks.

Those outside, in relief, didn’t see any smoke pouring from the kitchen. THey returned to the dining room.

“Breakfast is served,” Vanden called.

“Thank you,” Sariel smiled.

Elyse grinned at him. “Thank you.”

“We both worked on it,” Boblem nodded.

“This looks good,” Sariel followed.

Elyse eyed the food suspiciously. “Who…?”

“Boblem did most of it,” Vanden admitted.

“Okay, I feel safe to eat it now.”

Vanden gasped in faux outrage. “Can  _ you _ cook?”

“Yes, obviously,” she grinned. “I’ve had to take care of myself for a long time, mate.”

“I can teach you,” Boblem offered. “You’ve just learned something now!”

“Thank you,” Vanden nodded. “I’d like that.”

“I can’t cook either,” Astra added. “So don’t worry about it.”

“No, neither can I,” Cassian shrugged.

“See?” Vanden gestured to those on his side, vindicated. “It’s not that uncommon.”

“What do you do?” Elyse shook her head. “How do you eat?”

“We have staff, Elyse,” Cassian replied.

Vanden nodded. “We had a lot of staff.”

She rolled her eyes. “Must be nice.”

Boblem furrowed his brow. “I’m going to have to hold daily classes, then.”

“That’s a good idea, Boblem,” Sariel smiled.

“You can just eat food in taverns,” Vanden pointed out.

“Just eat it raw,” Astra suggested.

“Sometimes it’s nice to cook,” Elyse argued. “Sometimes you don’t have access to a tavern.”

“Sometimes you don’t have access to a kitchen,” Vanden countered.

“I’m sure you would have access to many kitchens,” she grinned. “If you had thought to go in them.”

Vanden looked down. “We had three.”

“There you go.”

“You can do other stuff if you pay someone else to make the food for you,” Cassian reasoned.

“That’s true,” Vanden agreed.

“You need money to do that though,” Elyse parried.

“Yes, but you’re doing your work,” Cassian pressed on. “And that’s how you get your money to pay for the food.”

“I feel like we’re going to go around in circles with this,” Sariel warned.

“Yes,” Vanden grinned, changing the conversation. “Thank you for teaching me how to make fruit salad, Boblem.”

“You’re welcome,” he smiled back.

“Next step, toast,” Elyse declared.

Breakfast was delicious.

  
  


Afterwards, Astra spent as long as he could in the garden, enriching the land with his magic to ensure that it would prosper after they left. He watched the flowers sprout before him, growing to a decent size. Sariel came out with him, adding a few more flowers that popped up with her own magic.

Elyse wandered outside as well, looking at the garden. “Awe, that’s really nice!” She sat down next to them. “Astra, I wanted to, I was just curious… When I casted to detect magic in the Kranwell house, I kind of know all the magic items everyone has on them now. I was wondering what that necklace does?”

Astra looked down. “The shell one?”

“Yeah, it’s magical.”

“Cassian gave it to me.”

“Oh yeah? What does it do then? Do you know? I could identify it for you if you don’t know.”

“I mean, if you want to. I know you like magical items,” he took off the necklace. “It’s played music to me a few times, so.”

“Interesting…”

Elyse set about her identification ritual. It didn’t seem to be like anything she had seen before. It reminded her of listening to a shell and hearing the sea. A sort of natural magic, but instead of the ocean, she could hear notes and tunes. She held it to her ear, smiling a bit. It sounded like Ospeian music. “Oh my gosh…”

“It’s nice, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it’s like the music I used to hear during the festivals, back in Ospeia. That’s amazing. Um, here, have it back.”

Astra took it back. “I think I’m going to put it in my bag now. I’ve got lots of necklaces going on,” he smiled.

She chuckled, looking at the many necklaces on him. “There’s also, I can identify what’s in your bag for you as well, if you want. I don’t know if you know what it does.”

“I don’t have anything.”

Elyse grinned, tilting her head. “Really?”

“Mhm.”

“...I cast a spell and I saw  _ all _ the magical items. They pinged.”

“I don’t know what that means, so.”

“It means whatever’s in your bag is magical.”

Astra was silent for a long moment.

Elyse gave him a bit of a confused look. “Okay…?”

“Not sure. Not sure what you mean.”

“Astra,” she chuckled. “You’re not a very good liar.”

He looked away. “You’re my friend, Elyse. Don’t make me lie to you.”

“...Okay? Sorry, I didn’t know it was a… sensitive… issue. Sorry.”

Astra got up and left.

Elyse watched him go. She glanced to Sariel, who was still sitting by the garden. “So that’s what that feels like.”

“I think it’s best to leave him alone right now,” Sariel advised.

“Yeah, think so.” She sighed. “Oh well. The flowers look nice.”

“Thank you.”

“Beautiful.”

“Livens the place up a bit.”

“Yeah, definitely. I guess, if we leave and come back, they might have grown even more.” It was rather large, about an eight foot square with a thin layer of topsoil. Elyse touched a bit of the dirt. “I guess if we come back here and stay here for a long period of time, we could always expand this.”

“Definitely.”

“That would be cool.”

“Grow our own vegetables,” Sariel suggested.

“Or ingredients for Boblem to make potions.”

“That would be a good idea. I’ll put it to him.”

  
  


Cassian was up in his room, getting preemptively excited at the idea of a new project. He went through pages and pages of sketching. “Oh, no, that’s absolutely not going to work…” He scribbled things out. How to make things comfortable with wings? How to make a jacket? How would it not be drafty?

He got some ideas going, keeping his hands busy.

After a few hours, he heard a sudden thunk at his window. He opened the shutter, and still quivering, was a small bolt. He raised his eyebrows at it. “Oh, you’re  _ shooting _ them now.”

He took the bolt, giving another glance out the window. “What if the window was open? You’d shoot me,” he chided.

Around the bolt itself, inscribed on the metal and snaked through the sections, was a message.  _ It seems things are handled. Will be in further contact. _

He slipped it into his pocket.

  
  


A bit more time went past, and there was a knock at the front gate. City officials were there to escort the group to the judiciary offices of Governor Valentinian. There, they were announced as the Dawnbringers, heroes of the city of Shadebourne.


	41. Truth Or Bear, Episode Thirty-Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone knows how to spell the special metal of Vanden's armour (Arokyte?) let me know!

The crowds cheered.

Valentinian brought them back inside and closed the door, with a small smile behind his beard. “It’s the least we could do.”

Vanden had wide eyes. “We weren't expecting that.”

“It’s kind of overwhelming, not gonna lie,” Elyse chuckled.

“I’m sure,” Valentinian nodded. “Tea?”

“I’d love some,” Astra smiled.

“Please,” Sariel echoed.

“My pleasure.” He tottered over, the onyx and gold chain of office around his lapel. The dwarf began fussing about to make the tea. One of the assistants went over to help, and he waved them away with a grin. “No, don’t! Shove off.”

He came back with a nice tea set, serving it out.

“Thank you,” Boblem beamed.

“Thank you governor,” Vanden nodded.

“Thank you Dawnbringers,” the dwarf returned. “I hope you don’t mind the title.”

“It’s great,” Elyse replied.

“We’ve been looking for a collective name for awhile,” Sariel smiled.

“Seems very apt, as well.”

Cassian tilted his head in thought. “We do usually fight people at dawn.”

Valentinian looked between them all. “Do you make a point of it, or…?”

“No, it just sort of happens…”

“Things happen to us,” Elyse grinned.

“It’s a good tactical standpoint!” Vanden defended.

Valentinian smiled. “Fate has a funny way, fate has a funny way. Fighting out under the sun.”

“I suppose so,” Cassian relented.

Boblem fiddled with his pin. “Quite the name.”

The governor sat at the table with them. “So, what’s next? For you?”

Vanden sighed. “Well, there are several things we need to look into. Um, places we’ll probably need to go. But I’ll talk with you lot about that later,” he assured the others. “We don’t need to talk work now.”

“Are you not staying in the city?”

“You said we might move on,” Astra glanced back to Vanden.

“We’ve got a lot of business in other places,” Elyse agreed. “And there’s other things we can do, other people we can help.”

“Well, we’d be glad to have you back, whenever you do so,” Valentinian smiled. “Hopefully things are a little bit… clearer. Next time you’re here.”

“If we do move on,” Boblem began, “You know, we’ve been distributing food down in the lower tiers? Do you think you might be able to help us keep that going when we’re away?”

“That’d be no problem. We can do it in your name.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you,” Elyse nodded. “I know the people down there would really appreciate it.”

Valentinian took a sip of his tea. “I’ve got a couple ideas, policy… ways we’re going to try and improve the city. Mend some things. Fix some of the damages, to people and places. But, that’s politics.”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Vanden pressed, “What do you think will happen to our barracks? If we do leave?”

“They’re yours, you rented them for the month. Considering what you’ve done for the city, I’m sure we can wave future rent payments.”

“That would be very generous,” Cassian replied.

“Thank you,” Sariel followed.

“Please,” he waved them off. “It’s the least. While you’re gone, we can have a guard stationed. Keep your things safe. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind.”

“Would they feed our garden?” Boblem worried.

“Hm, they could do that. Aye, sure. I’ll see if I can find one with a green thumb.”

“It’s a beautiful garden,” Elyse grinned.

“Ah,” Cassian raised a finger. “There is a… cursed object within the barracks, that needs dealing with.”

“Oh…” Valentinian frowned. “I can see what we can do about that.”

“I will make a note of where it is.”

“Thank you, thank you. Okay.”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Sariel continued, “What happened to the Kranwells? What’s going to happen, consequently?”

“Well, currently, they’re in holding. They’ll be sent to trial. What happens there is out of my hands.”

“Did you ever find out… who it was, who was entombed in their cellar?”

He cleared his throat. “There’s… not enough of the body to accurately reflect, but… from what we can understand, the house… the priest is attached to the staff. It seems they were serving there, under some duty.”

“And the Kranwell parents?” Vanden wondered. “Anyone have any ideas?”

“No. Gone. No record of them for a few weeks. Emptied some of their holdings and fled, supposedly. We’re going to have some people track them down. Got some questions we want to ask them. We’ve no doubt they’re… implicated in this, for some reason. The killings, the priestess, the parents… it ties together somehow, but I can’t say for sure.”

“If you find out any more would you be able to let us know?” Sariel pressed. “If we don’t happen to be here?”

“I can arrange something.”

“Thank you.”

“That’s okay, it’s okay.”

Astra shifted in his chair. “I just wanted to apologize to you, as well.”

Valentinian raised a brow. “For?”

“The way I spoke to you, at your ball.”

“Worry not, worry not. I understand where you’re coming from. It’s alright. I wasn’t too best pleased with the situation either. Wasn’t much of a show anyhow.”

“Right.”

“Where are you off to next? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Well, I haven’t discussed this with all of you yet,” Vanden flicked his eyes over the others, “But there is… something that needs fairly urgent attention in the east.”

“The contracts?” Cassian clarified.

“The mage in Frostguard,” Vanden nodded.

“Yes.”

“Um, you’ll know, the eastern shore is my jurisdiction…”

“Yeah?” Elyse prompted.

“I feel very responsible for responding to this.”

“Do we know any details?” Sariel wondered.

“The regiment that we fought back in the abbey, they were coming back from this mission,” Cassian explained. “So it means they were successful.”

“I can brief you all on it later,” Vanden assured them, turning back to the governor. “But probably east, to Frostguard.”

Valentinian was surprised. “Frostguard. That’s a long way away.”

“A month’s worth of travel.”

“Oh boy…” Boblem worried.

Valentinian stroked his beard. “I’m not sure… I’ll check, I think that the temple may have some connection with Watchers Respite.”

Vanden perked up at the proposal. “That would help.”

“It’s not on the doorstep, you’d still have a few days travel, but they may be able to… expedite your journey. Again, considering what you’ve done for the city, I’m sure we can swing you a favor. Although, it may be a case of a one way trip. You’d have to make your own way back.”

“That’s fine,” Cassian agreed. “Would we be able to take our horses with us?”

“I’m not sure of the logistics, but I assume so. I’ll put out a missive.”

“Right. Thank you.”

“Thank you,” Sariel echoed.

“That would be fantastic,” Vanden nodded.

“It’s okay,” he smiled. “Now, if you don’t mind… I have a city to govern.”

“Yes you do,” Cassian grinned.

“There is a matter that I need to speak to you about,” Vanden continued. “I suppose, some level of urgency on my part, if we’re leaving… If we could have a private word?”

“Of course,” Valentinian agreed.

Astra stood. “We can go.”

The rest of the group began to leave. As they did, Elyse spoke to the governor in Dwarven once more. “I just wanted to say that, it’s encouraging to see that there are actually people like you out there. People who not only actually care about the less fortunate people in the world, but who also have the power to put that empathy into action. And I’m glad you have your station.”

The governor replied in the same language. “That’s very humbling. And I’m glad that’s the impression you’ve got. I’m doing my best, but… It’s somewhat concerning, though not surprising, that you have that impression of people in power, and these positions. But, I’ll do the best I can.”

“I know you will.”

“Try and do right by the six of you. Good inspiration. Thank you.”

Cassian opened the door. “I think we should head out.”

“See you again soon,” Astra smiled.

“I’m sure,” the dwarf replied.

Boblem tipped his hat. “Thanks for the tea.”

“You’re welcome.”

Vanden nodded to them as they left. “I’ll meet you outside.”

The rest of the group filed out.

Vanden leaned forward on the table. “I trust you.”

“Good.”

“And I would hope that you trust us after everything that’s happened in the last few days.”

“Could say that, aye.”

“I feel like I… have a duty to tell you why we came to Shadebourne.”

Valentinian raised a brow. “Aye?”

“I get the impression that… you and your people may have figured out by now, it’s something to do with the Weeping Eye. A contract was taken out with them, to… eliminate my family.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Truly.”

Vanden swallowed. “Mirrortail is not fine. It’s under my… corrupt brother’s power, right now.”

Valentinian shook his head. “You understand I have no authority to act on…?”

“No, of course not. I just, I wanted you to know that I wasn’t associated with the… The monarchy there. Anymore.”

The dwarf smiled. “Say no more. I’ve made you sweat enough. Let down your shoulders, boy. You’ll get a knot in your neck. It’s alright.”

“I’ll be returning there at some point. I trust that we’ve made friends here.”

“Do what needs must. Aye, you have.”

“It’s greatly appreciated.”

“When you return,” the dwarf offered, “I’d like to see the six of you for dinner. We’ll be downsizing, but we’ll have somewhere respectable, nevertheless.”

Vanden smiled. “That sounds good. Well then, see you again, Governor Valentinian.”

“Regent Prince.”

Vanden left to meet the others outside. As he walked out, he passed Meriz, the estate agent.

“Oh! Oh! Oh!”

“Meriz,” Vanden grinned down at the man.

“Dorian!”

“Ah,” Vanden blinked, remembering the alias he had given so long ago.

“How go things?”

“Good!”

“How are the residences?”

“Very good. Um, seems we’ll be keeping our barracks, but you might want to speak to the governor about that.”

The man laughed. “Ah, more paperwork I suppose. Pleasure to see you again, Dorian.”

“And you.”

“I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around again sometime soon.”

“Yes.”

The man bustled off, and Vanden caught up with the others.

“Heroes…” Boblem repeated, impressed.

Cassian grinned. “Maybe we should start having higher expectations of ourselves.”

“We are the Dawnbringers now,” Vanden smiled.

“The Dawnbringers of Shadebourne…” Cassian repeated, testing the words on his tongue.

Elyse shook her head. “That’s not the kind of thing I ever expected anyone to call me. Don’t know about anyone else here.”

Cassian chuckled. “No, I agree, Elyse.”

Vanden gave a proud smile to the group. “I think we deserve it.”

“Let’s just try to keep doing what we can,” Astra followed. “Help people.”

“Yeah,” Boblem beamed.

As they walked out of the judicial offices, they saw the half-orc half-elf who had accompanied Boske at the Kranwell house. There was no bear in sight, but he seemed to be heading into the offices as well. He nodded at them as they waved. “Good to be seeing you again.”

“And you,” a few of them replied.

“Congratulations, I’ve got to say.”

“Thank you,” Elyse grinned.

“Celebrations are in order.”

“Celebrations?” Boblem asked.

“Well, come on, you’ve been announced as heros of the city!”

Elyse gave a mischievous smile to the others. “Yeah, we deserve a party, right?”

“We do,” Vanden grinned back.

“Yes.”

The man chuckled. “I mean, it would have been nice for us to share in some of the glory, but…”

“We know you helped,” Vanden offered.

“I’m just teasing.”

“You caught the guard on his way out,” Cassian reminded the mercenary. “Don’t sell yourself short.”

“Mm, well, the city has paid for our services for a long time. We’re here to negotiate. They expect it would take a lot longer, so, what do they do now? Guess we’ll see, guess we’’ll see. But no, stop by the barracks this evening. We’ll take you for a drink.”

“That sounds good,” Vanden nodded.

“See you later. Have a good day.”

“You too,” they chorused.

He pushed past, his burly, brawny figure squeezing through the door. Many of the dwarves around were quite literally dwarfed by him.

  
  


They made their way back to the barracks in the busy streets. A couple of people noticed them as they went by, leaving the main square to wave at them as they went past. A few of them waved back, and a group of small children looked up in awe.

One little kid raised his fingers, giving himself two horns as they looked up at Astra. Noticing, the bard made a few sparkles appear for them.

“Oh!” the child grinned up at their parent. “Will I get horns when I’m older?”

“... Yeah,” the parent offered. “Sure…”

The kid gave an excited squeal.

They made their way back to the barracks in the late afternoon, with a few hours to wait before they could take Ursa Volantis up on their offer.

Vanden surveyed the others. “We’ve got some time to kill. Does anyone want to do anything?”

“I mean, I’m thinking about going back and buying that dagger,” Elyse replied. “Maybe.”

“Well actually, I’m going to be needing some new armour, as well as some new clothing.”

“I guess you will be, yeah.”

“Yeah. I figure… get my wings out once inside my chainmail, and I’m not going to have any more chainmail, am I?”

She chuckled. “Might be a good party trick though, sometime.”

“Expensive party trick,” Sariel quipped.

“I’m hoping I can, perhaps…” Vanden frowned in thought. “Shift my chain mail in exchange for some of the cost. I’m a bit low on money.”

“I’ve got a lot of money,” Cassian shrugged.

“I… couldn’t ask you to pay for that, though.”

“You paid for my sword,” he reasoned. “I can pay you for some armour.”

Vanden nodded. “I suppose that could be the favour you owe me.”

“No.”

Surprised and a bit confused by the response, Vanden squinted at the other man with suspicion.

Cassian squinted back. “Oh, you’re much more creative than that, come on.”

“...Okay, sure. I’m not gonna stop you from paying for my armour.”

“Then I will.”

“Did you have any ideas on clothing yet?”

“I have actually been sketching, in my room, so.”

“Good. Because I figured, if we’re going to Frostguard, and I’m sorry I haven’t brought this up with everybody yet but it’s quite a pressing matter, we’re going to need something warm.”

Boblem frowned. “So shoes, then.”

“Shoes,” Vanden agreed. “I’m afraid it’s gonna be tough out there.”

“Covering the arms,” Elyse nodded. “Okay. Never been anywhere that cold before, we’ll see how this goes.”

Vanden was still examining Boblem. “You’re probably going to need boots, actually. Proper, cold weather boots. Have you ever been in the cold?”

“Not particularly, now that I think about it,” he replied.

“Farm always wind up in warm places?”

“Not warm, but not freezing, you know?” The farm had spent a lot of time in the northeastern plains of Laurel. It was in the same direction, but Frostguard was much further. In the winter, some light snow fell over the gently rolling hills and plains. It was a bit exposed to the elements, but the farm wasn’t always up there. “When we landed there, I just spent most of my time indoors.”

“The cold is dreadful,” Cassian frowned. “It snows in Mirrortail once every, what, ten years?”

“Oh, yeah,” Vanden nodded. “Freak weather.”

“Awful,” Cassian declared. “Entire city stops.”

“I like it!”

“I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever even seen falling snow,” Elyse realized. “There’s mountains in Ospeia, but… it’s not…”

“I don’t think it’ll be snowing in Frostguard,” Vanden replied. “Not at this time of year. But there will be ice on the sea. And so,” he turned back to Boblem, “I think you should probably have shoes. I’m sorry, I hate to impose that on you.”

“Im-toes,” Astra grinned.

“Astra!” Vanden chuckled. Most of them laughed along. Cassian just smiled and shook his head.

“It’s okay,” Boblem giggled. “I’ll deal. But, what is it exactly we’re going there to do?”

“Right,” Vanden sighed. “Well, I might as well bring this to you now…” he ducked upstairs and returned with the Weeping Eye contract. “When we caught the Weeping Eye on their way back from Frostguard, they had been sent up there to defend a mage called Mezen Daleth, who was building a gollum. The contract states that they were to stay there for a month or until the gollum is complete, and so… I would imagine that, if they were returning…”

“The gollum is complete,” Cassian finished.

“The gollum is complete.”

“That’s not great.”

“No,” Elyse frowned. “Any more information about this mage? Or is it just their name?”

Vanden looked at the contract. “It’s just their name, unfortunately. But I can tell you a little about Frostguard. Frostguard is… long known as an abandoned tower, it was built so many centuries ago that no one knows who has built it anymore. Um, it’s been populated a few times over the years, but… it was abandoned. It’s way up in the northeast, very much on the edge of the continent, sort of the last piece of the continent before you cross the sea to Tessaboel. All of my ships have always given it a wide berth, a lot of superstition surrounding it, but it has been used in the past for… as a base, for people who are trying to raise armies against Caldera and such. And, I… I feel very much obligated to go and prevent this before it gets any worse.”

“Yeah, I can understand that.”

“Do we know anything about gollums?” Sariel asked.

Vanden didn’t, but Cassian offered a small bit of explanation. He didn’t know much, but he knew they were man made constructs imbued with magic, usually made of stone or clay. “Some sort of magical mechanism, but… if they’re building it in a place with that kind of history, I can’t think that they would have the best intentions.”

“No,” Elyse agreed.

“Can’t imagine anyone would have the best intentions with that,” Vanden followed.

“Well, it’s going to be defensible for them, whoever is in there.”

“I’m sure we can take it on.”

“I’m sure we can handle it, yeah.”

“We are the Dawnbringers, after all,” Cassian replied, shaking his head.

Vanden raised a brow at his tone. “Well you don’t sound too happy about it.”

Cassian glanced over, giving a shrug. There was a bit of an awkward pause before Vanden shrugged back at him.

“Cassian doesn’t like admitting when he does nice things,” Astra grinned.

A few of them chuckled.

Vanden appraised the elf. “I can see that.”

Cassian began to leave the conversation. “I am going to go work on those designs for you.”

“Thank you.”

“Which is such a nice thing to do for your friend,” Elyse teased.

Cassian sighed, heading up to his room as he called back to Vanden. “Come see me when you want to talk about it.”

Elyse turned back to the others. “Okay. Well, if we’re gonna do this then we need to be prepared. So, armour, weapons, potions, other supplies.”

“Warm clothes,” Sariel suggested.

“Warm clothes. A coat.”

“We can start picking up some supplies now,” Vanden considered. “But I imagine armour is going to take some time.”

“That woman we met in the Anvilhold, she seemed to be quite the expert. Maybe she can do something. I’m going there to buy the dagger anyway, so.”

“She seemed to be an expert in weaponry, but I don’t know about armour.”

Elyse shrugged. “Well, if I’m going there anyway. You know. Just thought.”

“Okay. If you’re going anyway...” he gave Elyse a knowing look. “Fine, we can go there. I see no reason not to. Tomorrow.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah.”

It was late in the afternoon by now. The shops would probably be closed already.

“In which case, I guess I’m just going to get ready to go out and get…” Vanden fidgeted a bit, grinning to himself. “...Maybe a bit tipsy.”

Elyse smiled wide. “Hell. Yeah.”

“Do we wear our nice outfits for this one?” Astra wondered.

“I don’t think so.”

“No,” Vanden agreed.

“Oh, okay,” Boblem nodded, seemingly having had the same question.

Elyse looked over to Astra. “Have you ever drank with mercenaries before?”

“Well no, the first time I drank was with you,” he replied. “That’s when I got my horns done,” he pointed up to the mother of pearl inlaid on the tips of his horns.

Elyse shook her head. “I wasn’t there for that…”

“It was with these,” Astra pointed to Boblem and Vanden.

“Yes,” Vanden chuckled. “Astra got particularly drunk after Cassian plied him with drinks all evening, went outside, and had those embellishments put on his horns without questioning it. So this should be fun.”

“Ah, you’re a collector drunk,” Elyse grinned at the bard.

Astra tilted his head in confusion. “What?”

“A collector drunk. You like to…” she nodded to the horns.

“Well, I saw a minotaur with gold on his horns and I thought it looked really nice. And then… I woke up, and I had this!”

Elyse laughed.

“Astra’s going to come home with a tattoo,” Sariel grinned.

“You were very good,” Vanden smiled at the bard. “You didn’t even squirm.”

Astra brightened over. “Didn’t I?”

“No, you just sat there and took it as they nailed those onto your horns.”

  
  


A couple of hours went past, and the evening began to set in. They left the barracks and made their way across the city to Ursa Volantis. Presenting themselves at the gate, a sentry opened the doors for them. Just beyond the huge redwood gates, they saw the enormous sports-pitch sized training ground. Empty for now, it seemed most people were packing their things up, having taken the armour off their bears and pulled down the dummies.

From a distance, they heard a voice. “Hey! Didn’t think you’d come!”

“Of course!” Vanden called back.

Three figures began walking towards them. They recognized Boske and the other two figures who had been with her at the Kranwells. They waved up their hands. Both of the other two were male, one a bit older in their early forties, the other in their late twenties or so. They presented hands or hugs in greeting for them all, introducing themselves as Marius and Addie.

Boske gestured out to the street. “Right, come on. Literally just around the corner… it’s pretty much  _ our _ tavern.”

“Awesome,” Elyse grinned.

“I mean, not officially, but.”

“Might as well be,” Vanden finished.

“Nice,” Elyse nodded.

Boske made for the door, and then turned. “Unless there’s anything you want to see here first, or…?”

“Can I see Bearske again?” Astra wondered.

Elyse’s eyes lit up. “Yeah, can we play with the bears again?”

Boblem brightened with excitement. “Can we pet them?”

Boske hesitated for a moment. “...Yeah, come on!”

They were led into the center of the training ground, the hard compacted earth under them. It was a bit daunting, with about ten figures of the notable mercenary group of Ursa Volantis standing around the edge. They backed themselves up against the walls. One wall was just a huge line of stables, at least ten of them organized in a row with huge double doors. Boske walked out into the middle, and the group trailed about fifteen feet behind.

Boske raised her hand in the air, fist straight up. Marius and Addie went up to a stable, readying themselves next to it. They pulled the bolt, and Boske shouted some kind of command word. The doors burst open, and Bearske came barrelling out.

Paws thudding in the dirt, the bear crossed the pitch in only a few seconds. The bear didn’t have any amour or gear on for now, but it appeared right next to Boske in moments. In a blur of blue-grey, Boske was on the top, mounting it. They didn’t see how quickly she had climbed it, but she was now on its shoulders. Fifteen feet from them, the bear spun, a ray of dust kicking up in front of them as Cassian coughed. It took a full lap around the pitch before skidding up next to them again. There were a few whistles and cheers, and a couple of the spectators applauded.

“Alright, alright! You can stop showing off,” another mercenary called.

The bear snuffled as Boske pulled out a leather pouch of honey. Bearske looked up with excitement as Boske hopped off to begin feeding the monstrous, titanic bear. It devoured the honey, its rough tongue turning the pouch inside out.

Astra walked forward to pet it, but Boske put a hand out. “Wait ‘til he’s finished eating,” she advised. “Or you might be next.”

The bear finished the treat, and Boske scratched him, easing him into the others and nodding to the group. Astra, Sariel, Boblem, Elyse, and Vanden went to pet the polar bear. Their hands all but disappeared into fluff. The enormous muscles felt almost like rock underneath the fur, but it seemed to enjoy the touch.

On Elyse’s shoulder, Rana gave a curious twitter. Bearske tilted his head, staring at the bird and licking his lips.

“No. She’s not dinner,” Elyse grinned at the bear. “You just had your dinner.”

The bear snuffled and looked away.

“Actually, they eat a lot more than this,” Boske chuckled. “But he’s a good boy.”

Astra, Sariel, and Elyse took up the chorus of “good boy.”

“He’s beautiful,” Vanden agreed.

Boske reached up, scratching the bear’s two tiny ears.

Enamoured, Boblem decided to speak directly to the bear, casting a small spell to talk with it. “You’re a good boy,” he smiled.

The bear blinked. “Good boy?”

“Yeah!”

The animal thought about it for a moment before breaking into a bearish grin. “...Yeah.”

“The best boy!”

“Best boy,” Bearske agreed, snuffling to itself. It was a bear of few words, but it responded well enough, though it was rather confused that it was being spoken to. It glanced between Boblem and Boske with curiosity.

Boske looked between the grunted conversation with wide eyes. “What the…?”

“I just told him he was a good boy,” Boblem explained. “It’s important that he knows.”

A big, purple-grey tongue slobbered up the side of Boblem’s face, pushing a few of his curls into the air.

Boske nodded with a wide smile. “It is.”

“Anything you’d like to let him know?”

Boske glanced around before leaning in towards Boblem. “Tell him I love him.”

Boblem nodded, turning to whisper in the bear’s ear. “Boske loves you really much!”

Bearske gave a happy grunt. “I know. I love her too. She’s my friend.”

At that, the bear nuzzled into Boblem, and then to Boske, before turning in a circle and plodding off. The little stubby polar bear tail swished behind.

Boblem whispered the translation back to Boske.

She teared up a bit. “Oh! Oh…” she wiped her eyes. “Let’s go get drunk!”

“Yes, let’s go get drunk,” Elyse chuckled.

“Yeah, yeah, sure…”

  
  


She led all of them out around the corner to the other side of the barracks, into a very rowdy, very raucous tavern called  _ The Sour Apple. _ There were numbers and numbers of mercenaries, and a number of the half-orc half-elves, the Elitheni. They were piled in, having drinks, having arm wrestling contesta, having arguments, and generally shouting and cavorting. There was no music being played, but there were drinks being served and food brought around. The floor was a bit sticky, a lot of beer had been spilled in here. The scent of bear and animal and sweat and beer was soaked in the wood.

Cassian didn’t seem to be as enthusiastic as the other patrons. Noticing this, Vanden walked up behind him and nudged his shoulder. “Cheer up.”

Cassian gave him a look, nudging him back.

The three mercenaries brought them over to a corner table, clearing a few people off. There had been a few younger, less muscular half-orc half-elves sitting there. One of their hosts approached them. “Claws. Off. Come on, come on.”

One of the younger people rolled their eyes with a sigh. “Fine.”

The older one grinned back at their guests. “Rank is a privilege, you know.” They pulled two tables together. “Right, what will everyone be having? It’s on us.”

“What would you recommend?” Vanden asked.

“Beer, food… gammon is particularly nice.”

“Some of the sailors back in Mirrortail used to drink… You get a pint of ale, and you drop a shot of something else in it.”

The mercenary chuckled. “We can certainly do that.”

“That sounds great,” Elyse grinned.

“Anything for anyone in particular?”

“I’ll try that.”

“Just ice water for me, please,” Cassian replied.

They nodded. “No problem, no problem.” They took a few minutes, coming back with four stiens. Most of them were filled with a hearty, dark, rich ale, and one was filled with ice water. They slammed the pitchers down on the table. “Drink up, drink up!”

There was a smaller platter with tiny silver shot glasses. From a little skin, they poured out the shots with a clear liquor.

“So what are we doing?” Astra wondered.

“You drop the shot in the ale, and then you drink it before it spills over the top,” Vanden explained.

Sariel had wide eyes. “That’s a lot of ale, that’s bigger than I am.”

It was at least two pints per serving.

Astra considered it. “...Okay…”

“If you can drink it all in one, I promise I will never cook again,” Vanden proposed.

A few of them laughed.

“I thought your fruit salad was very good,” Elyse defended.

“Thank you.”

Astra reached for the glass. “It was good, but also Boblem is very good at cooking.”

“Thank you!” Boblem smiled.

“He is, it’s true,” Elyse relented.

Vanden turned to the mercenaries. “So tell us about yourselves.”

With that, he dropped his shot in, and drank the entire thing. It was a lot. He had to wipe his face off, but he got through it. The beer itself was a dark rich stout, with a few chocolatey notes. It was very thick, almost like drinking gravy, but in a pleasant way. After two pints of the stuff, he was already beginning to feel full.

Boske was also drinking, and she loosened her breeches a bit before whistling for more. A golden bubbling beer was prepared for their second round. She leaned over to Cassian. “If you want anything else at the bar, just ask, they’ve got plenty. Juices, cordials… milk? Whatever you want.”

Cassian nodded. “Just water is fine, thank you.”

“Got it, got it.”

Astra tried to copy Vanden. He was able to get through the drink as well, but it took a fair amount of time. He spent at least twenty seconds gulping it down as a bit of foam ran over his chin and onto his various necklaces. He came out of it with a big frothy mustache.

Vanden grinned. “You’ve got about three minutes until that knocks you out. Not literally,” he amended, noticing Astra’s wide eyes.

“What!?” Astra worried.

“Astra,” Cassian called for the bard’s attention. He ran a finger over his own lip, alerting him to the mess.

Astra looked down at himself, and with a quick spell, cleaned himself off.

Cassian nodded. “You’re welcome.”

“Thank you.”

Boske grinned at the magical display. “That’s a neat trick.”

“Very handy.”

“So yes, tell us about yourselves,” Vanden repeated, turning back to their hosts.

“Well…. My name’s Boske,” she grinned. “And I ride a bear.”

“Called Bearske,” Astra grinned.

“Called Bearske. You know, funny thing is, they uh…. They have a, suppose you’d call it a bear name. They have true names that they get, that they’re born with, and… I don’t think I know. It’s cool, it’s part of the bond between us. And um… I’m not from around here, I’m from up north, across the mountains. A couple of us came down, five years ago. City decided, hey, would be good to have fingers in lots of pies, and… we established ourselves as mercenaries in another city.”

“Impressive,” Vanden nodded.

Marius was giving her a bit of an unsure look.

They all told the tale of how they had been in the company of Ursa Volantis for a number of years. They had started out as Claws, recruits who would train for a while and go through a rigorous selection to get into the organization itself. Once they were in and accepted, they spent a year in the Wilds with a polar bear cub, bonding with it and learning to survive out in the wild. There were a fair amount of recruits who didn’t make it, or came back early if it was too tough for them. Those who did come back were inducted into the ranks of Ursa Volantis, going on to be trained and lanced in this indomitable heavy cavalry. From the way they told it, it was known across the world as the elite shock cavalry. No spearline would ever stand up to a charge of five of these bears, let alone a contingent. The mercenaries implied there were close to 200 bears in total in the whole contingent, but there were only about two dozen in Shadebourne. They were so expensive that if and when they were hired, only one or two bears were rented, maybe three.

“Impressive,” Vanden nodded.

“Well, they need a lot of feeding,” Boske grinned.

“Do you have other bases elsewhere?” Sariel asked.

“We do, we do, but…” she noticed the look Marius was still giving her. “I’m not at liberty to say.”

“No, you’ve said quite enough,” the other man agreed.

“It was at least a lucrative decision to move here though,” Cassian approved.

“Well, we get wages. Wages are wages. But you know, that’s military life.”

“I suppose so.”

“Are you friends with the other mercenaries?” Boblem wondered.

Marius tilted his head in thought. “Hm, we don’t spend too much time with them. We tend to keep ourselves to ourselves. As the groups go, we’re newer to the city. And something about the bears… puts people off I think,” he chuckled.

“I can see why.”

“But they’re so cuddly when you get up close!” Elyse hugged herself at the memory of Bearske.

“They’re not always,” the man warned with a grin.

“I’m sure.”

“They have a reputation for a reason.”

Boblem frowned as he recalled something. “Do you know why the many units just kind left?”

“Ah, the legions?”

Boske piped up. “It’s curious, I did know a few hobgoblins, actually. But no, never expressed any sentiment to beforehand. They were very…” she hardened her face, pointing sternly at the air. “When you’re on the job, you’re on the job. The job is your life. I mean, don’t get me wrong,” she dropped the imitation, glancing to her buddies. “Marius, Addie, you guys are like a family to me, I’d go wherever you’d go, but… it’s like they had nothing outside of it. That is all they did, they were soldiers from the moment they woke up to the moment they slept. And even then.”

“So you’d never catch them in the tavern unwinding after a mission?” Elyse guessed.

“No, they’d come and… unwind, sure, but they were... not strict, and not aloof, but… Just always on? If you know what I mean?”

“Yeah.”

“I like them, I’d call a fair couple of them friends, I’d be happy to fight by their side. But no, I have no inkling why they all left.”

“Strange, and a little bit unnerving, honestly,” Vanden frowned. “We saw their tracks heading east.”

“Heading east, huh. No, couldn’t say I know where they’re going.”

Vanden shrugged to the others. “We’ll find something eventually.”

“I’m sure,” Elyse agreed.

“I thought it might be worth asking,” Boblem nodded.

“I mean, I can ask around,” Boske shrugged. “But I couldn’t say for sure.”

“Just curious, really.”

Addie leaned on the table. “So, what brings the six of you together?”

Elyse chuckled. “What a question…”

Vanden shook his head. “Gods, random chance?”

“Fate,” Astra suggested.

“I don’t think we even really know,” Elyse shrugged.

“What would you class yourselves?” Addie pressed. “Mercenaries? Adventurers?”

“Something in the middle,” Sariel offered.

“People have used the word adventurers quite a few times,” Vanden recalled. “But I don’t think any of us would consider ourselves professional adventurers.”

Elyse tilted her head. “Well…”

“Maybe you,” he amended.

Boblem smiled over to Astra. “I quite like the answer of fate there.”

“Well,” Addie smiled, “You did something good for the city. It’s good to see.”

“I guess we’re just a group of like minded people who want to do some good,” Vanden decided.

“Right place, right time.”

“Exactly.”

“Shadebourne needed some good coming to it,” Sariel nodded.

“Needed some change, you’re right,” Addie agreed. “It’s an uncomfortable position, being in the city as an outsider, seeing what goes on. Within our agreement, we don’t have the authority to do anything. And you don't see a lot either.”

“I’m curious, when you first arrived in this city as a new group of mercenaries, how were you… Obviously you’ve said the bears intimidate people, but in general, how were you treated? Did you have to start out on the lower tiers and come up, or were you able to come straight up to here?”

“No, no. The city funded us a space. Our city, Elenithil, funded us a space here. And that was paid for before we arrived. It was just sort of the local populace who were a bit weirded out, I suppose.”

“Yeah. You’re from Elenithil?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought you might be,” Vanden nodded. “I had some tutors from there.”

“We stand out,” the man grinned. “Don’t see many like us.”

“I’ve always wanted to go there,” Elyse thought.

“It’s a nice place.”

“I’ve heard.”

“It’s cold.”

“Other than that,” she grinned. “It sounds great.”

Cassian appraised the group. “I’m sorry, are we going to be dreadfully serious all night, or are we here to celebrate?”

“You know what, you’re right,” Addie grinned.

“You’re right, you’re right,” Vanden straightened in his chair. “How about a drinking game?”

“Yes!” Elyse grinned.

Sariel gasped in mock scandal. “Prince Vanden…”

“What do you mean?” Boblem asked.

Boske and Marius shared a glance. “Sorry, prince?”

Vanden blinked. “Oh, uh… yes.”

“Well, I didn’t know we were hanging out with royalty! Hahaha!” Marius turned, calling to the rest of the bar. “You hear that everyone? We got a prince in our midst!”

A few people turned back. They didn’t fully look like they believed it, but they hooted and hollered a bit.

“Well well well, I must be on my best manners then!” Marius grinned.

Boske struck a bit of a pose. “You know… I’m descended from royalty too.”

“Oh yeah?” Vanden prompted.

Marius gave her a look. “Don’t start this again.”

“Tell us all about it,” Elyse countered.

“Yeah, go on,” Vanden encouraged.

“Well,” Boske thought, “My… great great.... great? Grandmother? Was of royal descent. And I’m technically something in the line… for something.”

“Whereabouts?” Elyse wondered. “Elenithil?”

“Back home, back home,” she nodded. “It’s… a very minor member, you could say.”

“Ah, Ursa Minor,” Cassian grinned.

Boske tilted her head. “You know what? I never put the two and two together. It’s not something that comes up often.”

“Shut up,” Addie elbowed her teasingly.

“Well it seems that we’re drinking with two members of royalty tonight,” Elyse proclaimed.

“Another round, another round!” Addie beckoned the bartender.

More drinks were plopped down, once again the size of two pints each. It wasn’t the same stout, but more of the bubbling golden ale.

Boblem’s eyes went wide. “I haven’t even finished this one!”

Sariel hadn’t yet either, but Elyse’s was long down the hatch.

“We don’t have to get rid of this one all in one go, right?” Astra worried.

“No, you don’t have to,” Vanden assured him. “You didn’t even have to do it with the first one.”

“Okay.”

“Right, moving on from the subject of royalty, thank you…”

“You have a game,” Cassian prompted.

“What game?” Boblem and Elyse followed.

“Go on,” Boske grinned. “Enlighten us.”

Vanden thought for a moment. “Truth or dare. The sailors used to play it.”

“Yeah, we used to play that on the airship as well,” Elyse chuckled.

The three mercenaries nodded to each other eagerly.

Boblem furrowed his brow, looking to Astra. “Do you…?”

The bard shrugged. “No, I don’t know.”

He turned to Sariel. “Do you…?”

Sariel shook her head, looking to Vanden. “How do you play?”

“Okay. Simple rules,” he assured them. “Someone starts, and they ask someone their choice, truth or dare. That person picks one or the other. You ask them a question and they have to answer truthfully, or, tell them a dare they have to do. And once they’ve done it, they can ask someone else.”

Elyse pointed to her undercut. “Fun fact, this game is how I got this.”

Boske gave an approving nod. “It’s a good look.”

Boske’s hair was shaved on the back and sides, the top pulled into a bun.

“Good look on you as well,” Elyse returned.

“And, and,” Vanden continued, “If you say truth and you don’t want to answer the question, you can say dare instead. And then you can choose between the two.”

Boblem seemed confused. “How do you know if the person is telling the truth?”

“Well, you don’t, but… that’s the point of the game, to tell the truth.”

“You just have to trust,” Astra smiled.

“You could lie if you want to, but that’s no fun.”

“I mean, we could cast Zone of Truth,” Elyse teased.

“That would not be fun,” Vanden countered. “Because then they would be compelled, and that is not fun. And that would be, what, everybody in this tavern?”

“Why not?”

Marius shook his head. “Yeah… there’s a lot you don’t want to know in this tavern, I’m sure.”

“I’m sure,” Elyse chuckled. “It was a joke.”

“I’ll play,” Astra volunteered.

“Yeah?”

“Why not.”

“Yeah, why not,” Boske grinned.

Marius nodded. “Yeah, go on!”

“Sure,” Boblem agreed.

Cassian shrugged. “Sure.”

“So who wants to go first?” Astra looked around the table. “Vanden? Since you brought it up?”

Boblem and Astra’s heads were beginning to spin already. They were fine, for now, but those drinking were starting to feel a warm glow inside, slipping into a nice buzz. Cassian could see on their relaxed expressions where this would be going, and he got a little glint in his eyes.

The three soldiers leaned back, grinning with excitement. Boske undid one of her buttons, loosening up as the two men next to her shook their heads.

Vanden passed the responsibility to the sorcerer. “Elyse, you’re up.”

She rubbed her hands together in thought. “I think… hmm… Let’s initiate one of our new people. Boblem, truth or dare?”

Boblem blinked, a bit hazy already. “Oh! Um… uh… oh… Truth?”

“What do you think your grandparents would think of all of us?”

Boblem giggled. “I think I’ve said it before, I think they’d really like all of y’all. My grandma would really love you,” he pointed to Astra.

“She would?” Astra brightened.

“And you,” Boblem pointed to Sariel. He thought for a moment before pointing to Cassian. “Might hate you.”

The table broke out into laughter.

Cassian gave a small shrug. “I can live with that, Boblem.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. She’s harmless. She’s fun.”

“Somehow I don’t believe she’s completely harmless,” Vanden grinned. “I feel like if one of us wronged her or wronged you… she could probably obliterate us.”

“I mean, hopefully Cassian would have more sense than that. And grandpa’s real fun too. I think he’d quite like you.”

“Good,” Vanden gave an unsure nod. “I’m quite… pleased. That your grandad would like me.”

“Yeah, they’d like all of y’all. They’d think you’re a bit curious.” The boy glanced back to Cassian. “Might try to teach you some manners, but that would be it.”

The table laughed again as Cassian gave another sigh.

“Cassian’s got perfectly good manners,” Vanden teased. “He can just do what he did in Old Maggie’s place and just not speak.”

“True,” Boblem grinned.

Marius raised a hand. “As fun as this seems to be, I’ll be excusing myself for the evening. Addie, Boske, look after them.” With a wave, he left.

“Bye!” Boblem called, hiccuping.

“Alright Boblem, your turn,” Vanden nodded.

“So you have to ask someone,” Elyse explained.

Bobem thought. “Um… Vanden, truth or dare?”

Vanden thought for a moment. “Dare.”

“Hm. I dare you… to eat a plate of vegetables.”

“Ooooo,” Elyse grinned.

Addie was a bit confused. “Is that like a… like a thing?”

“Oh yeah.”

Vanden put a hand on his face. “Fine.”

“The plate has to be full!” Boblem repeated.

“Fine!” he grinned. “Can we order a… plate of vegetables?”

Addie called out. “A plate of your finest vegetables, barkeep!”

The bartender gave them a curious stare before shrugging. “Yeah, alright. I’ve closed the kitchen, but fine.”

He stomped back, and a minute later, brought out a little dish of long stemmed broccolis, green beans, and julienned carrots. They were gleaming, covered in butter, with a waft of pepper and garlic coming off the plate. Vanden tilted his head, pleasantly surprised.

Sariel observed the food. “That smells good.”

“...Fine,” Vanden sighed. “I’m going to have to do this while we’re playing, so in the meantime- ”

“Take a bite,” Boblem interjected.

“Yeah, before you ask your question you have to eat one,” Elyse grinned.

Vanden rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

Addie and Boske were still pretty confused.

Vanden took a bite of a carrot.

“You have to eat the whole carrot,” Elyse pressed. “Or you’re not allowed to have your truth or dare.”

Vanden ate a full strip of carrot. He stuck his tongue out, making a face. They were surprisingly nice, but he wasn’t going to admit that. “Bleh. Elyse, truth or dare.”

“Dare.”

“Okay…” Vanden thought. “I feel like you’d do anything.”

Elyse gave him a look.

“I’m sorry, I just, I feel like you’d do anything! Okay, something I don’t think you would do… I dare you to let me hold your arcane focus.”

Her face dropped. She looked around the bar, debating. “...Okay.”

She opened up the pouch on her belt and took out the arcane focus. Addie and Boske watched with interest as she made to pass it into Vanden’s expectant hands. She hesitated for a moment longer before giving it over.

The light diminished a bit as Vanden held it. He examined it for a second, turning it in his hands.

_ BZZT! _

Like a static shock, as if touching an electric fence, it zapped him. Vanden dropped it on the table.

Elyse took it back. “Hey!”

“Ow!”

“Yeah, it doesn’t like other people, I told you,” she grinned.

Boske leaned over. “What, what is that?”

“It’s an heirloom.”

She shrugged. “Alright. Guess that answers that.”

Vanden shook out his hands, pouting over at Elyse. “Your turn. Thank you for trusting me. Ow.” He stuck his fork in the vegetables, begrudgingly taking another bite.

“Hm. Cassian, truth or dare?”

His answer was instant. “Truth.”

“Why don’t you drink alcohol?”

He shrugged. “I don’t want to.”

“Fair enough.”

“Each their own,” Addie followed.

Cassian gave another shrug. “It’s as simple as that, I’m afraid.”

“Okay,” Elyse nodded.

He thought for a moment on his next move. “Um… Sariel, truth or dare?”

Catching her in the middle of a sip from her drink, she coughed a bit. “Ah… truth?”

He tried to come up with an easy question. “What’s the most memorable animal you’ve ever wildshaped into?”

“...What would the dare be?”

He was a bit surprised at the evasion. “Um, I can just ask a different question…”

“That’s not the rules,” Vanden interjected. “Gotta come up with a dare for Sariel.”

Cassian rested his head on his hand, thinking. “Hmm. Sneak up on a stranger, and… make little flowers on them. Without getting noticed.”

Sariel gave a soft smile. “Okay.”

Casting a stealth spell, she disappeared slightly into the shadows. Darkness clinged around her, slightly shrouding her from view. Boske and Addie’s jaws dropped. “We could really do with some people like you in our ranks. If you ever fancy a change of career.”

Sariel’s voice replied from somewhere behind Boske. “I’ll think about it.”

Boske jumped. “I was just looking there!”

Sariel went behind the bar.

The barman looked pretty sauced, clearly getting into their own drinks. He was leaning halfway over the counter and singing loudly.

“My Bonnie lies over the ocean! My Bonnie lies over the bay! My Bonnie lies over the ocean! Oh to bring my… What’s the words...?”

“Bonnie,” Astra supplied.

“Bonnie!”

Sariel snuck behind him. Waving her hand, little snowdrop flowers appeared in their hair.

“My Bonnie lies over the ocean…!”

He had no idea. Many other people in the bar saw the flowers appear in his hair, noticing Sariel from behind. The patrons began to applaud, and the barman bowed as he finished the song. “Alright, who’s for another?” he hiccuped.

Sariel came back out from behind the bar, joining the table.

“Well done,” Cassian nodded.

“So it’s my turn?”

“Yes.”

“It was very impressive,” Addie grinned.

“Thank you,” Sariel smiled. “Astra. Truth or dare?”

Astra glanced over. “Um, truth?”

“Hm. Tell us about someone who you knew before you met us.”

“I knew an old farmer. I think you’d like him,” he nodded to Boblem. “They live outside Fang. They couldn’t have kids, but, they’ve been living on the farm for a very long time. They were about 70? It was a halfling, and his wife.”

“What was their name?”

“Kinsen. Farmer Kinsen. Hope they’re doing alright, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen them.”

“Maybe we could go visit there one day.”

“Maybe.”

There was a bit of silence as the bard forgot what he was supposed to do next.

“Oh!” he lifted his head. “It’s my turn now, right?”

There were nods all around the table.

He looked across to the mercenaries. “Boske, truth or dare?”

“Oh, dare,” she grinned. “Come on.”

“Dare, um… Have an arm wrestling match with the largest person in here.”

“Well, I’m the largest person in here,” she grinned. “Addie’s a bit of a weed.”

Vanden chuckled at the other mercenary. “Sorry, Addie.”

They shrugged. “Ah, she’s right.”

Boske looked over the group at the table before pushing past and pointing to the bar. “You!”

A large, grey skinned person turned, standing up to speak in a low, raspy voice. “You talkin’ to me?”

“Yeah,” she grinned. Staring him in the eyes, she put an elbow on the table, wiggling her fingers in challenge. As she did, Elyse sent out a subtle spell to boost her strength abilities. Boske’s hair began to crackle with static electricity, and her shoulders flexed. “Come on. Drinks of the night are on it.”

The man turned back away, finishing his beer before answering. He rolled his shoulders with a grin. “Alright.”

As he approached the table, he gently pushed a few of the others out of his way. His shoulders were much broader than Boske’s. Enormous tattooed arms covered in iron bangles and jewelry slammed down on the table. His mitt dwarfed her hand. She was big, but he was bigger.

They locked arms, keeping their hands still for a few seconds. Eventually, those at the table realized they had already started, but both of them were evenly matched, straining against each other. His arm began to sway a little bit before her arm bulged and rippled. There was a sickening crack as she slammed his hand onto the table.

The man cried out in shock and pain. “Ahhh!”

His elbow was sticking out of his arm.

Around the bar, people began standing and shouting. “What? What’s happening?”

The man stared at the wound. “She broke my arm!”

“Right, don’t worry!” Vanden called out.

“We have healers!” Elyse followed.

“We can fix this!”

Wide eyed, the man stared around at them.

Boske stood, “Oh no, oh no, oh no…”

Elyse raised her hands to steady the man. “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

“Let’s try and see if we can set this,” Vanden offered. “Alright, come on sir…”

The goliath man stood up, shaking and stumbling. Astra sent out a healing spell as Vanden set the arm back, sharing some of his own divine power with the man. With another sickening snap, the bone fit back into place.

The man cried out in pain once more before fainting, falling face down on the table.

Rather drunk, Vanden and Elyse shared a grin. At the same time, they threw their arms up in celebration. “Boske!” they cheered.

Boske blinked at the man a moment longer before doing the same. “Boske!”

Addie shook his head. “No… this isn't something to celebrate. You broke a man’s arm- ”

“I’ve broken many men’s arms! And I’ll break many more!”

“Yeah, Boske!” Elyse cheered again.

Astra looked at the others. “She did do the dare.”

“Well it’s your turn,” Cassian followed, giving a look to Boske.

Addie shook himself a bit more sober. “Let’s… let’s…” he gestured to some more of his friends. The mercenaries spent about five minutes picking the man up and dragging him outside.

Boske came back to the table after a bit, looking sheepish. “He came around… he’ll be alright. But he doesn’t want to see me again, and he doesn’t want to pay for our drinks. Think that’s fair…”

“That’s fine,” Sariel agreed.

“Fair enough,” Boblem nodded.

Astra gave a worried look to the door. “I think that’s alright.”

“You were amazing,” Vanden declared.

Elyse grinned. “That was incredible.”

Boske scrunched up her face. “Didn’t expect that…”

“You don’t know your own strength,” Sariel replied.

Elyse began to sweat a bit.

“No, apparently I don’t…” Boske replied. “I felt a lot stronger. Weird...”

“It’s your turn,” Vanden encouraged.

“Oh, uh… Boblem.”

“Yeah?” he glanced over.

“You ever heard of the boot of beer challenge?”

“The what?”

Boske pulled her leg up, and pulled off a long, knee high boot. Vanden put a hand on his face in shock. Boske grabbed her two pint drink and prepared herself to pour. “Oh right, truth or dare?”

“Ahh!” Boblem leaned far back in his chair, scooting away in fear. “Truth!”

“Come on, Boblem,” Elyse grinned.

“You drink the boot!”

“I would.”

Boske looked down at the shoe. “I know this isn’t how it’s supposed to work, but… Alright, who’s willing to accept a dare then?”

Boblem pointed at the sorcerer as she raised her hand.

“Elyse will drink the boot,” Vanden declared.

Astra reached out a hand to stop Boske. “Can I clean the boot first? You’ve had your foot in there, no offense…”

“I think that’s the point,” Sariel realized.

“Add the flavour,” Boske grinned. She began to pour. “I’ll get you later Boblem, don’t worry.”

“No you won’t,” he mumbled.

She cleared her throat. “Elyse. Truth or dare?”

Elyse feigned thought for a bit. “Uhh… Tru- Dare.”

Boske swirled the beer around in the boot. She went to grab Addie’s drink.

“No!” he protested.

“Yes,” she took his glass, adding some of it in before taking a sip from the cup herself. She handed over the sopping boot, the leather leaking at the seams and swaying. It thudded onto the table, with a bit sloshing out from the sides.

Vanden grinned at the sorcerer. “Go on then, Elyse.”

She picked it up and began chugging. She got about three mouthfuls through before she reached… the flavour. She forced her way through, getting nearly to the end. It was about three pints in total. Against all odds, the boot raised up to the heavens.

Vanden started a chant, and a few of the others took it up, with even Boske joining in. “Elyse, Elyse, Elyse!”

Finishing the drink, she put the boot back down on the table. “Thank you. That was delicious.”

It was not.

She was definitely feeling the alcohol by now, having downed about five or six pints already. Vanden handed her a piece of buttered, garlicky broccoli for the taste. She took it as he reluctantly shoveled another bite into his mouth. He was about halfway done with the plate by now. Astra stole a piece for himself.

“Would you like something to wash the taste out?” Elyse grinned at the prince, going to pour some more beer into the boot.

“Oh, I’m okay,” Vanden laughed. “Your turn.”

“Now this is Cassian’s nightmare,” Boblem announced.

Cassian shook his head. “I didn’t drink it.”

Boske took the boot back. Shaking it out, she pulled it back on with a wet squelch. Astra reached out a hand to offer to dry it, but it was too late. She stared back at the bard with a grin.

“I could have cleaned it,” he grimaced.

“Ah, but it’s so warm now!” she protested.

“How is it warm?”

“I don’t know!”

Cassian nodded back to the sorcerer. “Well I suppose it’s Elyse’s turn now.”

“It is my turn,” she declared. “And seeing as Boske is so strong… truth or dare?”

Boske was also a bit sloshed at this point. “Dare again, I suppose?”

“I wanna see how many pushups you can do with me on your back.”

She grinned. “Saddle up.”

Clearing a space on the floor, she dropped down into a push up position, elbows tucked to her sides and chest resting on the ground. Elyse went to sit, posing as a dainty lady on top of the mercenary. The strength enhancing spell was still active, and Boske managed to get to twenty, moving straight up and down with ease.

Vanden blinked in surprise. “Well, damn.”

Elyse looked down at her seat. “You’ve done this before, I see.”

“Gotta be strong,” Boske replied. “Go on, off, I barely know you.”

Elyse stood, and Boske gave her a pat on the back, letting her hand linger for a little bit

Elyse winked at her before sitting back down. “Your go again.”

“Right, um… I’m running out of ideas. Sariel. Truth or dare?”

Sariel thought. “Truth.”

“How’d you get your hair so white? Is that natural?”

“Yes.”

“Hm. That’s all I wanted to know,” she grinned. Boske had white hair as well, though not as brilliant as Sariel’s. It was more of a dirty snow color, with patches of grey and a few strands of black.

Sariel turned to the other druid. “Boblem.”

He looked a bit worried, and a lot drunk. “Yeah?”

“Truth or dare?”

“...Dare?”

“Wildshape into the silliest thing you can think of.”

“The silliest thing?”

Addie looked around the table. “What’s wildshape?”

“You’ll see,” Sariel and Vanden grinned.

“You’ll like this,” Elyse chuckled at the mercenaries.

“Maybe,” Vanden warned.

“Just not too big,” Astra advised, giggling. “Lots of people around.”

“I could have said biggest thing you can think of,” Sariel replied.

“That’s true. But the silliest might be the biggest.”

“True. I won’t do that,” Boblem assured them.

“Blue whale!” Elyse teased.

After thinking about it for a moment, Boblem’s body transformed into a goose. “Honk, honk!”

His hat was still on him, wobbling on his small head. Boske and Addie fell back on their chairs, legs wiggling in the air before they came back up.  _ "What!?" _

A bunch of people looked over at them. They hadn’t seen the transformation, but they now saw a goose on the table. Boblem began dancing, and everyone around laughed at the drunken goose. Comparatively, there was a lot more alcohol in the smaller body. He waved his long neck around as the entire table applauded, cackling with deep belly laughs.

“He needs to turn back to do his turn!” Cassian grinned.

“Boblem, can you turn back into Boblem?” Vanden called.

Boblem danced faster. “Honk honk honk honk honk!”

Vanden waved his hands in the air a bit with him. “It’s all about the arms.”

Boske and Addie were crying with laughter. Boblem eventually turned back, and forgetting he was no longer in his chair, he sat on the table. “That was fun.”

“It’s your turn, Boblem,” Cassian replied.

Boske caught her breath. “Is that something you can all do?”

Astra, Elyse, and Vanden all pointed over to the pair of druids. “Just those two.”

Addie stood from the table. “I’m gonna call it, I’m gonna call it… I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I think I pissed myself…” he stood and escaped.

“Don’t worry about him,” Boske laughed. “I’ll stay with you for a bit more.”

Boblem looked around the table. “Hmm. Cassian.”

“Boblem,” the elf glanced over.

“Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Truth… umm…” He thought for a moment, swinging his legs off the table. “Do you like us all?”

Cassian furrowed his brow. “Yes?”

Boblem beamed. “That’s nice.”

“...You’re really wasting your questions here, aren’t you?”

Boblem nodded brightly. “Yeah!”

Cassian rubbed his temples. “Oh, Boblem… Oh sweet, innocent Boblem.”

Those drinking were definitely feeling it at this point. They had a good buzz on, some of them a bit further gone than others.

Cassian squinted around the table, looking for a victim. When his eyes landed on the prince, Vanden quickly looked away, but Cassian had already made up his mind.

“Vanden.”

“Yes?”

“Truth or dare?”

Vanden looked down at the plate of vegetables. “Truth.”

Cassian sat and thought with a mischievous spark in his eye, resting his chin on his hand with one finger over his lips. “How do you feel about the last person who you kissed?”

Vanden blinked rapidly, fixing Cassian with a stare as he turned pink. “Dare?”

“Okay…”

Boske looked between the two of them, grinning with realization.

Cassian thought for another moment. “Say something nice about all five of us. And Boske.”

“Fine,” he agreed. “I’ll start with you, Boske. Incredibly strong, beautiful, talented.”

“Thank you,” Boske nodded.

Vanden turned to the next person in line. “Cassian. You’re incredibly intelligent, a very worthy member of this team, and a better person than you give yourself credit for.”

Astra clapped twice. “That’s what I said.”

“Quiet Astra,” Cassian hushed him. “It’s not your turn.”

“Sariel,” Vanden continued. “You have the strongest spirit of anyone I’ve ever met.” He looked to the next person. “Boblem, you’re perfect.”

The group laughed. “You’ve already said that,” Elyse grinned.

“No no,” Boske chuckled. “It’s true.”

“Thank you!” the boy smiled.

She began to laugh again. “The goose…!”

Vanden kept going. “Astra, you have qualities in you that I didn’t think it was possible for a person to possess. You're so brave, and so… full of good. I didn’t think anyone could be that full of good without having an ounce of bad in them. And Elyse, you are just… so smart, so resourceful, so powerful, I… I’m absolutely bloody honored to be sat here with all of you.”

“Hear, hear!” Boske raised her glass.

“I’ll drink to that,” Sariel smiled.

“I’ll drink to that,” Astra echoed.

Boblem brought up his glass. “Cheers! Oops, I’m on a table…” he slid back into his seat as everyone but Cassian raised their glass.

“Come on, you too,” Boske encouraged the elf. “It’s not about what’s in it, it’s about the motion.”

Cassian lifted his glass. “Cheers.”

Vanden and Elyse echoed after. “Cheers.”

“Cheers, all,” Boske grinned.

Their glasses clinked together, and they all took another drink. Boske finished her glass and swayed a little in her seat, giggling.

Elyse examined her with a chuckle. “You doing okay there Boske?”

“Nope,” she grinned.

Vanden was speaking a bit louder now, becoming a bit more demanding as he drank. “Astra, truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Tell us about your home!”

“Dare.”

“Oh.” Vanden blinked, the buzz disappearing for a short moment before a new idea brought it back. He gave a sly grin to the bard. “Send a message to Aerenthias, right now.”

“And say what?” Boblem asked.

“Whatever he wants t’ say. Send a message to Aerenthias! Right now!” he looked back to Boske, slightly slurring his words by now. “This ‘s Astra’s  _ crush." _

“What are they like?” Boske grinned.

“He’s a very attractive red tiefling,” Elyse explained.

“Very handsome,” Sariel agreed.

“Roguish,” Vanden added. “Tall.”

“Suave.”

“I just don’t agree with the mustache.”

Cassian raised his eyebrows at Boske. “Very well acquainted with seamen.”

The table burst out with laughter as Cassian sat back with a self satisfied smile. Boske fully spit out her drink with a huge guffaw.

“He’s a sailor, Boske,” Cassian chided. “What are you thinking?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Boske coughed, pounding her chest. “That’s what I thought, that’s what I thought. He sounds dashing.”

“Oh he really is,” Elyse grinned.

Astra had been heavily blushing, covering his face with his hands as he stared down at the table. He offered a weak protest, “He’s a good friend...”

“A friend?” Boske pressed. “Is that so?”

“He sent Astra a button,” Vanden accused.

_ "For him," _ Cassian recalled.

Boske seemed confused. “A button?”

“It was a very special button.”

“Oh, okay, okay.”

Vanden waggled a finger at Astra. “And you got your tail pierced because he had his tail pierced.”

“And you got feathers like he has,” Elyse added.

“I just… like how they looked on him,” Astra blushed.

Vanden clapped his hands to hurry them along. He was pretty wasted. “Anyway, the dare is to send him a message!”

“Okay! Okay… Okay!” the bard giggled.

In a very drunken voice, Astra sent the message.  _ “Hi Aerenthias, it’s Astra, you know Verdant Astra, the tiefling, um, we met, and, um, just- ” _

“Tell him you like the cut of his jib!” Vanden urged.

_ “ -Thank you for the button that you sent me. You’re really  _ nice."

Astra rambled for too long, and the final word was cut off. He heard the voice of Aerenthias answer back.

_ “I’m really what? No, go on Astra… So comforting to have your voice in my ear late at night. If I’d known fate would have me so lucky, I’d be a gambling man.” _

Astra blushed a very bright pink.

“What did he say?” Sariel asked.

“Did he reply?” Elyse pressed.

Astra hid his face. “No...”

But they had all seen his eyebrows go up at certain bits.

“It’s your turn,” Vanden urged. “That was a very good message, however I think you ran out of words at the end,” he looked at his fingers, trying to count as his head swam.

“Oh!” Astra cringed. He hid his face for a moment longer before he began to giggle. “Cassian, truth or dare?”

Another instant reply. “Truth.”

“Umm...”

“And don’t ask me another bloody yes or no question.”

“Why d’ you like the water so much?”

Cassian was unimpressed. “It’s nice to go swimming?”

“Fair.”

“I live by the sea, it’s right there.”

“I live by th’ sea, but I don’t like th’ water,” Vanden countered.

“I like it a lot. It’s just… calming.”

“It is,” Sariel agreed.

“I can’t swim,” Boske shrugged.

“Me neither!” Vanden declared.

“Bearske can though. Whaz tha’ say?”

“Good for Bearske.”

“Yeah. Not for me…”

“It’s fine,” Elyse grinned. “Bearske will swim, and you can ride on Bearske.”

“Hopefully.”

“Bearske can teach ya,” Boblem nodded.

“Y’know what, that’s a good idea…”

Astra wiggled his hands in front of him. “Don’t they do, like, the bear paddle?”

“It’s really cute.”

“Maybe you can do the bear paddle,” Boblem encouraged.

“Elitheni paddle, I suppose.”

Vanden extended his full arm, unsteadily pointing at Cassian as he swayed. “Then I guess it’s your turn.”

“Cassian,” Elyse sang.

“Sass-ian,” Boske giggled.

Cassian looked over the table. “You guys are getting very drunk. Do we have to keep going?”

“Yes!” Vanden replied.

“Yes,” Astra followed.

“That’s the whole point of the game,” Elyse agreed.

Sariel hiccuped. “When does it end?”

“Never.”

“Yes,” Vanden grinned.

Boblem blinked. “What?”

Cassian folded his hands. “Boblem, truth or dare.”

“Um, dare?”

A devilish grin crept over Cassian’s face. “Do you have the alchemy jug with you?”

“...Yes?”

“Ask for mayonnaise and drink as much as you can.”

Elyse giggled.

Vanden gasped loudly. “You have to!”

Boblem looked very worried. “What would the truth be? Out of curiosity?”

Cassian thought. “What is the silliest thing you’ve ever agreed to do? And I hope the answer is drinking mayonnaise out of the alchemy jug.”

Boblem thought back on the pig racing. “You know what, I think you all probably saw already what the silliest thing is, so I’ll give this a try. I’m drunk enough.”

He began the dare. He got through about two jars worth of mayonnaise, as much mayonnaise as anyone could possibly consume in one sitting. It began to mix with the beer, and he placed the jug on the table. It had bested him. He had about thirty seconds.

Boblem put a hand on his stomach. “Um, somebody else can have my go, I’m gonna go for a second! Elyse, I trust you with my go!” He staggered off.

“Oh, okay!” Elyse grinned.

About thirty seconds passed, and Boblem returned looking quite green, with a bit of mayonnaise on his chin.

“Oh, Boblem,” Sariel put a hand on her mouth.

“You okay buddy?” Elyse chuckled.

“Better now,” he replied.

“Maybe have some vegetables,” Sariel advised.

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, nice!” Vanden eagerly passed over the plate.

“Very impressive,” Cassian nodded approvingly to the boy before turning to Vanden. “Don’t try to pawn them off on him.”

“He needs them!”

“So do you.”

“That’s true,” Boblem pushed the plate between himself and Vanden. “We can share them.”

Vanden pouted. “I’ve already had so many!” he complained.

“Yeah, but I said all of them,” he took a piece of broccoli.

“I will do something else,” Vanden pleaded. “I don’t wanna finish th’ vegetables!”

Elyse turned to him. “Okay, then truth or dare?”

Vanden looked at Cassian. “Dare.”

“I dare you… to…” Elyse grinned. “Cut your hair with your own sword. Or let me do it.”

Vanden considered the dare. “I’m not letting  _ you _ do it.”

Cassian reached into his bag. “Would you like a mirror?”

“Nah.”

“Okay,” Cassian retracted the hand. “Suit yourself.”

Astra looked over to the prince with wide eyes. “Wait, you’re not actually gonna cut your hair?”

Vanden shrugged, spreading his arms wide. “That was th’ dare.”

“That’s the dare,” Elyse grinned.

“You don’t, you don’t have to do that,” Astra reasoned.

Vanden looked to his side and realized he hadn’t brought his sword with him.

“I have a dagger,” Elyse offered hers. Boske also offered one.

“You don’t have to cut your hair if you don’t want to and someone else wants you to, though,” Astra repeated.

Vanden took both daggers, looking between them. Boske’s was made of a blue quartz. Elyse’s was curved, with a red stone in the hilt. Vanden squinted at Elyse’s dagger. “It’s very nice…”

“Thank you,” she grinned.

“But th’ curve kind of scares me, for cutting m’ hair.”

“Okay, that's fair enough.”

“Wait, how much does he have to cut off?” Boblem wondered.

Elyse appraised her victim. “Cut the ponytail off.”

Astra was very anxious. “That’s a lot, that’s a lot of hair…”

“Well, if he wants to do it.”

Vanden had already put the dagger to his hair, readying the blade. “What would th’ truth be?”

She shrugged. “It was gonna be asking who the last person you kissed was.”

Vanden grabbed the ponytail and sliced the dagger through. A good three inches came off into his hand. The rest of his hair flopped down to his jawline and he held up the hair in victory.

Cassian looked him over. “It suits you.”

Vanden put the tied bundle of hair back on the table. “Thank you.”

“The rugged look,” Elyse hiccupped.

“Very dashing,” Cassian followed.

“Wow,” Boblem remarked. “You really don’t wanna talk about whoever you kissed.”

Boske grinned over to Vanden, glancing between him and Cassian. “Hm, I sense… something in the air- ”

“I think!” Vanden interjected. “We’re probably through with th’ game now! Boblem threw up.”

“I think that’s a good idea.”

“Perhaps we should all go home and get some rest,” Cassian advised.

“I’ve got drills in th’ morning,” Boske grumbled.

“You’ll be fine,” Elyse assured her.

Cassian looked across the table at Vanden. “There’s armouring and clothes to be made for you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, shopping trip,” Elyse agreed.

Vanden sighed, taking stock of himself. “Yeah, I need some water.”

“Have some of mine, share it around,” Cassian passed the large jug of water into the middle of the group.

Vanden looked to the table, grabbing a reddish bundle and holding it up to the light. “Oh, this looks like my hair.”

Elyse giggled. “Maybe Cassian can cast that spell for mending,” she mimicked sewing the hair back in place.

“I don’t think that’s how it works, Elyse,” Cassian replied.

Vanden bobbed his head back and forth in a nod. “We should probably go home.”

“Yeah…” Boblem groaned.

“It’s been a pleasure,” Boske grinned. “And I look forward to having you back around…”

“Just don’t break any more arms,” Vanden warned.

“I thought that was really cool,” Elyse countered.

Boske shook her head and gave a kind of grunt.

Vanden leaned over the table. “Say hello t’ Bearske for us.”

“Please give her cuddles from us! Oh wait,” Elyse scratched her head. “It’s a boy, isn’t it.”

“Bearske’s a boy,” Boske nodded.

“Please, give him cuddles from us.”

Boske slurred something almost incomprehensible in reply.

“Yeah…” Elyse hiccuped.

Cassian gave the mercenary a look. “Goodnight, Boske.”

“Goodnight, Boske,” she echoed. With that, Boske turned and staggered out, laughing and swaying.

  
  


Once the others had drunkenly grabbed a few kebabs from the bar, Cassian carefully shepherded them back to the barracks. It was quite a mission, and Vanden leaned heavily on him the entire way. Cassian ruffled his hand through the nice new short hair, and Vanden rolled his neck back into the touch, giggling.

They managed to get back to the barracks, pretty sauced.

“That was a great night,” Elyse declared.

“That was amazing!” Vanden followed.

“That was great!”

“I’m gonna hate myself tomorrow.”

“No you won’t, you’re gonna love your new haircut.”

“What?” Vanden reached up to feel the short ends. He was still holding the tied bundle of hair in his other hand.

“It looks really good. It was done by a professional. Just like mine was,” Elyse laughed as she pointed to her own hair.

“And so cheap as well,” Sariel hiccupped.

Vanden gestured out with the hair, pointing it decisively at the air. “Alright, I’m going t’ bed.” He noticed Cassian and pointed the bundle again, waggling it in the elf’s general direction and snickering.

Elyse lunged for the hair. “Cool, thank you!”

Vanden didn’t seem bothered with the burglary, wiping his hands of the excess hairs.

Boblem frowned at the small bundle. “What are we gonna do with that?”

“Dunno, it’s Elyse’s prize,” Vanden declared.

Elyse grinned.

Boblem grimaced. “Don’t keep it.”

She put it in her pouch. “Y’all wouldn’t let me have the ears or the goblin hand, I’m doing this!”

Vanden went upstairs into Cassian’s room, falling immediately asleep on his bed.

Cassian bid the rest of them goodnight, heading upstairs shortly after. As he opened his door, his eyebrows shot up to the top of his head. He leaned back, considering the situation as a variety of surprised and confused expressions passed over his face. Clasping his hands in front of his face, he thought for a moment on what to do. Vanden was slightly snoring.

He moved the covers around Vanden a bit more before sitting to meditate on the floor.

Elyse made an attempt to get onto the roof. On her first attempt, she knocked some tiles off, and they skidded to the ground below. She whipped her head back and forth in surprise at the sudden sound. “Who did that?”

She glanced around a bit more. “No one saw, no one saw…”

She got up and cocooned herself, rolling up in her blankets. “Rana,” she groaned. “Rana, keep watch. Keep watch.”

Rana was dizzily flying around in figure eights above her, seemingly affected as well.

Sleep came to them all.

  
  


The morning arrived rather painfully. The light was bright. So, so very bright. They were all quite hungover.

As usual, Cassian was up early. He sat, looking at Vanden with vague amusement.

Vanden woke up, whining slightly as he rolled over. He grimaced as the sunlight hit his face, waving a hand to urge it away.

“Morning, sunshine.”

“Huh?” Vanden blinked, noticing the other person in the room. “...Hello?”

“This is my room.”

“...Oh.” Vanden fidgeted, looking rather embarrassed. “Excuse me.”

Cassian noticed the worried look Vanden was giving him. “Nothing untoward happened,” he assured him.

“Okay. Yeah, I, I remember…”

He didn’t.

“Okay,” Cassian replied. “You just… slept on my bed, so I sat on the floor.”

Vanden nodded, a bit relieved. “Sorry…”

Cassian shrugged. “I don’t need to sleep, so.”

Vanden got out of the bed, standing awkwardly for a moment before he went to flatten his hair. Noticing a dramatic difference, his mouth dropped.

“I told you, it’s very dashing.”

The prince was still touching his hair with wide eyes. “... _ Oh _ … oh…”

“Vanden, you look very handsome.”

“Thank you…” Vanden went red. “Well as long as you think so…”

Cassian was staring at him. “I do.”

Vanden made a small noise that could have been a nervous laugh. “I wasn’t too much of a menace last night, was I?”

Cassian thought for a moment. “Hmmm… No. Not as much as Boske.”

Vanden cleared his throat. “Don’t normally like getting that drunk, but… I don’t know, I thought we had something to celebrate.”

“We did. And we celebrated it well. And I made Boblem throw up, which I should probably apologize for.”

“If he remembers.”

“If he remembers!” Cassian pointed an approving finger over to Vanden, giving an appreciative nod.

Vanden sighed from the pain of the hangover. “I need to get something to eat.”

“Should we go get breakfast?”

Vanden gave an anguished nod, looking up at him with miserable eyes. “Mhm.”

Cassian gave him a half amused, half patronizing look. “Okay.” He reached out to give him a condescending ruffle of his hair. Vanden leaned into the hand with a pitiful whimper.

Cassian made tea for everyone, but he didn’t know how to cook.

The rest of the group didn't feel great either. Most of them woke up with pieces of kebab scattered around them.

Boblem had the taste of beer and mayonnaise in his mouth. He did not make breakfast. Instead, he wrapped his blanket around him and went to sit in front of the garden. There was a nice breeze blowing through, the fresh mountain air moving past.

Elyse noticed the Boblem shaped mass of blankets move into the garden. She was wrapped in her own blankets, eating her half finished kebab from the night before. “Boblem!” she yelled down. “How you doing?”

Boblem leaned away from the noise, putting a hand on his ear. “Agh… Mmm… Dying? You?”

Elyse grinned. “That’s how you should feel after a celebration.”

Boblem turned back around to talk to the plants. “Timberly, your father is dying.”

Timberly waved in the breeze.

“I need you to take care of your siblings for me.”

  
  


Vanden sat at the breakfast table. He remembered the last time he saw Iymril and the Zauviirs, and had an idea. He slapped himself across the face with his own hand, and he felt a bit better.

Cassian nudged over the tea and a glass of water.

Vanden accepted the cups. “Thank you.”

Astra was wrapped in a blanket, the fabric draped over his horns.

“Good morning, Astra,” Cassian offered the same beverages.

Astra leaned over to take them. “Is it?”

“Yes. It’s a lovely day in Shadebourne. So much to do.”

Astra groaned. “You’re very loud…”

“Right, breakfast,” Vanden stood.

“Vanden,” Astra whispered in horror. “Your  _ hair _ … Are you okay about, your hair?”

“...Not particularly,” he admitted.

Astra cringed. “I knew it! I knew you wouldn’t be!”

Vanden sighed, trying to convince both Astra and himself that it would be okay. “It’s done now, it’s just hair. Hair grows.”

“It looks good…”

“It looks very good,” Cassian agreed.

“It does look good. I’m sorry, that you… cut it off in that way, though.”

Vanden shook his head. “It’s fine. What happened to the hair?”

“It’s in Elyse’s bag,” Cassian informed them.

Astra grimaced. “Why?”

“You know she collects… things…”

“Collects hair…” Vanden blinked. “Okay. Gross.”

“Maybe she’ll be like Old Maggie one day, who knows.”

“Mmm…” Vanden’s face scrunched in displeasure. “Okay, um, I’m gonna… make breakfast.”

“No.”

“No no, I am,” Vanden countered, holding up a finger to shush him. “I  _ have _ to.” He couldn’t help laughing. “Cassian, it’s a matter of life or death!”

Cassian got into the joke, leaning forward on the table and grinning. “To redeem yourself, Vanden!”

Vanden went to the kitchen, finding Sariel already in there.

“Sariel, can I help?”

She slowly turned, staring at him for a moment. “You can be quieter. That would help.”

“Sorry…”

“Yes, you can,” she whispered. “Can you make some toast?”

Vanden set his jaw, preparing himself for the task. “I can certainly try.”

“Just, put this on this skewer, hold it over the fire until it looks like toast. Don’t hold it too close.”

Vanden took the skewer, already speared through a really nice piece of sourdough with bits of potato and rosemary. It smelled good. He held it over the fire for a bit, feeling kind of dizzy, and staring into the flames without thinking. In an instant, the flames expanded around the bread.

“Vanden!” Sariel yelled.

“Ahh!” Vanden pulled the skewer from the fire. “Um, I think I did it!”

It wasn’t entirely charcoal. If they brushed off the surface layer of blackness, it would be alright. Sariel did her best to scrape the crumbs off with a knife. “It’s fine…”

Vanden had been staring at the skewer with distrust. “I’ll… I’ll take it through…”

He walked through to the dining room, holding out the skewer of burned bread straight out in front of him. “...Toast,” he declared.

“If I eat, I’ll die,” Astra replied.

“I’m gonna eat it.”

Boblem came back inside.

“I made toast,” Vanden offered.

Boblem looked at the atrocity and sighed.

Sariel came out with eggs, tomatoes, and fried potatoes for the rest of them.

Boblem nodded at her. “Thank you.”

Elyse shuffled in with her blanket. “Vanden, I think I borrowed something from you last night.”

She threw the hair down on the table, a safe distance from the food.

Vanden raised his eyebrows. “Oh.”

“I don’t think that dare was very fun,” Astra frowned.

“Well, he accepted it,” Elyse grinned.

Vanden picked up the bundle and looked at it. “Well if you can shave off half of your head, I can… cut off the hair that took three years to grow,” he dropped it back on the table.

“Exactly,” she chuckled.

“It grows back,” Cassian reminded them.

Elyse ran a hand through the shorter part of her hair. “Yeah, I think I probably need to shave this again sometime soon.”

“Astra,” Sariel grinned. “Do you remember who you spoke to last night?”

“And what they said?” Boblem prompted.

Astra’s eyes went wide before he disappeared back into the blanket. “Everything is too loud right now.”

“Right. Well, once you lot are ready for the day,” Cassian began, “There is business in order.”

“Oh, I’m fine,” Elyse shrugged.

“Yeah, I can handle it,” Vanden agreed. “I slapped myself, so.”

Sariel looked over in surprise. “What?”

Cassian squinted at him. “Right. We need to go and talk about armour for you.”

“Yes,” he nodded.

“And figure out some clothes.”

“Yes.”

Vanden composed himself almost entirely, clearing his throat. Elyse quietly reached for the hair, putting it back in her bag.

“Clothes,” Vanden nodded. “What do we need…”

“What do you want?” Cassian shrugged. “Shirts, I can make.”

“Then I guess just some kind of coat.”

“Some kind of coat, I can… alter it. I have a few ideas.”

“Okay. And then armour, we were gonna go and see, um…”

“Phaesta,” Elyse supplied.

“Phaesta.”

“Yeah, I want to buy a dagger, so. New dagger.”

Vanden turned to the others. “What about you three?”

“I don’t want to go out,” Astra decided.

“I wanna survive,” Boblem agreed.

Vanden grinned. “Why don’t you drink some sweet tea?”

“You know what, that’d be a good idea.”

“Oh here, I made tea,” Cassian passed over a cup.

The boy glared at him. “Fiend.”

Cassian’s eyes went wide as he looked to the others in shock and confusion.

Astra tried to reassure Boblem. “It’s really good tea, actually.”

Sariel and Elyse were laughing. Vanden grinned over to Cassian. “I think he remembers.”

“I don’t know how he remembers,” Sariel chuckled.

Cassian’s face changed in realization. “Oh… I’m sorry Boblem, I thought it would be funny.”

“And Cassian was sober!” Vanden added.

Boblem pouted at the table. “You still think it’s funny, don’tcha.”

“I do think it’s funny,” Cassian admitted.

“It was very funny,” Elyse grinned. “To be fair.”

“Not as funny as you as a goose,” Astra countered.

“Oh, that was amazing.”

“Yes,” Sariel agreed.

Boblem took the cup. “Thanks for the tea, though.”

“Right then, the three of us can go out,” Vanden nodded. “Sariel, are you coming, or are you staying?”

“I’ll stay with these two,” she decided.

“Look after them,” Elyse teased.

“Look after the plants,” Cassian added. “Or maybe they’ll look after you.”

Boblem nodded. “They’re gonna have to.”

“Let’s go then,” Vanden stood.

“Yeah,” Elyse followed.

Cassian waved a finger upstairs. “Right, let me gather my sketches first.”

Elyse quietly patted her hair down, trying to look a little bit more presentable. The three of them set out into the city.

  
  


Boblem returned to the garden, once again informing his children that he was dying. Sariel sat outside in the fresh air, looking for the little sunlight Shadebourne got. It was very little, but it was at least daylight.

Astra headed up to his room, feeling very sheepish. He decided to send another message to Aerenthias.

_ “Hi Aerenthias, it’s me again, Astra, Verdant Astra, um… Just wanted to say sorry about last night, I was told that I sent you a message.” _

The suave voice shortly returned.

_ “Don’t worry about it. It was quite comforting, actually. Not opposed to it. Late at night, hearing your voice… I can get used to that. Stay safe, handsome.” _

Astra blushed. He decided to reply.

_ “You stay safe too. And thank you for the gift. Also… tell Jocelyn that Vanden is like her? With wings.” _

This time, the tone of response was a bit more serious.

_ “...Oh… oh. Of course. Discretion will be the name of the game. Pass on my best to the group. I hope to see you all again soon.” _

Astra could have sworn he heard a noise at the end that sounded suspiciously like someone blowing a kiss. He blushed a bit, and went downstairs to join the others in the garden.

“Drinking is a mistake,” he declared.

“You might be onto something there,” Boblem agreed.

Sariel stifled a laugh.

Astra glanced over to her. “What are you giggling about?”

“Nothing,” she replied.

“Are you not dying?” Boblem asked.

She shrugged. “I’m feeling better after food.”

“True. It was delicious.”

“Thank you. Not as good as yours.”

“Definitely just as good, if not better. Would you like to help me plant some more flowers?”

“I’d love to.”

“What are your favorite flowers?”

“Oh…” Sariel thought about it for a bit. She sent out a bit of magic to craft some of the white flowers she always made. “Midnight jasmine. We have them back home.”

“That’s nice.”

“You can only smell them at night.”

“Ooh. Magical.”

“I think I’ve seen something like this,” Astra nodded. “In the forests, near Riven. Beautiful.”

Sariel looked between the others. “What’s your favorite flowers?”

“Well, I think mine’s quite obvious at this point,” Boblem gestured to the embroidered sunflower on his overalls.

“Just in case there was another contender,” Sariel smiled.

“I like tulips, too.”

“Do they remind you of home?”

“No, just pretty. Before, when I was younger, like really really young, I do remember a field of sunflowers just being around. And then, we started moving. The farm. And then I didn’t see them again. Kind of miss them.”

“Are they not always there on the farm?”

“They were when I was growing up,” he shrugged. “But then… we moved. It moved.”

“So you didn’t move around when you were younger?”

“Um, it’s difficult to tell, you know? When you’re young, memories don’t always… make a lot of sense.”

She nodded. “But you remember always having the sunflowers.”

“When I was really young, yeah. And then they were just… gone. And so was everything around us.”

“Did you ever see them again?”

“No.” He gave a sad smile before turning away. “How about you, Astra? Favorite flower?”

He considered. “Wildflowers. Just, any flower that you find… in the forest, really. Usually low lying. I like the white ones,” he nodded to Sariel. “They’re very pretty.”

“Thank you,” she replied. She waved her hand to create a few wildflowers.

Boblem smiled. “Cute.”

  
  


The other three made their way to the Anvilhold, to Phaesta’s forge.  _ The Mountain Orchid. _

Heading over, they caught her eating breakfast. She was unwrapping a sort of wax paper, opening it up to reveal a selection of bread and meats. She perked up when she saw them, and waved. “Didn’t realize you’d be back.”

“Of course,” Elyse smiled.

“Good to see you.”

“Elyse was quite keen,” Vanden replied.

Phaesta chuckled.

“Well, I wanted that dagger,” Elyse defended. “So…”

“Is that right?” Phaesta grinned.

“Yeah…”

“Sure. Okay. Well, come on in, come on in.”

They stepped into the forge, feeling the heat. The first fires of the day were lit, and the mephit creature was skittering around next to the forge to breathe out fire, causing the place to glow in white hot heat. Already, they had to wipe sweat from their brows.

“Same one?” Phaesta prompted.

“Um, yeah,” Elyse agreed. “I mean, if you have any others, I’d like to see.”

“We’ve not got anything, but we can have things made for the future if you want.”

“Well, this is kind of pressing, so I guess I’ll take another look at the one you showed me earlier.”

“Of course, of course.”

She took it out of the wrapping, spinning it between her hand and the curl of one black nail before grabbing it and passing it over. The blade had a sort of curved, wiggled blade, about ten inches long. Elyse took it in her hand, twirling it around and tossing it from hand to hand. Catching it in her right hand, she spun it, blue flame twirling around as sparks danced from the weapon. “Yeah,” she grinned.

Phaesta grinned. “Ohoho!”

Cassian gave an approving nod. “Sounds like a good fit.”

“Yeah,” Elyse agreed.

“Incredible work,” Vanden nodded to the blacksmith.

Phaesta looked the sorcerer up and down with a smile. “That’s not part of the dagger.”

Vanden looked back at Elyse.

“It’s a new spell I’ve been practicing,” she explained.

“Wow…” Phaesta chuckled. “Wow.”

“I’ll take it.”

“That’ll be 128 pieces of gold.”

“Sure,” Elyse handed over most of her money.

“Pleasure doing business.”

The mephit picked up the little bag, zooming around before dropping the coins off somewhere with a clink.

Elyse called out to it in Primordial. “Hey, come back over here!”

Cassian and Vanden heard nothing but the skittering and spitting of the ball of fire, but Elyse heard it respond. “No. Working!”

“But you’re really cute, I wanna look at you more!”

Two little ears popped up above its two beady black eyes. Frowning, it disappeared back down.

“Fine.”

Phaesta looked at her curiously. “What about the rest of you, huh?”

Vanden crossed his arms. “Well, there was another matter. I’m after some new armour…”

“Quite a specific request,” Cassian nodded.

She glanced between them. “Is that so?”

“I need something custom,” Vanden explained.

“Well, of course. I mean, with that sale I’ve made enough to tide me over for some time, so I don’t mind working on something custom.”

“Great. It’s a custom fit, really, um… Do you have a private room?”

Phaesta looked around the shop. “I suppose we can use the storeroom, um, how private? The four of us, or?”

“We can come with you if you want,” Elyse offered. “Or we can make sure no one else comes in.”

“That would be great,” Vanden agreed. “I just, feel weird about this…”

“It’s okay.”

“No worries, no worries,” Phaesta assured him. She turned to her apprentices. “Right, watch the shop, okay? Keep an eye on these two, you know?” she chuckled. The dwarf scurried over, making notes in a ledger. They made idle chitchat with Cassian and Elyse as Phaesta beckoned Vanden further into the shop. “Alright, come on…”

“Great,” he followed.

She stepped over some barrels and boxes and pushed into a storeroom. It was not very big, and her shoulders were pressed up against racks of iron tools and other sorts of things.

Vanden frowned at the room. “Hmm, okay…”

“This is, I suppose as private as we’ll get?”

“Um… well, I’m looking for some sort of… I dunno, a breastplate, or something…”

“Of course.”

“It needs to have a special fitting on the back, because…” he trailed off, taking another breath to form the words. “It needs to accomodate a set of wings.”

Phaesta blinked.

“I don’t think I should show you in here, I think I may knock your shelves over.”

“... Well that’s certainly interesting,” she grinned.

Vanden was a bit nervous. “Yeah…”

“I… gimme a minute, gimme a minute,” she left, coming back after a minute with a book that seemed to be an old religious text. She flicked through to a picture of a red skinned individual with two large leathery red wings coming out of their back, and two horns curving up on the front of their face, a wicked trident in their hand. “Um… like this?”

“Not quite, but I guess the fit would be the same…”

“I’m thinking, like… size, placement…”

“Yes? The, the main… the main issue is here, they need to... open... out of my back… and…”

Phaesta let out a low, impressed chuckle.

“I would show you, but I…”

“There’s a, there’s a courtyard,” she offered. “We could?”

“Sure.”

“It’s where I take the deliveries.” She ducked out, calling to the front. “A few more minutes, a few more minutes!”

“Alright,” Cassian called back.

“No problem,” Elyse followed.

Phaesta led him out to a fairly enclosed space. Unless someone peeked over the wall, nobody would be able to see them.

“Okay, um… sorry,” Vanden stripped off his shirt and folded the wings out.

She stepped back and gasped at the sight. Vanden looked very self conscious.

“Stay there,” she disappeared for a second.

“Okay…”

She came back with an array of things in her hands, spilling them out. She pulled out a little measuring tape, grabbing him by the waist to spin him around and ducking under the wings as he moved. Vanden was quite taken by surprise at the sudden movement. “Okay!”

He felt the measuring tape zip all over his back and chest, looping around him, pulled tight, and running the length of his spine. Before he knew it, she had pushed him away. She flipped down her goggles and a few extra attachments, writing lines and lines of tiny script. She looked between him and the writing, making a little sketch. Satisfied, she rolled back the goggles and gave a nod.

Vanden was breathing a bit fast. “Okay…”

“We’re in business.”

“Great.”

“But… I can do this for you, okay, this is going to take a couple days. I’m going to have to bring some extra help in. It’s not gonna be cheap, but… I need you to… every single person you see, I need you to tell them where you got this armour.”

“Sure?”

“Anytime anyone asks you about that armour, anytime you bust those wings out and someone says, wow, how do you not tear your armour apart? You tell them Phaesta. The Mountain Orchid. In Shadebourne.”

“I can… I can do that…” he was still a bit shaken from being grabbed and turned around so many times. “Okay, um, I was, I was wondering about… I dunno, I don’t want to have this made more than once. Something special?”

“I can do it. I mean, the plastering will be fine, it shouldn’t need to be adjusted. But the back piece will be… a lot narrower, I suppose. Sort of come down and hug your lower back.”

“I mean more… Are there any special materials, something? So I won’t have to upgrade this in the future?”

“Oh, well I’ve… I’ve got some arokyte in.”

“Oh. Okay…”

“Stuff is tough.”

“I’ve heard of it.”

“It’ll run you back some.”

“I’ll see what we can do.”

“Come out front. If you… can?”

“Yeah, fine.” Vanden stood, letting the wings burn, and looking slightly embarrassed. This time, they disappeared in a matter of seconds.

She instinctively reached up a hand to touch before remembering herself and pulling the hand away.

Vanden quickly put his shirt back on, folding his arms in front of him. “I appreciate you not, um, telling anyone… about that.”

“...Do your allies know about this?”

“Yes.”

“Do you all do this?”

“No, no, we don’t. But everyone is a little bit special. Especially Elyse.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah,” he grinned.

“Got that impression.”

Vanden shrugged. “She’s mentioned you a few times.”

“Really?”

“Mhm.”

Phaesta thought for a moment. “She doesn’t wear much jewelry, does she.”

“Not really, I have seen her wear some…”

“Rings?”

He blinked. “...That’s moving fast.”

“No, I’m just… inquiring… if she wears any already.”

“No, I don’t think so.”

Phaesta grinned. “Alright.”

“I think she’d be inclined to wear some if she got a particular gift.”

“Well. Come on then, let’s go up front.”

“We’re not gonna be in Shadebourne that much longer, but we will be back.”

“It’s going to take me a couple of days to work.”

“That’s fine, we can wait for then. But, I mean…” Vanden gave her a side eye. “Just a couple of days. I don’t know, maybe… she likes a drink or two.”

Phaesta chuckled. “I’ll see what I can do.”

She undid her hair, styling it a bit in the back and making sure her sleeves were rolled up to show off her muscles.

Inside, Elyse had been playing with her hair, trying to fix the tangles from last night by running her fingers through it. Cassian had slowly reached into his bag, offering a mirror.

She took it. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Phaesta went to open the back door to the shop. “When we go back in, laugh.”

“RIght,” Vanden grinned.

They entered, and Vanden laughed.

“Yeah, right?” Phaesta chuckled.

“Yeah. You’re so funny!”

“Haha, yeah…”

Vanden gave Elyse a wink as he walked back in. She quickly and quietly gave the mirror back to Cassian.

He made his way back to the others. “She’s so funny.”

“I’m sure she is,” Elyse grinned.

Vanden was pale as a sheet.

“Okay,” Phaesta leaned on the other side of the counter. “So. I believe we’re in business.”

“Yes.”

“Give me a few minutes, chat amongst yourself if you must, and uh… Let me weigh up some things, okay?” She left them to their own business for a few minutes while she made some mental notes and additions.

Elyse turned to the prince. “All good?”

“Yeah. She’s very nice.”

“Yeah, she is, isn’t she.”

“Very pretty.”

“Yeah.”

Vanden shrugged. “Seems to have an eye for you. I mean, we’re only in Shadebourne for a few more days…”

“Yeah, but, we’re coming back… Maybe…”

“Who knows after how long, though,” Cassian chimed in.

“You like a drink or two,” Vanden urged. “You should…”

“No, I hate drinking,” Elyse teased. “I’ve never drank in my entire life.”

“Well, I don’t think any of the rest of us are going to be up for another drink before we leave, but perhaps… her.”

“...I was, gonna ask, actually.”

“Good.”

“See if sparks fly,” Cassian grinned.

“Your hair looks good, but…” Vanden fixed her hair slightly.

“Thanks, yeah,” she tried to flatten it as well. “When I drink, it kind of does it’s own thing, so.”

“Yeah, mine too, apparently,” Vanden laughed.

Cassian shook his head at him, but he was still grinning.

Phaesta appeared again. “I’ve um, if you’re ready? Okay, considering the… unique nature, I’m going to have to get some help in.” She glanced at her apprentices. “All respect, but, you’re not ready for this. You’re not cut out yet.” They gave her a bit of a sad look. “You’ll get there,” she assured them, turning back to her customers. “Considering the material, this will run you back… 600 pieces of gold. It’ll be a work of art, I assure you.”

Vanden let out a low breath. “I’m convinced it will be. 600…” he rubbed his face, taking a moment to count it up.

“How much money do you have?” Cassian asked.

“Not 600,” he sighed. He lifted up his old chainmail. “I’ll give you this as part of the exchange.”

Phaesta took it. “It’s in good condition. I’ll tell you what, I’ll knock 50 off for it.”

“Fine.”

Vanden looked back over to Cassian, who was counting in his head. “I have 400,” he offered.

“We’re still short,” Vanden shook his head. “That’s only… 465.”

“I’m sorry,” Elyse apologized. “I know I owe you money, but I just spent most of it on that dagger. I can give you 2 gold and 17 silver.”

Vanden shook his head. “Damn.”

“You’ve got generous friends,” Phaesta nodded.

Cassian leaned on the desk. “Can we come to some sort of deal, perhaps?”

Phaesta thought. “A difference of 85, then. Tell you what, if you can pay me the rest, pay the difference, with 100% interest.”

“100% interest?” Vanden repeated.

“In a month.”

“...Fine. Deal. It better be good.”

“170 pieces of gold to owe. Agreed? Or, materials to the sum of.”

“Sure.”

“Steel, jewels, gold, silver…”

“We can do that.”

“I’m sure, I’m sure. This is me who’s not coming out on top here, you know.”

“Oh, you will,” Vanden teased. “After we spread the word all across Caldera.”

“Good, good, good. Right, I’ll take what you’ve got.”

“Right,” Cassian fiddled with his bag. “Let me sort out this cash then.”

Vanden passed over some coins and the chainmail.

Cassian dumped a very large pouch of gold on the counter, and winked at Vanden.

Vanden crossed his arms, looking away. “Ah…”

“We’ll be in work right away,” Phaesta assured them.

“Fantastic. Oh, and the design,” Vanden pointed to the Dawnbringers pin they were given by the city. He was still wearing it.

“Embossed? Inscribed? Painted?”

“Somewhere. Embossed, why not.”

“Sure, we can do that.”

Elyse smiled at him. “It’s a good idea.”

He shrugged. “Why not, right?”

“Yeah.”

Phaesta looked over them. “Heard about what the group of you did.”

“Oh, you’ve heard of us?” Elyse grinned. “Our deeds?”

“You could say that. Hard not to.”

Vanden made for the door. “Cassian, we should step outside. See if the two of them need to talk about anything else.”

“We should.” Cassian nodded to Elyse. “We need to go get appropriate clothing for Frostguard, so perhaps we’ll catch up with you later.”

“Oh yeah, buy me a nice warm coat, please,” she replied.

“Of course,” the boys chorused.

As they left, Phaesta turned back to the sorcerer. “Need something to keep you warm at night, I suppose.”

“Yeah,” she grinned. “I’m not used to environments like this. From much hotter places.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah.”

“Where are you from?”

“...Ospeia?”

“Really? Whereabouts? Big place.”

Elyse hesitated for a moment. “I’m not really from anywhere. Travelled a lot.”

“Nomad, I get that, I get that. So, what brings you to Caldera?”

Elyse glanced around. The shop didn’t have exterior walls, so it was technically open to the market, but she was fairly deep inside. One of her apprentices was nearby, but Phaesta saw Elyse’s hesitation and gestured them away. They scurried into the back, leaving just the two of them, with no one else around.

“Do you mind if I speak to you in Fulgan? Or um,” she corrected herself, “Primordial?”

“I’ve not heard it called Fulgan before, but.”

Elyse switched over. “It’s what I always called it, what we always called it.”

Phaesta responded in the same language. “Primordial is the language, I suppose, but the dialect I speak is Ignan. It’s what my people speak.”

“Yeah.”

“There’s not many of us, we’re a pretty small community.”

“That makes sense. I… this is going to sound really stupid, but I didn’t even know the language was called Primordial until a few weeks ago,” she admitted.

“I mean,” Phaesta shrugged, “Words are made up, aren’t they?”

“I guess.”

“I suppose in our language, it would be…” she made a rasping, hissing sound.

Elyse laughed. “Who knows. Um, as for why I’m in Caldera… unfortunate circumstances.”

Phaesta frowned a bit. “Oh.”

“But I met... good people, so.”

“These bunch?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re a lucky one, you’re a lucky one.”

“I guess so,” she looked down, a bit sadder.

Phaestra took her in. “Look, I can see you’ve got stuff to do- ”

“No, I actually- ”

“No no, look, we can chat for a bit, but um… Your pal said you’re going off.”

“Yeah.”

“If you’re around for a bit more… why don’t you take me for a drink?”

Elyse grinned. “I was hoping you were gonna ask. Yeah, sure. When, when?” she giggled a bit, playing with her hair. “When are you free?”

“Tomorrow night, let’s say?”

“Sure.”

“I like whisky.”

“Me too.”

“Convenient,” Phaesta chuckled.

“Um, where’s your favorite place to go? I don’t know the city very well. We went to a tavern last night, but we might not be welcome back there… There was a mayonnaise incident. And an arm breaking incident.”

“Wow… I’m suddenly questioning this night to go on,” she laughed.

“I didn’t break the person’s arm,” Elyse defended. “Although I may have cast a spell that caused it to happen…”

“No, no, you know what, I don’t need to know,” Phaesta raised her hands. “Don’t implicate me, don’t implicate me. There’s um, there’s a place around the corner where a lot of the smiths go.  _ The Bag of Tricks." _

Elyse laughed. “Okay.”

“It’s cozy.”

“Is it… I kind of have more questions about Primordial,” she continued. “If it’s okay…”

“I’ve got a couple minutes, go on.”

“It’s… safe? For you to speak it out in the open here…”

Phaesta shrugged. “Of course. I mean, how many people do you hear speaking it? Most people just think I’m whistling. I mean, I speak it to my little buddy…”

“Yeah, I noticed.”

“But I don't really speak it to anyone else. Of course, why wouldn’t it be safe?”

Elyse fidgeted. “Um… I was kind of told that it wasn’t. But I was also told that no one else spoke it, and we were the only ones.”

“I can’t think of any reason why it wouldn’t be. I’ve felt unsafe for a number of reasons at a number of places I’ve gone, but it’s never been for… what language I spoke. Look, I know it’s not easy. Like, being in a strange place, far from home… Not with the family. It’s, it’s tough. But, it’s the people with you that make it.”

“Yeah. So are you not from Shadebourne?”

“No, no no no no, no. I’m from Caldera, I’m from the Smoking Hills. Down south.”

Elyse had seen the Smoking Hills on the map of Caldera. It was sort of southeast, and quite far from Shadebourne. “Huh. That’s a long way to come as well, I guess.”

“Family came when we were young.”

“Are they still here? Do you speak the language with them?”

Phaesta shook her head. “It’s just me now.”

“Oh, sorry…”

“It’s alright, it’s alright. Don’t worry.”

Elyse smiled to herself. “I didn’t think there would be anyone in Caldera who spoke… Primordial. Fulgan. Ignan. Whatever you want to call it. And then I found an entire city where people spoke it.”

“Really? Where’s that?”

“Sanskra.”

Phaesta gave her a disbelieving look. “I’ve heard of that, but…”

“Oh, trust me, I’ve been there.”

“Hmm… Blue hair… Stranger things, I suppose.”

“Well yeah, there were people, and carvings there, in Fulgan, Primordial. They call it Aquin.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“Yeah, and the triton, and the genasi, and the elves… everyone there spoke it.”

Phaesta grinned. “Well, I best get exploring then, I suppose.”

“Yeah… you might not want to go there for a little while? I heard some things happened there, and… they may have closed the city off to visitors, but…”

“Oh,” Phaesta shrugged. “Well, frankly I’ve heard it’s quite damp, so.”

Elyse laughed again. “Yeah. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Come by the place. About sundown.”

“Okay.”

“I look forward to it.”

“Yeah. Thanks for the dagger. I’ll put it to good use.”

“I hope so. Tell people where you got it.”

“Oh I will,” Elyse assured her. “Trust me.”

“Cheers. Right, I best get to work. Your friends are keeping me busy.”

“Yeah.”

Phaesta began carrying on with her work. As Elyse left, she heard the sound of the hammer on the anvil. She took one last glance, and left.

  
  


Those of them at the barracks had recovered. The skies were patchy and cloudy, and they were able to have some lunch, settling for a cozy day inside. Sariel did some more foresight training, and made preparations for the evening. There was a full moon tonight.

Astra read the Green Knight book again, and again, and again. He committed it to memory while Boblem read the books Vanden got for him.

Cassian and Vanden went off to buy cold weather gear. Cassian passed over 14 gold to cover the whole group, picking up a few materials to alter something for himself as well.

He gave an approving nod to the pile. “Excellent.”

Cassian was visibly excited at the prospect of altering an outfit and making things. He was clearly having a good time. Vanden talked to him about it as they shopped, just to watch him get excited. He hadn’t seen him get excited about anything else in the full six weeks they had been travelling together.

“I’m just really curious how I’m going to do this challenge for you,” Cassian grinned. He started to draw the outfit in the air, gesturing to certain parts with his hands to paint the picture. “I know where I’m going to put the slits, and I think… I can come up with a little device so that… It stays attached to you? So that you won’t get a draft back there.”

“Okay…”

“But that would easily unfold, when the wings come out.”

“I… believe in you,” Vanden smiled. “You can do it.”

“Yes, I’m probably one of the best tailors in Mirrortail. Come on.”

“Well, you never outfitted my family,” Vanden teased.

Cassian sighed, and his face dropped a bit. “...No. I wasn’t allowed clients of my own.”

Vanden gave a bit of an awkward laugh before pressing on. “Well, I look forward to seeing what you come up with, so.”

“Yes, me too. We should get back.”

“Last night, by the way…” Vanden looked to the floor. “You, just… you very much caught me off guard.”

Cassian smiled at him.

“...Don’t do that in front of the others again.”

Cassian tilted his head, appraising the other man for a few seconds and lowering his voice. “Okay. I can keep a secret.”

“Ah, it’s not...” Vanden looked away again, fidgeting and pursing his lips. “...Thank you.”

Vanden put his hand in Cassian’s as they walked back.

  
  


They made their way back to the barracks, and spotting Elyse in the far distance, Vanden pulled his hand away quickly as they ducked into the gate.

As they walked up to the main building, Cassian gave Vanden a little smack on the butt. As Vanden stopped in his tracks, mouth agape in shock, Cassian jauntily walked in ahead with his arms full of fabrics and bits and bobs.

Vanden was carrying the cold weather gear, boots, hats, ponchos, thick coats, and scarves. He made his way into the barracks, placing the bags down on the table. He yelled through the house, “Come choose what you want before everyone else does!”

Cassian turned around, giving the prince an indignant look. “Implying that I wasn’t buying each of these with someone in mind!”

Vanden shrugged. “Well, I don’t know. I don’t clothe myself.”

“Yes, it shows.”

Vanden’s mouth opened again. “Wow…”

Sariel appeared. “What have you got?”

Cassian laid out the selection of items. They were all tailored to what colors each of them liked, with nice fur lining that complemented them well. Cassian knew them all, picking out a winter coat that matched each person’s aesthetic.

Sariel smiled. “Thanks, Cassian.”

“Thanks Cassian,” Elyse called from the door, having arrived a few minutes behind. By now, they had all gathered.

Boblem looked at the array. “Thank you! Very sweet of you,” he grinned.

Cassian looked away.

Vanden began making plans for the route to Frostguard, going over the general plan with everyone. He explained they would have to wait a few days before they could leave. “So, anything anyone wants to wrap up in the city before then? And then we’ll ask Valentinian about the temple, and we’ll head there.”

The group seemed to agree on the plan.

“Sure,” Cassian nodded.

“Great.”

  
  


They settled in for the evening, and Cassian wandered over to Sariel.

“Hello,” she greeted.

“Hello. What’s all this, then?” he gestured to her preparations.

“It’s a full moon tonight.”

Cassian nodded in realization. “Oh, it is.”

“I was going to come and find you, actually.”

“Oh?”

“I was wondering if you want to come with me.”

“Oh...” he considered the offer. “What does it entail?”

“Well… primarily, it involves leaving the city and going to find water, of some sort.”

His eyes flashed with interest. “Sariel, it would be my honor. You have no idea how desperate I am to go for a swim.”

“Perfect. Maybe we can take the horses.”

“Sure. I can…” he squinted, “Somewhat ride.”

“Did you want to use two horses or did you want to share mine?”

“I can ride a horse.”

“Okay…” It was late afternoon, and it would be another two or three hours until nighttime. “Well, we’re in no rush.”

Cassian put a hand out in a fist in front of him, straightening his posture and mumbling to himself. “Reins in the hand, back straight…”

“We’re in no rush,” she repeated.

“Okay. Well, let me know when you want to go, and… let’s go.”

The time came, and their horses clip clopped out of the city. They made their way down, going through the tiers. It wasn’t bustling in the lower tiers during the evening, but there was slightly more activity than before. A few people wandered through the streets, waving up to the pair and whispering to each other excitedly. They were no longer greeted with suspicious stares, but with looks of recognition.

Sariel nervously waved at the people. Cassian waved as well, allowing his hands to glow as he did so. A few people perked up with interest at the display.

The guards waved them out of the city, and they rode for about half an hour into the gently rolling hills. There were a fair amount of little ponds and water courses around in various small groves. They were able to find a space outside one as the sun set.

Cassian glanced over to his companion. “Will this do?”

“This will do.”

The little lake was about fifteen meters by five, only two meters at its deepest. The water looked silty, and not absolutely clear, but they knew that was a kind of good sign. There were things inside the water, and this meant it was healthy.

They tethered up the horses and let them graze. Sariel got out her ritual materials, adding the scrying eye this time. She incorporated it into the ritual, not to use, but to include. She laid out her white pebbles and lit her incense before glancing across to Cassian. “Been awhile since I’ve done this with anyone else watching.”

“Do you need me to do anything? Or just accompany?”

“Accompany is nice.”

“Okay.”

“I’d say maybe… don’t go in the water just while I’m doing this, but, we can go for a swim after.”

“Okay. I will… keep an eye.”

“Thank you.”

She went about her ritual, singing in Celestial and walking into the water. She took the time to complete the process as a sense of anticipation built inside her. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen, given the events of the last ritual. Her heart began to beat louder, and as the clouds cleared from the moon, she heard the call of the hunt once more. It wasn’t a physical sound, but it was a kind of compulsion, coming from deep inside the woods.

She stopped what she was doing, considering it for a moment. “Do you hear anything?”

Cassian listened. “I hear the wind. I hear you.”

“Hm.”

Sariel turned to speak to her reflection in Celestial, not expecting an answer. “What does this all mean? You’ve never done this before.”

She didn’t hear anything back, but as she looked into her image in the water, she saw the clouds above. They almost looked like pale, silvery hands, reaching over to interlace themselves over her chest before they disappeared. It felt like she was being held.

She still felt the call, but she didn’t think that ignoring it would hurt. She decided to try not following this time. The feeling swelled in intensity for a bit, but it began to diminish over the course of the next hour until she could barely feel it. She completed her ritual.

Sariel turned back to the other elf. “Let’s go swimming.”

“I would like that.”

She lied back in the water, looking up at the moon as Cassian did the same.

“This was a lot more peaceful than it has been for awhile,” he observed.

Sariel turned her head in the water to face him. “Thought you might like to leave the city for awhile.”

Cassian had closed his eyes. “It’s nice.”

“Well if you’d like, you’re welcome to come with me next time.”

“I appreciate that, Sariel. Thank you.”

“It’s alright.”

Cassian opened his eyes. “Thank you for… everything you’ve done this week.”

“It’s been a busy week.”

“It sure has.”

Sariel’s expression became more concerned. “I’m just glad it worked.”

“Me too.”

“Dread to think what would have happened if it didn’t.”

“I would have cast that spell all day if I had to.”

“Me too.”

Cassian frowned for a moment before he shook himself from his thoughts. “But it’s done, so.”

“You’re a good man, Cassian.”

Ten seconds of silence passed before Cassian dunked his head under the water. Sariel let him.

  
  


They took their time, and after a few hours, returned. The rest of them tucked in for an early night, reading, drinking a lot of water, and sleeping off the remains of the hangover while Elyse trained with her new dagger.

Cassian went into his room to meditate with his book. It had been awhile since he had properly committed to it. He had been reading through it, but this was the first time in a few days that he had the time to himself to properly study it.

He made his preparations, the bowl of water in front of him and the three dancing lights swirling ever so gently around him. He sat down to meditate. Calmness came quickly to him, like the lapping of waves at the shore. In time, he opened his eyes.

Where before there was a bare wall, he saw an ornate door of red wood, gilded and decorated.

Cassian lifted his head, grinning with interest. “Well well. Someone’s got some new tricks, it seems.”

There was music softly coming from beyond the door. He jumped to his feet to approach. The door swung open, and he stepped though.

He was at the top of a stairway in an opera house. To his left and right, he saw the stools and chairs of private boxes. Looking down before him, an opulent stage, and a green curtain lowered. Above the curtain was a huge wooden statue of a woman, like the figurehead of a ship, her arms raised and her mouth open, frozen in song eternally. A depiction of Madame Nostrada.

His eyes adjusted to the change in light, which he realized was shifting, as if he was below water with sunlight dappling in. Instinctively, he looked up, and saw the rippling blue underside of the waves above where there would have been ceiling.

He looked around at the opera house more closely. The seats, ornate and plush, were coral formed into shape. The stage of the theatre, the wooden bannisters, spindles, and architraves were all driftwood. The lush green curtain he assumed to be velvet was made of thick strands of kelp, swaying gently in an invisible current.

He swayed a hand in front of him, and it moved without resistance. He was not underwater, but curiously, he saw drips rising up and off the surfaces of chairs, the floor, and the stage.

He heard what sounded like the creaking of wood and turned to the front. The statue’s arms lowered, and she faced him.

“Cassian.”

He smiled wide. “Lia.”

The statue seemed to step out of placement, moving out of the wall itself. All sense of scale vanished as she moved towards him, increasing in size and growing in magnitude, filling his vision. In a few dizzying seconds, she was all he could see, her face resplendent in oak and gilding.

He felt something moving beneath him. It was her hands, lifting him up to be level with her eyes.

Cassian looked up at her in awe. “This is… incredible! How have you never done anything like this before? I, I thought you couldn’t reach me out here...”

“Good things take time. We have to spare our luxuries, else we grow tired of them.”

Cassian sighed. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you. It’s nice to see you. Properly.”

“It’s… it means a lot to see you after all this time. I always thought it was a… Mirrortail exclusive.”

She laughed. “I am not Mirrortail. Mirrortail isn’t me. I am somewhere else.”

“I suppose so.”

“You’ve been doing so well. I’m so proud of you.”

Cassian smiled to himself at the praise. “Thank you. I’ve been trying my best to keep up this… arrangement.”

“You have been doing a very good job. You keep interesting company.”

“They are, aren’t they?” Cassian grinned.

The statue chuckled. As her mouth opened, he saw the paint splinter and crack a bit. The enormous face was all he could see before him, carved and beautifully painted with every detail, from the makeup by her eyes to the wooden hair tumbling behind her. He felt the strength of her hands underneath him as he stood.

The wizard- the  _ warlock, _ looked up at the huge figure holding him near. “Now… as such a kind patron of this magically gifted man… I do have some things I would like to ask of you. If that is agreeable?”

“Of course. You wouldn’t be the only one with things to ask of the other.”

“I can’t wait to hear what you have to say. But… I have found myself, in these travels, in more and more unexpected situations with these people.”

“So I’ve seen.”

“Yes…” Cassian tilted his head in thought. “And… increasingly in places where I need to… hit a bit harder.”

The face laughed a bit. “I understand. Let me see what I can do. You may not understand the details of it, as neither do I, but… we can put you down different paths.”

“Sure. I know this is still new for the both of us, but… I trust you, Lia.”

The hands brought him closer, and the face bent to give him a soft kiss on the head. Her mouth was nearly the size of his entire body.

He blinked, and he was no longer in her hands. He was standing on the stage in front of the woman, her form majestic, but incorporeal. No longer wooden, she was semi-translucent. Her hair drifted loose, and a hand extended towards him.

“A dance?”

Cassian was already reaching to accept the hand. “Of course.”

Music played softly from everywhere and nowhere. He lost himself to time and space in the moment, spinning the beautiful waltz. After they had danced for a while, she stopped moving to look him dead in the eye.

“Cassian. You grow strong with the gifts I give you. But in this state, and this place, there is only so much I can show you. I see in our future, a power shared between us. A hand in something bigger than ourselves. I need you to do something for me.”

“Anything.”

“My body lies still at the bottom of the sea. I grow tired of the dark and the cold. Being alone… I need you to find my body. Take me ashore. And give me the burial I deserve. Do this, release my spirit from this… watery prison. I will still be able to hear you, worry not. And this will let us grow in power. Together.”

“Right…” Cassian looked away, thinking. “Right. I… I can certainly try, I mean,” he chuckled, “Thanks to you I can breathe down there, so.”

“Convenient,” she smiled.

“And I’m sure I could… enlist some help, after some persuading…” he frowned, realizing how difficult the task would be. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Follow the stars, to where they fall.”

She took his hands, and dots of his henna began to light up in an odd pattern around his arms. It wasn’t a pattern he had designated, but close to twenty or thirty spots lit on each arm. Placing his forearms together, it was definitely a star map.

“Follow the stars to where they fall,” she repeated.

“Okay…” His vision began to fade. He took a gasping breath, and found himself back in his room in the barracks. “...I’ll speak to you soon.”

“Soon,” a voice replied.

The warlock smiled at the memory of his patron. “Always. Goodnight Lia.”

He closed the book. Rest came to him easily in his meditative form.

  
  


The next day, Elyse went out with Phaesta. They had an extremely pleasant evening. As Elyse left, the blacksmith gave her a little kiss on the cheek. The sorcerer felt her eye spark for a second. She squeezed Phaesta’s hand before she left, and the blacksmith turned with a skip in her step, taking another glance behind as Elyse walked off.

She looked forward to coming back.

  
  


A few days later, Vanden collected his armour. It was everything he had wished for, with the back fully accommodated to fit his requirements. Arokyte was dark, a gun metal grey. The piece was trimmed with beautiful gold detailing. His symbol, the symbol of the Dawnbringers, was embossed on the breast.

Cassian made himself another vest, this one lined with fur. Vanden had picked out a coat, and Cassian had modified it so the fabric could easily snap in and out of poppers at the back.

Vanden went out into the courtyard of the barracks, wearing the armour, the coat, and one of the altered shirts. “Okay…”

The rest of the group had followed him out. Cassian was watched intently as the test proceeded.

“I’m really sorry if this doesn’t work.” Vanden took a breath, and let out the wings.

It worked incredibly. The first time, they had to adjust a few little bits where the fabric flaps wiggled about, but it was easy enough to fix. Within five minutes, Cassian had perfected the design. The tailor shed a tear of joy.

“It’s perfect!” Sariel called over.

“Alright!” Vanden grinned. He shot upwards as far as he could. There were cheers from below and around. The story of the Dawnbringers had spread.

Before they left, a few of them gathered by the garden. Astra pointed at the central plant. “She’s in charge now.”

“Timberly,” Boblem bent down. “Listen. Now that we’re leaving, you gotta take care of your siblings.”

The plant drooped a bit.

“We’ll be back!” Astra consoled it.

The plant perked back up.

“Exactly. Papa is right,” Boblem agreed. “We’ll be back.”

Sariel smiled. “Grow well without us.”

A single petal fell off to the ground in mourning.

“No, no!” Sariel flicked her hand, and the petal floated back up to reattach.

Boblem smiled. “Keep growing strong.”

The plant furiously bloomed a bit more, trying its best to make them proud.

“You’re doing so good,” Sariel praised.

Boblem beamed. “You’re doing amazing sweetie.”

Vanden noticed the huddle and called over. “Tell the plants we’re proud of them!”

Boblem took a final look at the garden. “We’re proud of you.”

A little tendril reached up to wave goodbye. Vanden gave the plant a look. “Still very weird…”

They readied themselves and packed their things. A guard made themselves available, letting them know that he would watch over their things. He listened attentively to their instructions on how to take care of the plants, taking many notes. He had likely been told that this was a very important job, and the wellbeing of the plants probably tied very closely to his ability to keep the job.

They made their way to the judicial offices, and Valentinian escorted them to the temple of Bahamut. They were led inside and given access to the Circle of Teleportation, provided that they brought over some documents to the temple of Bahamut in Watchers Respite. Elyse did not speak the entire time they were in the temple.

They had been able to bring their horses, though it was a bit of a mission to walk them through the cathedral, the clip clops of their hooves echoing all around.

They lined themselves at the side of the sigil. The High Priestess completed the incantation, and the circle flared into silvery white light. She gestured quickly to the group.

Cassian glanced over to the prince. “Onto the next thing, then?”

Vanden nodded. “Let’s do it.”

They stepped onto the sigil, and they felt themselves snatched away. With a gasp, they found themselves standing in a different room, similarly built, but somewhere completely new.

They were in the city of Watchers Respite.


End file.
